Nick Minchin (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance and Administration) Share this | Hansard source

Even my Adelaide constituents would consider that Sydney Harbour is better than Adelaide harbour, and it was an opportunity to showcase that great harbour to the world. Just as in the Sydney Olympics the whole world saw what a magnificent city Sydney is, through APEC the whole world has seen what a fabulous city Sydney is. I dare say that the tourism industry, having reaped a harvest from the Sydney Olympics, will now reap a harvest of tourism dollars from the fact that Sydney has received such extraordinary advertising—and I dare say, now that you have mentioned it, that The Chaser played some part in giving enormous publicity to Sydney through its particular activities at the Sydney APEC meeting.

I think Senator Brown should acknowledge the great opportunity that APEC provided for Australia. It is a great pity that meetings of this kind involving some 21 world leaders, leaders of three or four of the biggest countries on earth, the biggest economies on earth—such as China and Russia—regrettably have to be surrounded by inordinate security. I can say, as Minister for Finance and Administration, that I hate having to pay those bills. But the fact is that all these leaders are under threat. We do live in a much more dangerous world than any of us would like. There is terrorism abroad. All of these leaders face threats in their everyday lives. It is sad that the United States President, on the advice of his security delegation, has to get into a convoy to go 200 metres—that he cannot walk. That is a great pity, but I am afraid that that is the sort of world we live in and therefore inordinate security, regrettably, is required for these leaders to gather. But woe betide the world where leaders of this kind cannot meet together.

It is fabulous that leaders of these major nations, representing the APEC economies, can meet together in the great city of Sydney in the great country of Australia and discuss the very significant issues that face our region, from climate change to free trade, to security, to developing our economies, to increasing the prosperity of the peoples of the Asia-Pacific region. So I congratulate both the Prime Minister and the Premier of New South Wales on their hosting of this great meeting and on the fact that they were able to gather together such significant world leaders and achieve such great outcomes for this country and the whole region.