John Hogg (Queensland, Deputy-President) Share this | Hansard source

I present the report of the Australian parliamentary delegation to the 53rd Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference held in India and a bilateral visit to the Republic of the Philippines which took place from 24 September to 5 October 2007. With the concurrence of the Senate, I ask that a tabling statement be incorporated in Hansard.

Leave granted.

The statement read as follows—

I present the report of the Australian Parliamentary Delegation which attended the 53rd Conference of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association in India in September 2007, and then made a bilateral visit to the Philippines. The delegation consisted of myself, Senators Macdonald and Kirk and the Member for Scullin, Harry Jenkins, who was Deputy Leader.

The annual conference of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association is a key activity in furthering the Association’s aims of improving understanding and cooperation among Commonwealth parliamentarians and promoting the study of, and respect for, parliamentary democracy. The conference theme was Delivering Democracy and Sustainable Development. Six workshops and three plenary sessions addressed a wide range of topics around this theme. I had the honour of leading discussion on the Role, Rights and Responsibilities of the Opposition and Mr Jenkins led discussion on Global Water and Energy Use.

As well as the value of the formal sessions the conference provides an opportunity for delegates to talk informally, share experiences and build understandings that can form the basis of future cooperation and the advancement of democratic practices across the Commonwealth. I congratulate the Hon Somnath Chatterjee, Speaker of the Lok Sabha, and the Indian Parliament as a whole for the success of the Conference.

My colleague the Deputy President has previously raised concerns [Senator Hogg – Report in Dec 2004 on the 50th conference] about the resources required to run the CPA conference every year, and the need to ensure that funds are also available for regional activities. The need to ensure the financial stability of the Association and to retain a highly skilled and professional secretariat was an important issue which was discussed at the Executive Council meetings which I attended as the Australian representative. With some of my Pacfic Rim colleagues I also explored the idea of forming a grouping of members from our region which might meet to explore issues of mutual interest, and further discussions will be held on this proposal.

In the Philippines the Delegation visited Manila and the island province of Bohol. Meetings were held with senior members of the Philippines Congress, including our host the President of the Senate, Senator Manny Villar, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Jose De Venecia. We also met a range of national and local officials. Key issues which were discussed were the bilateral economic relationship between Australia and the Philippines, including opportunities for increased Australian investment in mining and agriculture, development assistance, and security issues, including the threat from Islamic extremists in the southern Philippines. The Delegation found the opportunity to explore these and other issues with our hosts extremely valuable.

The Delegation also welcomed the opportunity to reaffirm the mutual friendship and respect between our two countries. The depth of goodwill was clearly evident, not only in official meetings but also in the Delegation’s contact with members of the Philippines community in general.

The Philippines is the fourth largest recipient of Australian bilateral development assistance, with approximately $100 million allocated in the 2007-08 budget. In Bohol province the Delegation visited projects supported by these funds and was also privileged to have a comprehensive briefing from Governor Erico Aumentado and his staff on development plans for the province.

One of the projects we visited was the Villa Aurora Permaculture Project at Bilar in southern Bohol. The project benefits 60 farming families through capacity building, agroforestry development, enterprise development and watershed management. We were greeted very warmly by community members, who expressed their thanks for the Australian Government’s assistance. For our part, we were very pleased to see Australian aid funds being spent so effectively in providing not just immediate material and technical assistance but also in providing people with the skills to continue successful initiatives into the future.

An important meeting was with the Department of National Defense. There is significant high-level defence cooperation between Australia and the Philippines, and between specific agencies of the two countries. More than 120 Philippines defence personnel train in Australia each year. Australia is also contributing a $10 million counter-terrorism assistance package over a five-year period. We also met Eduardo Ermirta, Executive Secretary of the Philippines and Chair of the Anti-Terrorism Council. The reality of the terrorist threat in the Philippines was dramatically illustrated a month after the Delegation’s visit when two people, including a Member of the House of Representatives, were killed in an explosion at the House of Representatives.

The Philippines’ rapid population growth and its continuing inability to meet the demand for food from domestic production will lead to increasing opportunities for Australian agribusiness exports. Areas of potential include the supply of live cattle, sugar, fruit, vegetables, grains and cotton.

The Delegation was very interested in the environmental challenges facing the Philippines, which is one of the most mega-diverse countries in the world but which is also one of the worst hot spots for habitat destruction, with loss of forest cover being a major issue. Land-use changes, over-exploitation of resources, invasive species, pollution and climate change are all significant issues and Australia is assisting with the development of strategies to address habitat loss. The Philippines was one of the first countries to sign and ratify the Kyoto Protocol and has introduced a number of initiatives to combat climate change.

A major challenge for the Philippines is balancing care for the environment with the exploitation of its considerable mineral resources. Increasing world demand has seen a recent renewal of interest in the sector and Australia is one of the major foreign investors. Australia is a leading exponent of environmentally sensitive mining practices and opportunities for further investment in the sector were noted in several meetings the Delegation had during its visit.

Before I conclude I would like to thank my colleagues – Mr Jenkins and Senators Macdonald and Kirk for their active and enthusiastic participation and for making the delegation such a positive experience. I also thank the delegation secretary Mr Richard Selth from the Department of the House of Representatives, as well as the Parliamentary Relations Office, the Parliamentary Library and the Department of Foreign Affairs for the assistance they provided to the Delegation. In India the staff of the Australian High Commission, led by High Commissioner John McCarthy, and in the Philippines the staff of the Australian Embassy, led by Ambassador Tony Hely, provided excellent support and advice. I also wish to thank the many Indian officials who contributed to the smooth running of the CPA Conference and the staff of the Philippines Senate who managed our program so efficiently.