Dennis Jensen (Tangney, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I present the report of the Australian Parliamentary Delegation to the 35th AIPA General Assembly held in Vientiane in September 2014. The ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly, or AIPA, was established by the parliaments of five ASEAN member countries in 1977. Its aims are to encourage cooperation, collaboration and communication among parliaments in the region and to contribute to the goals and aspirations of ASEAN through inter-parliamentary cooperation. Over the decades, AIPA has expanded to now include the parliaments of 10 ASEAN member countries and 12 observer parliaments.

The 35th AIPA General Assembly was held last year in Vientiane, Laos. As leader of the Australian parliamentary delegation to AIPA, it was an honour to represent Australia in this important parliamentary forum for South-East Asian Nations. The General Assembly focused on strengthening parliamentary cooperation and dealt with important regional concerns including those relating to gender, political security matters, sustainable economic growth, development through entrepreneurship and public health issues.

In addition, the Australian parliamentary delegation participated in a formal dialogue session with parliamentarians from ASEAN countries, where we discussed new ways to enhance cooperation and engagement between our parliaments. The warm and productive discussions we had with our regional colleagues covered a wide range of opportunities for parliamentary cooperation, including capacity building in relation to library, research and transcription services and legislative and scrutiny capacity for parliamentarians; increased parliamentary exchanges; and cooperation to address people trafficking, disaster management, agriculture, human resource development and financial services. It is quite important to note here, as well, that there was quite a lot of discussion about the assistance in the bureaucracy that we have provided.

The dialogue session in particular provided an excellent opportunity for our delegation to highlight and celebrate the many positive and productive bilateral relationships Australia has with ASEAN nations. Australia has had a multilateral relationship with ASEAN since 1974, and our attendance at the 35th AIPA General Assembly was therefore a very important opportunity to reinforce Australia's ongoing commitment to and engagement with the South-East Asian region. On behalf of the delegation, I would like to record our thanks to the host, the parliament of the Lao PDR, for its warm hospitality and a well organised AIPA General Assembly.

In addition to representing Australia at the AIPA General Assembly, the delegation also took the opportunity to attend meetings with Australian business representatives, volunteers and non-government organisations working in Laos. The delegation also visited an Australian mining operation in Laos and was able to see the positive and sustainable outcomes this has had for nearby communities. Overall, we were very impressed with the breadth and effectiveness of Australia's engagement with Laos through these committed and passionate individuals and organisations.

Before concluding, I would like to take this opportunity to express the delegation's appreciation to the Australian embassy in Vientiane, very ably led by His Excellency John Williams. The ambassador and his team made arrangements for the delegation's meetings and engagements beyond the AIPA General Assembly, which contributed to the visit's overall success. The team at the embassy were also very generous with their time and support for the delegation. Finally, I would like to acknowledge my colleague on the delegation, the honourable member for Moreton, whose long held interest in the region and enthusiastic participation in proceedings made a valuable contribution to our formal and informal discussions during the visit. I commend the report to the House.

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