Ann Sudmalis (Gilmore, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There is absolutely no way I can express the deep and heartfelt pride I felt to be part of the United Nations General Assembly last year. Truly, Australia is a well-respected world leader and negotiator at the discussions, forums and votes at the international gathering. There are conferences within conferences and events held over lunchtimes and evenings, pushing information exchange opportunities until you feel overwhelmed and diminished by the sheer passion, exuberance and dedication of everyone involved—from Gillian Bird, Head of Mission, and Tegan Brink, Deputy Head of Mission, to David Yardley, Natalie Cohen, Peter Stone and Brad Bressington. I thank each and every one of you for your briefings, friendship, explanations and efforts in getting me up to speed on huge and significant international scenarios and initiatives.

Australia can do, and does, an outstanding job and is so well respected. But you would never know that from our domestic media, which is such a shame. Our efforts are applauded and often other much larger nations follow our lead. I was privileged to meet Ian Bate and Philippa Adams, both working with the AFP and they told me of the UN initiatives and events, training international security forces.

What an absolute blast it was to be able to present to the United Nations Security Council Australia's position paper on women, peace and security. I quote some of that speech here:

There is no one-size-fits-all solution to ensuring women's meaningful participation in peace processes. We need research, and to share knowledge, to translate the theoretical concepts of the Women, Peace and Security agenda, into action and good practice. We need to identify solutions and approaches that are context specific, inclusive, and informed by experience, especially that of local actors.

Towards Inclusive Peace is an Australian-funded research project, in partnership with Australian Universities, focusing on Women, Peace and Security, in the Indo-Pacific region. This research, which also informed the Expert Report, is showing that one of the most crucial factors in securing lasting peace agreements, is the active presence of women's civil society organisations.

I think most women would have been able to point to that. I continue:

Women's organisations are on the ground before, during and after conflicts, they help mediate and resolve conflict, rebuild community relations and trust in institutions. Yet women's organisations in our region tell us that it is often only when women enter the post-conflict security sector, or government, that their governance skills, capabilities and qualities are fully appreciated.

I learnt that Australia is the founding and largest donor to the Women's Peace and Humanitarian Fund, in support of women's grassroots organisations. Indeed, I was honoured to speak on behalf of our nation on three separate occasions, and I will forever hold these as precious and unique moments of national pride.

Ending domestic violence is seen not only as a human right for women but also as the catalyst for enhancing the social fabric of a nation, leading to overall peace and security—big aims, a big picture, but a huge international benefit. I would hope that everyone does something positive to raise awareness of domestic and family violence, and then take action for its prevention.

I was completely taken aback when I chose to attend a session called the Legacy of UNMIL. I thought, 'So many acronyms, and what am I doing attending a United Nations Military in Liberia session?' It was a fascinating brief of Australia's research and potential change for good by looking more closely at the UN peacekeeping mission in urban environments. What can be done with the military infrastructure after departure? Offices, hospitals and security are all sitting in a green zone bubble. Australia has an idea of integrating these into the greater community, and it began in Liberia.

In general, Australians are often in the dark about our role and our significance in the United Nations. We truly need to make sure that we know what is going on. I thank the Hon. Jenny Macklin for her friendship as we shared this experience.

On my return, one of my constituents came and shared her story, to add to the understanding of the great work that Australia does in its aid program. Carol Scherret went as a skilled volunteer with the Australian Volunteers for International Development program to take on the challenges of creating genuine vocational pathways for students with disabilities in Fiji. Vocational pathways are rare there, the usual outcome being crime, begging or domestic duties, and they're stuck with their family. Carol recognised that hospitality and tourism could be a solution. They were a bit worried about abuse of these vulnerable students, so the work experience outside the school and supervision was seen as too great a risk. Instead they had a pop-up cafe. All teaching areas contributed, including art, money handling and food safety. Students ran their own cafe. Good on you, Australia. We've done it again.