Julian Hill (Bruce, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I was delighted to recently continue the tradition of Australian MPs visiting Taiwan. I went before the presidential inauguration. Australia and Taiwan are Indo-Pacific democracies, and we continue to build deep and productive unofficial ties with Taiwan, in line with Australia's longstanding One China policy. We have a shared interest in a peaceful and stable region and continue to call for no unilateral change to the status quo across the Taiwan Strait. Taiwan is an important partner for Australia. Our economic and trade ties have only strengthened in recent years. Last financial year, Taiwan was Australia's seventh-largest goods trading partner, at around $40 billion. Taiwan was Australia's sixth-largest goods and services market, at around $30 billion. Two-way services trading increased by more than 80 per cent. Australia is Taiwan's largest energy supplier, providing two-thirds of Taiwan's coal, a third of its natural gas and three-quarters of its iron ore. We coordinate on Pacific development assistance.

Of course, Australia continues to advocate for Taiwan's meaningful participation in international organisations. At the meetings of the World Health Assembly, Australia has called for Taiwan's participation in the World Health Organization. You don't have to be a state, and I encourage all nations to allow this in the interest of the 24 million human beings who live in Taiwan.

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