Linda Reynolds (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

by leave—I present the report of the Australian Parliamentary Delegation to the 146 Inter-Parliamentary Union assembly in Manama, Bahrain, which took place from 11 to 15 March this year. I seek leave to move a motion to take note of the document.

Leave granted.

I move:

That the Senate take note of the document.

Among the many amazing things that the Australian delegation achieved at the Bahrain IPU meeting, there is one in particular that I'm very proud of and on which I wish to speak here today, and that is Australia's leadership in the antitrafficking movement in relation to orphanage trafficking—what's also referred to as voluntourism. I thank very much all of the Australian delegates, so ably led by the Speaker of the other place, in relation to this document that we passed.

For those of you who haven't heard me talk about orphanage trafficking, it is a uniquely 21st-century form of modern slavery and trafficking, and that is the trafficking of children into so-called orphanages and other types of institutions to meet our overwhelming demand to assist orphans. Our demand to assist and volunteer with orphans far outstrips supply, which has rather perversely—in fact, very perversely—created this trade in millions of children into thousands of institutions around the world, including here in our region. At the 146th IPU assembly in Bahrain, the standing Committee on Democracy and Human Rights discussed and endorsed my proposal, which was presented on behalf of the Australian delegation and the Australian parliament, on this important issue. Accordingly, the IPU has appointed me as a rapporteur on this issue. I see Senator Payman is coming into the Senate, and I thank her in particular for her fabulous support for this cause.

I was delighted to present to the IPU on this issue, and we had nearly 40 interventions from a wide range of countries, overwhelmingly in support of action on this. They have approved for Australia to come back to the October IPU meeting in Angola to put a motion formally. I've been working with world experts literally from across the globe on this issue, and we're about to circulate a motion to nearly 150 IPU member nations. Assuming they come back with support, that will then be put to the meeting, and the result of that will mean that representatives from 140-plus nations will have endorsed global action on this insidious issue.

I'll conclude by saying that this is a problem that we have created. Our good intentions have led to the most awful outcomes for millions of poor children around the world. The simple principle in our aid programs has to be this: if it is not good enough for our own children—if institutionalisation and removal from their families is not good enough for our own children—it boggles my brain as to why so many Australians would be rushing overseas to support the institutionalisation of other people's children. There are so many other options and different programs for Australians and people from many other nations to support. That has been the key message, including from the EU and the United States: that we have done much harm inadvertently to other people's children and we have an overwhelming moral obligation now to remedy that and to encourage generous people from Australia and elsewhere to support programs that support children in their communities with their families so they can stay, grow and prosper and not be exploited in institutions.