Lucy Wicks (Robertson, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I present the report of the Australian Parliamentary Delegation tothe 142nd Inter-Parliamentary Union Assembly, held in virtualformat from 24 to 28 May 2021, and seek leave of the House to make a short statement in connection with the report.

Leave granted.

The Inter-Parliamentary Union, or IPU, is an international organisation of parliaments dedicated to promoting peace through diplomacy and dialogue. Australia has a longstanding commitment to attend IPU assemblies and meetings, and our participation facilitates stronger bilateral and multilateral relationships with other nations and helps promote parliamentary democracy. The important work of the IPU has continued through the COVID-19 pandemic. The 142nd assembly of the IPU was scheduled to take place in person during April 2020. However, due to the global pandemic the assembly was postponed until May 2021 and conducted in virtual format. I had the pleasure of leading the Australian delegation at the 142nd assembly and participated alongside Senator Sarah Henderson, Senator Deborah O'Neill and the member for Bruce, Julian Hill.

The theme of the assembly was 'Overcoming the pandemic today and building a better tomorrow: the role of parliaments'. The assembly was attended by over a thousand delegates, including 755 parliamentarians from 133 member parliaments. Of these, almost 40 per cent were women and a quarter were young MPs. In addition to contributing to the general debate at the assembly, the Australian delegation actively participated in meetings of the Asia-Pacific geopolitical group and the Twelve Plus geopolitical group before the assembly.

I'd very much like to thank my fellow delegation members for their continued commitment to Australia's engagement in the IPU, and I also congratulate Senator O'Neill on her appointment to the IPU standing committee to promote respect for international humanitarian law, as a representative of the Asia-Pacific group. On behalf of the delegation, I acknowledge the staff of the Parliamentary Library, who provided briefing materials, and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, in Canberra, who provided advice to the delegation. I also want to acknowledge the work of the delegation secretary, particularly Sophie Dunstone, who has been an incredibly invaluable source of advice and support. I commend this report to the House.