Steve Georganas (Adelaide, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I present the report of the Australian Parliamentary Delegation to the 31st annual meeting of the Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum, held in Manila, the Philippines, from 23 to 26 November 2023, and I ask leave of the House to make a short statement in connection with the report.

Leave granted.

I had the honour of leading Australia's delegation to the APPF annual meeting in Manila, accompanied by the members for Bass, Capricornia and Pearce. The theme for the annual meeting was Resilient Partnerships for Peace, Prosperity and Sustainability. The member for Capricornia and I also undertook a bipartisan program of engagements with senior Philippines government and parliament representatives in the lead-up to the annual meeting.

The APPF is an assembly of national parliaments which meets each year to discuss political, security and economic issues affecting our region. As a regional forum, the APPF emphasises the common goals and values of the people of the Asia-Pacific. Decisions at the APPF are made by consensus. In accordance with its usual practice, the APPF annual meeting comprised working group and drafting committee meetings, at which proposed resolutions lodged by member countries were considered and merged into one agreed text where possible; a meeting of women parliamentarians; and plenary sessions, at which delegates could make longer contributions and speak to their country's draft resolution. The plenary sessions were organised around three broad themes: political and security matters; economic and trade matters; and regional cooperation in the Asia-Pacific. Australia lodged four draft resolutions, the details of which are in our report.

Despite its small size, our delegation all participated at different stages in the overlapping working groups, drafting committee meetings, the meeting of women parliamentarians and the plenary sessions. In her speech during the meeting of women parliamentarians, the member for Capricornia spoke on the topic of women's participation and leadership. She drew on Australia's experience to acknowledge the steady increase in the representation of women in parliamentary roles in the Asia-Pacific but also reflected on the barriers that see the percentage of seats held by women in national parliaments across the region still below the global average.

The member for Bass and I spoke during the plenary session on political and security matters. In my speech I emphasised the capacity of regional parliaments to promote peace and stability and Australia's efforts to uphold international human rights, as well as our support for regional aid development and peacekeeping efforts. In her speech, the member for Bass highlighted the strong contribution to combating regional transnational crime being made by DFAT, AUSTRAC and Australia's law enforcement agencies.

During the plenary session on economic and trade matters, I highlighted Australia's efforts to understand the needs of its changing workforce and noted the importance of ensuring that the benefits of economic growth are shared across all strata of society, irrespective of gender, age, race, ethnicity or region.

The member for Bass and the member for Pearce both spoke during the third plenary session on regional cooperation in the Asia-Pacific. The member for Bass noted Australia's significant financial and logistical support for the region during the COVID-19 pandemic and our contribution to international efforts to improve reporting, preparedness and responses for future pandemics. In her speech the member for Pearce spoke on the importance of regional cooperation through education and culture. She emphasised the importance of equity and inclusion in regional education and highlighted Australia's strong contribution through development assistance and dedicated programs such as the Australia Awards Scholarships and the Australia Pacific Training Coalition.

In conclusion, the Australian delegation welcomed the opportunity to build and sustain relationships with our regional counterparts at the APPF annual meeting. We'd like to thank our hosts, the presiding officers of the Philippines congress, for their hospitality, and we commend the staff of the congress for their care and attention to detail in running a successful annual meeting. The delegation would also like to thank the staff of the International and Parliamentary Relations Office, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in both Canberra and Manila, and the Parliamentary Library for their assistance in the extensive preparations necessary for an APPF annual meeting.

I'd particularly like to express my appreciation to Mr Russell Chafer, our delegation secretary, who accompanied us and who I understand will be retiring in the near future. I greatly appreciated his support during this delegation, as I have on many previous occasions. All of us wish Russell well for the future. He'll be sorely missed.

The future of the APPF is, sadly, a little uncertain at this time. The next host country is yet to be identified, and it seems unlikely that an annual meeting will be held this year. Our delegation can attest to the benefits of direct engagement with our counterparts in the Asia-Pacific, and we endorse the Australian parliament's participation in the APPF and other regional fora. I commend the report to the House.