Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On behalf of the House I welcome as guests the President of the Senate and honourable senators to this sitting of the House of Representatives to hear an address by His Excellency Mr Joko Widodo, President of the Republic of Indonesia.

His Excellency Mr Joko Widodo having been announced and escorted into the chamber—

Mr President, I welcome you to the House of Representatives chamber. Your address today is a significant occasion in the history of the House of Representatives.

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, today we welcome the President of the Republic of Indonesia, His Excellency Joko Widodo. President Widodo, it is an honour and a privilege to have you here amongst us as a true friend. Selamat datang! And, President Widodo, we are welcoming not only you and your delegation at this time in this country, because at present we welcome 40 members of the Indonesian National Armed Forces, including military engineers and medical staff, who are currently assisting with bushfire relief and recovery in New South Wales, and today they're working on floods. We thank you, Mr President, we thank the people of Indonesia and we thank the Republic of Indonesia. Like a true friend, as you are, you have lent a great hand, and we are a grateful nation.

President Widodo, you join us here in the home of our democracy as the leader of our most important neighbour and as a dear, dear friend. Shortly after becoming Prime Minister—on my first overseas visit, in fact—I found myself at a school in Bogul, surrounded by young Indonesian students, brimming with promise—singing, in fact. So, I decided to tell them a story, as we often do we when visit our schools. I told them the story of a man I was on my way to meet that day; a man who had come from modest and humble beginnings; a man who had worked hard to put himself through university, who'd studied forestry and then set up a business and did what others thought he couldn't or perhaps shouldn't; a man who, as we say here in Australia, had a go. And then I asked the students, 'Do you know who I'm talking about?' and they didn't know, so I pointed across the room to a photo that hung on the wall, and it was your portrait. It was your story I told, which they knew as Bapak Jokowi. It was a story that showed we can make our own futures, and that is as true in Indonesia as it is here in this country. 'He's like you,' I told the students.

President Widodo, you have many admirers here in this chamber and that fill the galleries here today. We have watched and seen your great leadership in your country and throughout the region, and we know it and we trust it. Thanks to your leadership, Indonesia today is an even more dynamic and more successful country, to the great benefit of your people. Your commitment to deepening our two nations' partnership and strengthening our shared region in the Indo-Pacific is honoured here today. And I like to think we are countries that can cheer each other on. We can cheer on our successes together and, as Australia has appreciated in recent months, stand together in the so-many difficult times, as Australia will always with Indonesia, as you face other difficult times.

Many years ago, it was another generation of Australian leaders who championed and supported Indonesian independence—so much so that President Sukarno asked Australia to represent Indonesia in the UN discussions—a generation that dreamed and hoped for what we could achieve together. Our countries are living out that hope today. Of course, as our modern relationship has matured, there have been many times when we haven't agreed. That's only normal in the relationships between friends, where you have to deal with a multitude of challenges. But respect underpins the trust that we have formed.

Our countries work hard to understand where there are differences, rather than focus on them. We listen to each other, we learn from each other and, importantly, we are honest with each other. In doing so, we have discovered, as Prime Minister Menzies said during his first visit to Indonesia in 1959, that we have 10 times as much in common as we have in difference. And that is ever so today. Today, Australia and Indonesia have built the trust that underpins only the truest of friendships. Trust allows us to work through the differences that neighbours sometimes face. For Australia, we see Indonesia's success as something to be celebrated. We count Indonesia amongst our most important partners and it has now become, indeed, a convention that the first visit of any Prime Minister is to Jakarta.

There are many challenges in the Indo-Pacific region: the strategic competition, maintaining international rules and norms and a resurgence of terrorism and violent extremism, all of which we must face together because these are not challenges any of us can face alone. We need partners. We need our friends. As the Indonesian saying goes: berat sama dipikul, ringan sama dijinjing—heavy when shouldered alone, light if carried together.

Australia and Indonesia understand this well and we have worked together closely over many years on defence and counterterrorism issues; on maritime security, combatting smugglers and illegal fishing along our maritime border. Together, Australia and Indonesia are motivated by our shared concerns for our region and our shared vision for an open, prosperous Indo-Pacific underpinned by strong institutions, rules and norms. By continuing to work together, we can build the region's resilience and make our people safer and our economy stronger. Our ambitious comprehensive strategic partnership, which was finalised 18 months ago, gives us a framework for even closer ties. We now have a plan of action to take the next steps in our relationship. From trade and investment to defence, counterterrorism, maritime security, ocean sustainability and education, to name only some, and even today we add energy and the future of fuel sources for our nations to this long list. But that is only where our ambition begins. We know there is more to be done, especially on the economic front.

Indonesia is one of Australia's nearest northern neighbours, a growing trillion-dollar economy and the fourth most populous nation, but only our 13th-largest trading partner. Australia is Indonesia's 13th-largest too. There is enormous untapped potential for both nations, which we have recognised, and we are determined to unlock this through the IA-CEPA. And I want to acknowledge today the presence of former Prime Minister Mr Malcolm Turnbull, who did so much work to bring this to reality. Once in force, this modern, transformative agreement will do more than make trade easier; it will open the door to new economic opportunities and forge more partnerships between our businesses, farmers, investors, tech entrepreneurs, researchers and scientists.

One area where IA-CEPA can facilitate closer economic engagement is, of course, in education. Our educational connections already run deep, with 16,000 young Indonesian leaders studying in Australia every year, and I am delighted that the first university in the world to establish a branch campus in Indonesia will be Australia's Monash University. Monash Indonesia—what a combination, those two names!—will contribute powerfully to Indonesia's economic, social and technological development. It will deliver master's, PhD and professional training programs, and partner with Indonesia's leading national, private and Islamic universities to establish deep research links with Indonesian businesses. Our countries, economies and people are being drawn closer. That is something we have encouraged, with the New Colombo Plan, the BRIDGE program and interfaith exchanges also, something I know that President Widodo and I are both keen to promote.

Mr President, this 'black summer' the Australian and Indonesia people have suffered traumatic climatic events, with bushfires here in Australia and floods in Indonesia. Fire and flood—nature can be so indiscriminate. Sixty-one people died in new-year floods that hit Jakarta and the West Java and Banten provinces, with the most ferocious rain resulting in flash flooding and landslides. Despite their own struggles and amidst their own suffering, Indonesians remembered Australia and reached out to us also, kindness upon kindness. In Bali—a place that has become, for Australians, a home away from home—there were dozens of fundraisers to assist our fire efforts. For two days, 1,250 local taxi drivers from the Blue Bird Group made donations from every taxi trip booked in Bali. In Makassar, a group of Indonesians who had attended Australian universities raised funds for the Red Cross. In their words, 'We felt we had to do something to help.' And last week, in Surabaya, a six-year-old girl organised a school fundraiser; she wanted to help our koalas.

We're seeing the same generosity from the Indonesian community here in Australia too. In Darwin, a food bazaar event was organised by the local community group and supported by the Indonesian consulate. There was bakso, tahu isi and bakwan—and I apologise for my pronunciation—all on offer. One of the men behind the event, Dominic Witono, said that what he and his community had raised wasn't the biggest sum. But to that I would say: it was the bigness of his heart that mattered. These actions, and so many more, speak of the wonderful Indonesian character. These acts of kindness make me confident about Australia and Indonesia's future, President Widodo, as does your presence here today and your friendship. On behalf of this parliament and the Australian people, I welcome you again, and we look forward to your address. Terima kasih. Thank you, my friend.

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land upon which we meet and pay my respect to their elders, past and present. Selamat datang, teman-nya. Mr President, I would like to welcome you and Foreign Minister Marsudi to Canberra for this historic visit. I had the great pleasure of once again visiting Indonesia to meet with the foreign minister in August last year. For my first overseas visit as leader of the Australian Labor Party, Jakarta was the obvious choice. We think of the relationship between our nations—as neighbours, as partners and, importantly, as friends—as one of central importance. When I returned from Indonesia, I was filled with an even stronger personal commitment to the growth and the prospering of our relationship. Your visit comes as we are about to embark on a new stage in our relationship, as the comprehensive economic partnership agreement is brought into operation. I'm very pleased that Labor was able to support this agreement and I strongly hope it will see a new phase of economic engagement between our two countries.

Indonesia is on course to take its place among the top economies in the world—the fourth largest—over coming decades, yet our economic relationship has struggled to keep pace with the reality of Indonesia's economic rise. We therefore need to build on this recently finalised agreement, not only to dramatically increase our trade relationships but to widen this to our investment links. Beyond these, we also see it as an opportunity to deepen our economic, business, trade union and civil society links. So important is this goal that I've launched an Indo-Pacific trade task force within the Australian Labor Party, led by Luke Gosling. This task force will identify new ways in which Australia and Indonesia can expand our economic relationship alongside our other relationships in the region. Labor welcomes your ongoing work to improve Indonesia's attractiveness as an investment destination and to lay the foundations for long-term development, and it was a pleasure to have the opportunity to discuss those issues with you one on one earlier this morning. Should Labor come to government, we intend to again look at Australia's level of development assistance to Indonesia.

Your Excellency, as neighbours, Australia and Indonesia have a common interest in working together to shape our region, based on the principles of openness, transparency, democratic principles and inclusion. Our partnership finds strength in our unique histories and perspectives, but we cannot allow ourselves to be complacent. We must dedicate ourselves to building a deeper understanding between our diverse communities, not just our elites. Labor remains firmly focused on our partnership in all of its dimensions. Indeed, I'm pleased to count no fewer than four Bahasa speakers in the senior ranks of the Australian Labor Party, my good friends and colleagues: our Senate leader, Penny Wong; Chris Bowen; Stephen Jones; and Luke Gosling. Our partnership finds expression in so many ways—for example, your decision to send over 40 military engineers and other personnel to help us in our time of need during our ongoing bushfire crisis. This was the action of a true friend.

Your Excellency, just last Friday, I received an unexpected reminder of our relationship when visiting the New South Wales South Coast with my shadow cabinet. Prior to the meeting in Batemans Bay, we visited Mogo. This is a very small hamlet on the South Coast. It had been under threat. As you drive into the main street of town, you see homes that have been reduced to ash. There, in Mogo's main street alongside coffee shops and other stores, was a store run by a local, Trent Harvey, who was working in Sydney and decided to move back to set up a small business in Mogo. It is called Indo Direct. It has arts, furniture and every product imaginable imported from your great nation. Here it is: a town with a population of just over 300 demonstrating in a really practical way why increased trade is good for both our economies and both our peoples—in this case, Indonesia's manufacturers and artisans and, on Australia's side, our retail and tourism sectors. On behalf of Labor, I purchased a ceramic artwork as a gift for you—a small gift to remind you of your support for our bushfire communities. It is from your country but purchased in Mogo, a small town doing it tough. It's not what you expect to run into when you're in a small hamlet on the South Coast. We will make sure that you receive that later today, Mr President.

Indonesia's blossoming democracy stands as another basis for greater cooperation in our region and the wider world. Indonesia's successful historic transition to a multiparty democracy sends a powerful message and one that resonates all the more now at a time when we are seeing, unfortunately, a global trend towards authoritarianism. The Bali Democracy Forum is a great expression of this, and, in the future, I would be keen to do more with Indonesia to promote democracy in our region, and I'm sure I speak in this case on behalf of the entire parliament.

Of course, this isn't the only area where there's a great opportunity to work together as partners. Indonesia and Australia have already been able to work together on protecting the global order, founded on international law, which we both believe is so central to our individual destinies. In areas like the law of the sea, Indonesia has played an absolutely critical role, and we would also look forward to working with you on the challenge of addressing climate change, which is a threat to both our nations. Indonesia and Australia's networks of links across the globe are different but highly complementary and enable us to deliver more together at the global level than we could do apart as individual nations. For this reason, you can be confident that any future government that I lead will be committed to expanding on the important cooperation on the rules based order we have achieved to date. Regionally, Indonesia has always proven highly adept at bringing together divergent views in the region and finding ways to negotiate the challenging geopolitical environment that we face together—more recently, with your leadership, ASEAN members coming together around a shared ASEAN outlook on the Indo-Pacific. This work clearly evidenced your strategic wisdom, and Labor strongly supports the outlook.

Your Excellency, in closing, I hope you go away from your visit with a very clear understanding that, no matter which party forms government here in Canberra, you can expect a strong and bipartisan commitment to the importance of the relationship between not just our two nations but also our two peoples. And you can always count on an equally deep commitment to making our relationship an even better one. Thank you.

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, it gives me great pleasure to invite you to address the House.

His Excellency Mr JOKO WIDODO (President of the Republic of Indonesia) (11:57): (Translation) The Hon. Prime Minister, Scott Morrison; the Hon. Senator Scott Ryan; the Hon. Mr Tony Smith; the Hon. Anthony Albanese; honourable members of the Senate and the House of Representatives; distinguished guests and ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon. G'day, mate! I am deeply honoured to stand before the members of the Senate and the House of Representatives of Australia.

Distinguished members, on 2 February, one platoon of the Indonesian Army Corps of Engineers, along with personnel of the Indonesian National Agency for Disaster Management, 40 personnel, departed Indonesia to New South Wales. They have only one purpose: to work hand in hand with the Australian people to overcome the bushfire crisis in Australia. At the same time, teams from Indonesia and Australia are currently discussing possible cooperation for weather modification. On 23 December 2019, I reaffirmed to Prime Minister Morrison a clear message that Indonesia will always be with Australia during this difficult time. Following the untimely passing of Prime Minister Morrison's father, myself and the people of Indonesia are grieving with Mr Morrison and his family. True friends are people who stay with you during the good and the bad times. A friend in need is a friend indeed.

Australia never leaves Indonesia's side during times of disaster. The people of Indonesia will always remember when Indonesia was struck by a tsunami in 2004 in Aceh. Nine Australian soldiers, sadly, perished while assisting their grieving friends in Aceh. They are patriots. They are friends of Indonesia and they are heroes of humanity. Indonesia and Australia are destined to be close neighbours. We cannot choose our neighbours. We have to choose to be friends. Australia is Indonesia's closest friend.

Honourable members of parliament, 61 years ago, in 1959, Prime Minister Robert Menzies, during a visit to the University of Gadjah Mada, my alma mater, said, 'We have 10 times as much in common as we have in difference.' Despite the cultural differences between Indonesia and Australia, we share the same values: heroism; diverse ethnic groups and tolerance; democracy and respect for human rights as well as a commitment to protect the environment and beyond. The youth of Australia and Indonesia share similarities. Indonesia is currently entering a demographic dividend. There are 63 million youth aged 16 to 30 years, or 24 per cent of the total population. Most of them have a global outlook and are keen to collaborate and to innovate. Indonesia currently has one decacorn company and four unicorn companies, and the youth are the driving force. The young generation of Indonesia and Australia are brought up with similar values. They live in democratic settings. They are familiar with Netflix, Instagram and Facebook and actively exchange international perspectives. These form a strong foundation for shared values in building friendship at present and for the future.

Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, the 70 years of friendship between Indonesia and Australia is by no means a short period. Seventy years is platinum age—a strong platinum friendship not only between the governments and the parliaments but also between the people of the two nations. We must continue to solidify our friendship. We both need to prepare ourselves for when Indonesia and Australia reach 100 years of partnership, three decades from now. The year 2050, one century of our partnership, will be a monumental year. In the year 2050, Indonesia and Australia will transform to become major players in the region and on the world stage. According to PricewaterhouseCoopers, for instance, in the year 2050 the economy of Indonesia will become the fourth largest economy, with GDP around US$10.5 trillion. Indonesia will also become an emerging market with the world's third-largest middle class, but on the other side of the coin in the year 2050 the world will see more uncertainties. If this trend continues then the world in the next three decades will be even more disrupted. Global geopolitics and the geoeconomy are facing greater challenges. Stagnation of economic growth and even recession of the economy are looming large, and it is feared that the values of democracy and diversity are becoming more marginalised.

In the midst of enormous challenges, Indonesia and Australia must focus on strengthening our partnership. I'd like to propose a number of priority agendas as we head to one century of partnership. First, we must continue to advocate the values of democracy, human rights, tolerance and diversity—stop intolerance, stop xenophobia, stop radicalism and stop terrorism. Identity politics must be discouraged in our countries and globally, regardless of its religious, ethnicity or other identity basis. Identity politics is a threat to democracy, a threat to diversity and a threat to tolerance. These threats will become even more actual when exploited for short-term political interests, resulting in hatred, fear and even social conflict. As democratic and diverse countries, we must work hard, side by side, standing together to defend the values of democracy, tolerance and diversity and to prevent the world having a clash of civilisations.

Second, Indonesia and Australia must reinforce open, free and fair economic principles. Whilst protectionism is rising we must continue to advocate economic openness and fairness. Amidst the growing popularity of the zero-sum-game approach, we need to bolster a win-win paradigm. I very much believe an open and fair economic system will be beneficial for all. That is the reason I greatly welcome the Indonesia-Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, IA-CEPA. 'Collaboration' is the keyword. Collaboration will create opportunities to develop new centres of economic growth and to find a solution for the global economic challenges. This is what Indonesia and ASEAN are projecting through the ASEAN outlook on the Indo-Pacific. This outlook will turn rivalries into cooperation. Thus the outlook will transform trust deficit into strategic trust. When correctly implemented, the Indo-Pacific region will become the future centre for global economic growth. Indonesia and Australia must become the anchors for cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region.

Third, Indonesia and Australia must become the anchors for development partners in the Pacific region. Indonesia understands the development challenges in the Pacific region. As a fellow island state, Indonesia faces similar challenges with countries in the Pacific region. Climate change and natural disasters, as well as social inequality, education, health and human resources development, are the real challenges facing countries in the Pacific region. Indonesia and Australia must become true friends for countries in the Pacific region, collaborating as development partners, addressing the impacts of climate change, alleviating poverty and social inequality, and creating new centres of economic growth in the Pacific region.

Fourth, we must work together to protect the environment, to achieve sustainable development and reforestation in forest and river upstream areas, to prevent forest and land fires, to commit to lowering carbon emissions and to develop renewable energy and other green technologies. Indonesia's plan to build a new capital city is part of the commitment—a smart city, a smart metropolis with green technology and friendly to the environment, whilst being part of the efforts to transform the economy, based on innovation, science and technology.

The collaboration in the Indonesia-Australia partnership in the midst of rising global uncertainties can be illustrated by the movie Avengers: Endgame. When the forces of good unite, the Avengers assemble and the common enemy can be defeated. When Indonesia and Australia continue to collaborate and come together against intolerance and protectionism, the fear of poverty and the threat of climate change can be overcome.

Honourable members of parliament, in addition to those four focus areas, the anchor for cooperation between Indonesia and Australia in 2050, three decades from now, rests in our youth. I would like to propose a notion of an 'Aus-Indo wave', an Australia-Indonesia wave for the youth of Indonesia and Australia. We need to promote the trend of close ties between Indonesia and Australia to our youth and we must encourage love for Indonesia amongst Australian youth and, vice versa, love for Australia amongst Indonesia's younger generation. Our youth today are the leaders of tomorrow. Investing in the young generation will further strengthen the Indonesia-Australia partnership. We already have great assets. Today there are 160,000 Australian students learning Bahasa Indonesia and 21,000 Indonesian youths studying in Australia. If this continues, the Indonesia-Australia partnership, which, in the year 2050 coincides with one century of our countries' partnership, will benefit not only our people, but also the world's.

To close, allow me to quote the famous Jimmy Little, an Aboriginal activist from Australia:

We're all gifted with the opportunity to succeed. But you get further if you extend the hand of friendship.

Through friendship, the relationship between Indonesia and Australia will not only benefit the prosperity of the countries but also our region and the world as a whole. Thank you very much.

Mr President, on behalf of the House, I thank you for your address. We all wish you a successful and enjoyable stay here in Australia. Can I thank the President of the Senate and senators for their attendance. I now invite the Prime Minister to escort our guest from the chamber. As the Prime Minister introduces the President, I'll suspend the sitting, but of course members should remain here while the introductions take place. The chair will be resumed at the ringing of the bells.

Sitting suspended from 12:14 to 14:30