Maria Vamvakinou (Calwell, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I present the report of the Australian Parliamentary Delegation to the 42nd ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly, hosted by Brunei Darussalam from 23 to 25 August 2021, and I ask leave of the House to make a short statement in connection with the report.

Leave granted.

I'm very pleased to present the report of the delegation to the 42nd AIPA, which I attended virtually with Senator Fawcett. This was the second AIPA assembly to be held virtually, of course as a result of the COVID pandemic. I want to congratulate Brunei Darussalam, this year's host nation, for holding what was a very successful general assembly, given the circumstances under which we met online.

This year's theme focused on digital inclusion. Speakers highlighted the power that the digital economy has to transform the ASEAN region. However, many speakers also noted that this should not be pursued at the expense of inclusivity, safety and sustainability. Another common theme was how member countries have responded to the pandemic. COVID-19 has led to the increased uptake of digital technologies, including, as we know, by this parliament especially, and by other parliaments around the world. Some speakers also highlighted the need for member countries to progress legislation to ratify and implement the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, which Australia is also a party to. The situation in Myanmar continued to be of great concern and the situation there following the coup in February. It was also raised extensively and was the subject of a committee discussion.

We made two suggestions in our report for improving our engagement with AIPA. The first is that future delegations might like to seek to attend committee meetings in addition to the plenary sessions in order to better understand AIPA and how it operates. Secondly, if the event continues to be held virtually, we would welcome more opportunities for informal and bilateral engagement between delegates. This is one of the most interesting parts of being on a delegation: the interaction we have and the parliament-to-parliament conversations. I commend the report to the House.

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