Michael McCormack (Riverina, National Party, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Finance) Share this | Hansard source

I am glad you remember that. No doubt you followed me very closely and the good work that I did on behalf of the government—and the good work the government is doing in conjunction with the Asian Development Bank right throughout the Pacific region.

I made a number of points to that forum in Baku. I told them that the development of the Asia-Pacific region is fundamentally important to Australia. The ADB's priorities closely align with our own, and I am sure that the AIIB's priorities will align with Australia's. The ADB is there to help reduce poverty in Asia and in the Pacific through economic growth and private sector development, just as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, when formed, will be. The ADB has shown itself capable of comprehensive structural reform in the face of changing economic circumstances, and falling commodity prices and the slump in iron ore prices were a feature of discussions in Baku. This commitment will ensure that the ADB remains at the centre of international development in the future, along with the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.

The merger of the Asian Development Fund's loan assets and operations with the ordinary capital resources is just one example of the ADB's commitment to addressing long-term financial challenges and its financing challenges. The merger is an innovative way to enhance the ADB's capabilities while recognising the fiscal constraints of many donors. That is an issue that has to be considered. It is also in line with the call by G20 countries for multilateral development institutions to use their balance sheets more effectively. Australia strongly commends and continues to support that particular initiative. We are also encouraged as a government by the broad support the initiative has received from ADB member countries.

At last year's ADB annual meeting in Kazakhstan, Australia shared our ambitions at the time for our G20 presidency. When I was in Baku, and when I represented Australia at the G20 in Istanbul, Turkey, from 8 to 11 February this year, I felt very proud of the high esteem in which our Treasurer, the member for North Sydney, is held within world financial circles.

Opposition members: Hear, hear!

'Hear, hear!' I hear from the other side. And he is. We have continued that fine tradition of Australian treasurers—there you go; I am giving both sides of the House a compliment now—of standing tall in world financial terms.

The G20 have agreed to a range of initiatives which will deliver benefits globally, particularly to the rapidly expanding economies of the Asia-Pacific, thanks largely to Joe Hockey's initiatives when Australia was G20 president. Importantly, Turkey as the current G20 president has committed to follow through on the initiatives that the member for North Sydney put forward. The Brisbane Action Plan of November 2014 finalised the ambitious goal of lifting the G20's collective gross domestic product by more than two per cent above the business-as-usual scenario, and that is expected to have significant flow-on effects for global growth in all countries, delivering more jobs—there is that word again, that very important word—and higher incomes, and a better quality of life all over the world.

Our G20 presidency focused particularly on infrastructure development, something that is obviously of critical importance to the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, and we supported a range of initiatives to assist in the establishment and successful completion of infrastructure projects globally. One of the very important aspects of our G20 presidency was the establishment of the Global Infrastructure Hub in Sydney to help facilitate knowledge and information sharing between governments and the private sector in order to improve processes for the establishment and successful delivery of infrastructure projects which is so very important.

I am pleased that, this Thursday, I will be catching up with New Zealand politician David Bennett, the member for Hamilton East since 2005; former chair of the New Zealand parliament's Transport and Industrial Relations Committee and chair of the New Zealand parliament's Finance and Expenditure Committee. Mr Bennett is coming to Australia and he is going to be catching up with the National Party. He is a National Party person. It is great that we can share many of those infrastructure goals, those finance goals, and help boost both countries' objectives across the Tasman. Certainly, I will be reaching out to David Bennett when I meet up with him again on Thursday—tomorrow, in fact. I am looking forward to that.

Dr Leigh interjecting—

Indeed they do. The AIIB will drive economic growth and jobs in our region by delivering much-needed infrastructure. I know it is important for Australia and it is important for the Pacific Rim. It will provide great opportunities for Australian trade and businesses. It has received glowing endorsements from people such as the Chair of Industry Super Australia, Peter Collins; the Chief Executive of the Business Council of Australia, Jennifer Westacott; and the Chief Executive of the Australian Industry Group, Innes Willox. It has received support from industry and, certainly, from businesses. It is going to make a whole world—excuse the pun—of difference to the Asian region by building the sort of infrastructure and the sort of confidence that is desperately needed in the Pacific rim. It complements the work of the Asian Development Bank, which has been around since 1966. The ADB, because of its origins, is largely Japanese run. The nine presidents of the ADB have all been Japanese.

Now that the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank is bedding down the governance and transparency issues that are so important to its establishment, Australia very much looks forward to being part of the overall framework and part of the establishment of this very necessary organisation.

I am glad that Labor is on board with this, and it has been supportive from the outset. I appreciate the remarks made by the previous speaker, the member for Sydney. I am sure the member for Fraser is going to have more to say about Labor's support for this bill. I commend this important bill to the House.

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