Craig Kelly (Hughes, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to support the many hardworking constituents of my community from the Macedonian community in south-west Sydney. Some would know them as having migrated from what was regrettably named the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, or the equally regrettable acronym FYROM. The days of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia are long behind us, especially with the Balkan nations having long ago gained independence. Sadly one of those now free and independent nations, which its people know as the Republic of Macedonia, is still being referred to by reference to the long-defunct Yugoslavia. We all need to move forward and formally recognise the Republic of Macedonia by giving the republic its proper constitutional name rather than using the inappropriate and disrespectful acronym FYROM. I strongly believe that the name by which a country is known both nationally and internationally should be solely decided by the people of that country. Such a decision is so fundamental to the identity of a country and its people that a country's name should reflect the will of its people: those who inhabit that country. It is not for other nations to impose their will upon an independent country. My constituents are calling for us to finally recognise the Republic of Macedonia by its proper constitutional name. Macedonia gained independence from Yugoslavia in 1991. How much longer must it carry the name Yugoslavia? Surely the Republic of Macedonia can use whatever name its people choose. The Republic of Macedonia is a sovereign independent nation and deserves all the respect and recognition that goes with that sovereignty. Many countries have recognised common sense and practical realities and refer to the Republic of Macedonia, including the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Russia, China and India, just to name a few.

I would like to mention some people and organisations in my electorate who have been fostering friendly bilateral relations between Australia and Macedonia. Liverpool council's Peter Ristevski, through his leadership of our Macedonian community, has changed the way Liverpool City Council refers to his country. Instead of calling the country the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Liverpool City Council now refers to the Republic of Macedonia. Liverpool is the only government body in Australia which does not use the acronym FYROM. Furthermore Councillor Peter Ristevski, together with the Australian-Macedonian Chamber of Commerce, led an Australian trade delegation recently to Macedonia. One of the companies in the delegation, Global Road Technology, is a global road manufacturer based in Queensland that is looking to do business in Macedonia. It is tendering for multimillion dollar contracts in Macedonia against companies from the USA and China. Both of these countries recognise the Republic of Macedonia. We need to take every opportunity to promote trade between our two countries. Also noted is the tireless work of Ambassador Vele Trpevski on behalf of my constituents from the Republic of Macedonia. He is doing a great job to promote trade between Australia and Macedonia and it was an honour to recently meet him.