Paul Neville (Hinkler, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I present the report of the Australian Parliamentary Delegation to the United Kingdom and Poland from 25 June to 8 July 2006. It is difficult, in five minutes, to convey the entirety of a visit to the UK, Scotland and Poland, other than to say that it was an enjoyable experience giving all of us who were part of the delegation an insight into how politics is practised in other countries, how our own country is viewed, how it performs against international benchmarks and how it is perceived and hopefully respected in the international community. The UK and Scottish section of the visit was arranged by the UK Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, whose professionalism and organisational abilities are par excellence. I thank Paul Jackson and Helen Haywood for their extraordinary facilitation and hospitality.

Unlike previous visits I have had to the UK, on this occasion we were able to drill down into areas of expertise that are highly relevant to Australia—for example, an understanding of the framework of the BBC, both in TV and radio structures, as well as UK energy policy and EU security. The delegation also received briefings on law enforcement and the modernisation of the House of Commons. It was interesting to understand the difference in the dynamics of our Senate and the reformed House of Lords. One of the most pleasing aspects of this reform was the adoption of a model not unlike ours for the UK’s main committee organisation. It plans to utilise the historic Westminster Hall and use a more open debate procedure where the person speaking is invited at times to yield to the opposition. This also leads to greater, more interesting and more open debate. Although we do this sparingly in our own second chamber, there is some merit in expanding the practice.

One of the briefings which appealed to me was that on direct learning. This is a system developed by the University for Industry and supported by the UK government to deliver high-quality learning to post-16-year-olds. It is aimed at those with limited skills and qualifications who are unlikely to participate in traditional forms of learning. It is aimed at enhancing their skills for employability, which flows on to the workforce and, through that workforce, the productivity of the nation. It delivers educational, trade and commercial courses innovatively through technology, notably the internet.

There are 2,000 online learning centres in the UK, including in Wales and Northern Ireland. Since it was launched in 2000, 1.3 million people have been enrolled in the system and it has trained around 200,000 people in small business. It offers 550 courses, including management, IT, languages, skills for lifestyle and a number of trade and quasi-trade subjects, such as driving forklifts. They may sound very simple things but, to people who do not have the opportunity to gain these skills, they become very important. It is something we could look at in this country.

Our visit to Poland was an eye-opener. There we saw the effects of the Second World War in visits to the Warsaw Uprising Museum and Auschwitz. Every Australian who goes to Europe should visit Auschwitz. It is an insight into man’s inhumanity to man. It is something we should etch in our psyches. It was also pleasing to look at the economy of Poland, its trade with Australia and its modernisation. Although we criticise it in Australia, Poland will be adopting the Australian health system. This visit led to our becoming aware that Australia is respected and that there are many opportunities for trade and social contact between our country and Poland.

Martin Ferguson (Batman, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Transport, Roads and Tourism) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak about the Australian Parliamentary Delegation to the United Kingdom and Poland, from 25 June to 8 July 2006. The delegation was led by Senator Ian Macdonald and the other delegation members were Jackie Kelly, Robert McClelland, Paul Neville, Barry Wakelin, Jonathan Curtis from the secretariat, and me. May I begin by thanking the United Kingdom, Scottish and Polish parliamentarians and ambassadors for sharing their insights on a range of issues with us and for the tremendous assistance they gave us during visits to the United Kingdom, including Scotland, and Poland.

In almost 12 years this is the first parliamentary delegation that I have participated in and it was certainly an eye-opening and engaging experience. It was made all the richer by the parliamentarians and ambassadorial staff with whom the parliamentary delegation met. I would also like to thank the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association of the United Kingdom and Scotland, the Australian embassy in Poland and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade for doing an outstanding job of coordinating the parliamentary delegation. The parliamentarians whom we met in England, Scotland and Poland readily shared their insights into bilateral and key domestic issues and the machinations of their parliamentary systems. The parliamentary delegation visited areas of economic, cultural and international significance and met with government and business leaders concerning EU developments, security, terrorism and energy challenges.

Of particular interest to me, as I was then shadow minister for resources, energy, forestry and tourism, were discussions regarding the United Kingdom’s energy challenges. The Minister of State for Energy, Mr Malcolm Wicks, and senior departmental representatives gave a presentation on a major review of energy policy, which was released several weeks after the delegation’s departure. The review considered climate change issues, energy supply and infrastructure challenges and security issues confronting the United Kingdom. The delegation recognised the leadership that the Prime Minister Tony Blair has taken in this area and was interested to learn of the United Kingdom’s ongoing dependence on nuclear energy for part of their energy supply—because of their energy requirements—as an ongoing viable energy source and the maintenance of its current infrastructure.

It was also an interesting experience to view the Westminster system at work and to listen to the United Kingdom parliamentarians’ insights into the system’s machinations. It was interesting to recognise the differences in key features between the Australian and United Kingdom systems and consider how greatly our system has evolved. A highlight of the parliamentary delegation’s visit to England and Scotland was attending question time. On both occasions the delegation met with the Speaker of the House of Commons, Michael Martin, and other representatives from the respective lower houses. It was of interest to see how the UK parliament has adopted the Australian committee model to progress policy issues and especially to see their main committee—the Westminster House—in operation. This was a development from Australia that the United Kingdom adopted.

Obviously, as I am of Scottish descent, it was great to see the operation of the Scottish parliament and to be given a greater understanding of the devolution of the Scottish parliament and the parliamentarians’ responsibilities. They spoke with great pride of their new Scottish parliament. The Scottish and United Kingdom governments, from what I could see at the time, enjoyed a good working relationship and work together productively to make progress on difficult bilateral issues. Two members of the Scottish parliament, Mr Kim Mather and Mr Bill Aitken, met with the delegation and spoke candidly of Scotland’s economic and social development.

One of the highlights of the delegation was the visit to Poland and being able to learn firsthand of its evolving democratic system. It was inspiring to visit a country that is emerging in the EU with a strengthening economy, that has a rich national history and whose people have characteristically expressed sheer determination. Whilst in Poland we had the opportunity to visit historically significant places: namely, the Auschwitz and Birkenau concentration camps. It was deeply saddening to see firsthand these places of great human suffering. As did the member for Hinkler, I urge all Australians going to Poland to take the opportunity not only to visit Auschwitz and Birkenau but also to visit Warsaw, which was all but devastated during the Second World War. The Polish parliament requested that we convey to the Australian Council of Trade Unions its admiration for the ACTU’s support for Solidarity and its development and achievements under the leadership of Lech Walesa, in the struggle after the end of the Cold War.

It was a privilege to be part of this delegation. It was a great opportunity to strengthen our bilateral ties, and it certainly gave me a greater insight into the operation of the committees and delegations overseas and their importance for us in gaining a better understanding of significant international and domestic policy issues.