Mike Symon (Deakin, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I present the report of the parliamentary delegation to the 32nd AIPA General Assembly in September 2011. I was leader of the Australian delegation to this year's general assembly of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly, which was held from 18 to 24 September 2011 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Firstly, I would like to thank Senator Alan Eggleston, who was the other member of the delegation, for his contribution to the visit. I have travelled previously with Senator Eggleston and was reminded of the great value of his knowledge and experience of issues in the region during our formal and informal discussions and meetings.

The 32nd general assembly was an important occasion for AIPA and for Cambodia and an opportunity for meaningful engagement and discussion between the Australian observer delegation and the 10 countries of ASEAN and other observer delegations. It was a privilege to participate in the AIPA general assembly representing Australia as an observer country and to discuss the interests and concerns shared with all the member countries in our region. The delegation enabled us to reaffirm the very valuable relationships and cooperation which Australia has with ASEAN, to establish new friendships with parliamentarians in the region and to learn more about the cultures of individual nations.

The theme of the 32nd AIPA General Assembly was the role of AIPA in building a prosperous ASEAN community. It is clear that ASEAN member countries are committed to achieving their goal of establishing an ASEAN economic community by 2015. Good progress continues to be made towards this goal, which Australia will support by providing policy advice, research and implementation assistance through the second phase of the ASEAN-Australia Development Cooperation Program. The dialogue session with Australia was well attended with 21 parliamentarians from the 10 ASEAN nations and it provided an opportunity to hold constructive discussions on a range of topics including cooperation between ASEAN and observer countries, water resource management for sustainable development, disaster management and emergency response, and landmines and unexploded ordnance.

Australia is clearly held in very high regard by the countries in our region. Many parliamentarians from ASEAN nations have a strong connection with Australia, having either worked or studied in Australia themselves or having family living and studying here.

The delegation also took the opportunity to make three other official visits arranged for us by the Australian embassy whilst we were in Cambodia. The first visit was to the Cambodian School of Prosthetics and Orthotics, which was established in 1994 and receives considerable support from the Australian government through AusAID. This support has been used to train prosthetic and orthotic technicians not only from Cambodia but also from many other developing countries, for instance Iraq, Papua New Guinea and many others in between. The demand for prosthetic and orthotic services remains high due to landmines and, of more recent times, as a result of traffic accidents in Cambodia. The delegation was given a guided tour of the facility and observed prosthetic and orthotic devices being manufactured, students practising their craft, and both adults and children in various stages of rehabilitation, including being fitted with devices. The second visit was to the extraordinary chambers in the courts of Cambodia, which was established in 2001 to try serious crimes committed during the Khmer Rouge regime from 1975 to 1979. We were given a guided tour of the ECCC, which is commonly known as the Khmer Rouge Tribunal. We were briefed on its operations and the two cases which have so far come before it.

The third additional visit was to Hagar Cambodia, which is a non-government organisation supported by AusAID committed to the recovery, empowerment and reintegration of exploited, abused and rejected women and children in Afghanistan, Cambodia and Vietnam. The delegation met with staff and observed some of the rehabilitation activities at the centre in progress, including activities designed to build self-confidence and social awareness and workshops to develop life and job skills.

Throughout the general assembly, the Australian delegation was very warmly received. I would like to thank the hosting nation, Cambodia, for their friendly hospitality and the professional organisation of the 32nd AIPA General Assembly. I would especially like to thank the Australian Ambassador to Cambodia, Ms Penny Richards, and her wonderful staff for their support and hospitality during our stay in Cambodia and for the arrangements made for the side visits of the delegation to the various organisations that I described earlier. I would also particularly like to thank the secretary to the delegation, Mr Peter Banson, who ensured that everything went according to plan despite the very late notice of the delegation's composition and travel requirements. The support and knowledge that Mr Banson provided was invaluable coming from his experience of attending previous AIPA general assemblies. In summary, I believe that the 32nd AIPA General Assembly presented a valuable forum for the further strengthening of bonds between the parliaments of ASEAN nations, encouraging cooperation and understanding on the many issues facing the region. I commend the report to the House.