Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am pleased to present the report of the Australian parliamentary delegation that participated in the 131st Inter-Parliamentary Union Assembly held in Geneva, Switzerland from 12 to 16 October 2014 and the associated bilateral visit to various European parliaments and institutions. It was my privilege to lead this delegation, which also included Government Whip and member for Forrest, Ms Marino, the member for Makin, Mr Zappia, Senator Bernardi and Senator Sterle.

As this report attests, this was a hardworking delegation, with all members playing an active role throughout bilateral visits and the assembly. Between 4 and 10 October the delegation visited various European parliaments and institutions in Rome, Brussels, including West Flanders, and Vienna. The delegation first visited Rome and the Holy See and attended meetings with senior Vatican officials, members of the Italian parliament and representatives of various international organisations, including the International Organization for Migration, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Food Program.

The longstanding and close ties between Australia and the Holy See and Italy provided a positive foundation for useful and positive discussions. While in Rome I attended the Asia-Europe Parliamentary Partnership Meeting, which discussed the role of parliaments in fostering Europe-Asia dialogue, sustainable growth and stronger governance structures.

The delegation then spent two days in Belgium and attended high-level meetings at the European Council and parliament. It was again my privilege to present to a Vice-President of the European Parliament an Aboriginal artwork and a copy of the apology to the stolen generations made by our parliament to Indigenous Australians in 2008. Following this, the delegation undertook a series of productive meetings with a range of members of the European and Belgian parliaments in both formal and informal settings.

The delegation then travelled to West Flanders and paid our respects at the Tyne Cot and Buttes New British war cemeteries. In a simple but moving initiative, delegation members laid commemorative crosses inscribed with messages from Australian schoolchildren at a number of individual graves of Australian soldiers.

Our visit to Belgium concluded with meetings at NATO headquarters, where the delegation received high-level briefings on progress that has been made in Afghanistan as the NATO involvement in that country draws to a close. The delegation concluded the bilateral visits with a day in Vienna, where we received briefings from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and the International Atomic Energy Agency, before visiting the Austrian parliament and meeting a number of our parliamentary counterparts. Four of the Austrian parliamentarians were preparing to depart for the IPU Assembly in Geneva, so this was a good chance to discuss matters of common interest related to that forum.

The delegation then travelled to Geneva to attend the 131st Assembly of the IPU. The IPU is the international organisation of parliaments of sovereign states and provides a focal point for worldwide parliamentary dialogue. Australia has a proud history of active membership of this forum and our delegation attended all formal meetings of the assembly and its governing council. In addition, the delegation participated in meetings of the Asia-Pacific and 12-plus geopolitical groups, the meeting of women parliamentarians as well as attending meetings of a number of standing committees.

The topic of the general debate was achieving gender equality and ending violence against women. Another important feature of the 131st assembly was the work of the Standing Committee on Sustainable Development, Finance and Trade, which hosted a panel discussion on water governance. The member for Forrest was invited to participate on this panel and gave a presentation on the role taken by the Australian parliament to support equitable access to water in this country.

During the governing council proceedings I tabled the report of the parliamentary meeting of the 20th International AIDS Conference, which I addressed in July in Melbourne last year. A key activity of the governing council was the election of a new president to replace Mr Radi of Morocco. As honourable members would be aware, I was one of four candidates who nominated for this important position.

The candidates were from Bangladesh, Australia, Indonesia and the Maldives. The result of the first round of voting was Bangladesh 108, Australia 99, Indonesia 76 and the Maldives 57. After two rounds of voting, when the Maldives candidate was eliminated and 19 fewer votes were cast, Mr Chowdhurry from Bangladesh won the ballot.

This was the first time that an Australian candidate had nominated for this important role. My candidacy gave the delegation the opportunity to meet with every geopolitical group in the IPU and hold bilateral talks with a number of presiding officers and delegations from a range of countries, proving to be valuable for all members in the delegation. I congratulate Mr Chowdhurry on his appointment and look forward to working with him at future IPU Assemblies.

In addition, the Deputy Clerk of the House, Ms Claressa Surtees, also attended meetings of the Association of Secretaries General of Parliaments which was conducted alongside the IPU Assembly. Ms Surtees has provided information on those meetings in this report. Once again, the IPU Assembly provided an effective forum for parliamentarians to engage and increase their understanding of a range of issues of global interest and concern. Planning is underway for the Australian delegation to attend the 132nd IPU meeting to be held in Hanoi in late March.

On behalf of the delegation, I would like to thank everyone who contributed to making this a successful delegation. On a personal note, the foreign minister and the Prime Minister provided a great deal of assistance in our campaign for the presidency of the IPU.

Particular thanks are also due to Ambassadors John McCarthy QC and the Hon. Mike Rann in Rome, Dr Mark Higgie in Brussels, Mr David Stuart in Vienna, and Mr John Quinn and Mr Hamish McCormick in Geneva, as well as their staff. I should also like to acknowledge the practical assistance provided by the Geneva mission's first secretary, Ms Jeffie Kaine.

I would like to extend the delegation's thanks to officers of the Department of Foreign Affairs and to staff of the Parliamentary Library for providing comprehensive and timely briefing materials prior to the departure of the delegation. Thanks are also due to Mr Russell Chaffer, Mr Geoff Barnett and other staff of the International Community Relations Office for the high standard of support provided to the delegation. I particularly want to thank Mr Brien Hallett, the delegation's secretary from the Department of the Senate, who accompanied us. Mr Hallett's organisation and hard work was of great value to this parliament and all members of the delegation. I would also like to thank Mr Damien Jones and Ms Talitha Try from my office for their assistance in our campaign for the presidency of the IPU. Finally, I thank my fellow delegates for their valuable participation in the delegation's meetings and their commitment to our program of work. I commend the report to the House.