Bruce Scott (Maranoa, Deputy-Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I present the report of the Australian parliamentary delegation to the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei from 30 March to 10 April this year. Five members of the delegation from our parliament, including from the Senate, which I had the honour of leading, visited these three countries—the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei—as part of our annual dialogue under ASEAN, of which Australia has been a delegation member now for some 40 years. Members of the delegation included the deputy leader Senator the Hon. Don Farrell, Senator Helen Kroger, Mr Ken Wyatt AM—who is in the chamber with me now—and also the Hon. Alan Griffin, who is also in the chamber. I want to thank all of them for their cooperation and the strength which they brought to this very important annual dialogue in the ASEAN region.

The delegation focused on re-affirming Australia's valuable relationship with our ASEAN neighbours, establishing connections with parliamentarians in the region and discussing bilateral ties associated with economic development, the environment, security and defence cooperation within the multilateral system and social development. It was very evident when we travelled in those three countries that Australians and Australia are held in very high regard. As Australians travelling there, it was very invigorating to have repeated in all of our meetings the regard in which Australia, and Australians as citizens, are held in the ASEAN region.

In the Bohol province of the Philippines we saw the provincial government and saw firsthand Australian aid money at work, which is rehabilitating the province after it was struck by a magnitude 7.2 earthquake, which killed some 200 people in October last year and destroyed buildings, including schools and hospitals, bridges and roads. The delegation learnt that, as part of the Bohol disaster, resilient homes were being built as part of a project to assist families whose homes were destroyed by the earthquake. The project is a partnership between DFAT and Catholic Relief Services, which will provide cash grants for some 870 families to enable them to quickly rebuild their homes with seismic resistance, for approximately $800 per home. It is very humbling to see how such a small amount of money can give people shelter in a resilient and very earthquake resistant home. It is humbling to see where the money is going and how it can help these people.

During our visit to the three countries we also focused on the important role that the Colombo Plan has played in helping the ASEAN countries. We saw in Bohol Colombo Plan students who had returned to their region, bringing the skills and knowledge they had gained in Australia back to their region. I, and I know the other members of the delegation, was inspired by these students who had studied under the Colombo Plan.

The loss of flight MH370 overshadowed our visit to Malaysia. It was clear that it was foremost in the minds of the Malaysian people. Of course, the Malaysian people thank Australia for the leading role that we were then and remain committed to doing everything we can to identify just where this plane and the tragedy that unfolded with it is now located. We visited the Monash University campus in Kuala Lumpur. This is of course for Monash University the first foreign university to be established in Malaysia. The delegation, through that university, saw firsthand people from over 60 different nationalities studying across seven faculties. The campus is fully integrated and governed by Monash University in Australia. It was clearly evident that Malaysian maintains a strong interest in participating in the Colombo Plan from 2015.

In Brunei we had the opportunity to discuss with officials the introduction of sharia law. The high commission was able to brief us what it might mean, particularly for Australian nationals living in Brunei. Wherever we travelled in Brunei we were assured that Australians should not be concerned about it, but of course the delegation is keeping a watchful eye, as our high commission will, on the introduction of sharia law in that country.

I thank the high commissions in those three countries, the staff of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and also the secretary to our delegation, who is the clerk here today. We thank you, Peter, for the work that you did in keeping us all focused and always on time. I do thank the department and all those who participated. The annual ASEAN delegation is important for Australia and a very important part of our relationship,.

Alan Griffin (Bruce, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is a great pleasure to follow the Deputy Speaker in discussing the findings of our delegation to ASEAN. I start by endorsing all of his comments and to thank him for his leadership of the delegation. I think we pretty much behaved ourselves, although there were times when the member for Hasluck, who is in the chamber, was a bit of a worry. Luckily he followed my good example on a number of occasions!

Delegations are often discussed in the media without being understood. I would like to focus for a couple of minutes on the significance of a delegation such as this and why it is in fact a very important part of the work we do. It is a very important part of the work that we do because we live in a region. With respect to this delegation in particular, we were visiting countries that are significant in the region. They are neighbours and there needs to be greater understanding across our nations. Delegations such as this play a very important role in ensuring there is a better understanding not only of their perspective but also of our own, because although we are in the same region we have very different histories and very different cultures. Developing that understanding across parliaments, communities and people and through business, politics and community structures is incredibly important. It is also important because it is recognised that Australia plays a leading role in this region. We are a small country in terms of population but a large country in terms of land and a significant country in terms of wealth and expertise, and we play a key role in the region. That key role is something which develops over time.

The Deputy Speaker mentioned some of the aid projects. The fact is that we play a significant role in providing aid and support to our neighbours when they are in trouble. There is no doubt that in the circumstances of the Philippines, in particular and more recently in the context of the missing Malaysian aircraft Australia has played a key role. It is important that we as parliamentarians get to see those aid projects in operation. What we as a delegation saw were aid projects which showed that Australian aid dollars are being used effectively, that they are being used to provide opportunities for communities to deal with the tragedy of natural disasters and to provide them with the opportunity to build into the future, to become more self-reliant and to be in a situation where they are able to triumph in the face of the adversity of the circumstances they have faced.

It is also important for trade. It is important in engaging with foreign countries and their officials, to assisting Australian businesses to better understand and facilitate contacts within countries they are seeking to trade in, to providing a better understanding back here in the Australian community and the business community, about what needs to be done, and also, frankly, to ensuring that our diplomatic staff overseas, who do a fantastic job, are facilitated and assisted in engaging with respect to those sorts of issues. That relationship-building across business, and in terms of the broader community and ensuring that the work that the Australian government does on behalf of all of us is done efficiently, effectively and properly is an important part of what is done. I think that this delegation touched on all those issues across all of the nations we visited.

A number of significant issues were considered. The circumstances around the missing Malaysia Airlines aeroplane have been mentioned. There were also issues involving the South China Sea and around the negotiations that are occurring in the Philippines to try to resolve some of the terrorist conflicts that are occurring in that nation. I think it showed the delegation—I certainly appreciated it—the complexity that surrounds the issues that are faced when trying to deal with insurgencies. It is often easy to encapsulate it in a headline, but it is much more complex than that. Frankly, it showed that the Philippines government in a very difficult set of circumstances is genuinely trying to engage and through that process hopefully resolve longstanding conflicts.

I also would like to think of number of people. The Deputy Speaker mentioned Peter Banson, who is in the House today, DFAT staff—embassy staff and consular staff—in all three countries that we visited and the delegation members for their camaraderie and support over the course of the trip. I had a crack in good spirits at my friend the member for Hasluck, but I would like to acknowledge, particularly, senators Kroger and Farrell who, at this stage anyway, are about to finish their time in this place. They were excellent contributors and I wish them well in the future.