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

I think it is appropriate to take note of this report because, whilst it deals with a whole range of aspects of the operation of the Australian National University—from my reading of it, quite a number of pages contain a wide range of statistics—one thing that really does not stand out in it, which I would like to see stand out, is the Commonwealth parliamentary internships program, whose internships operate through this parliament.

This Commonwealth parliamentary internships program touches all sides of politics. It stretches across both the Senate and the House of Representatives. It is not a partisan political issue. It is an opportunity for young Australians, as part of their university course, to do a specific project through and with the cooperation of members of parliament, parliamentary officers and parliamentary committees.

I understand that the program has been running now since 1993. At that time the then Presiding Officers signed off on a program with the then Vice-Chancellor of the Australian National University to establish a cooperative program in which students enrolled in the Australian National Internships Program would undertake internships with the parliament. I understand that, since its inception, some 930 students or more have proceeded through that program.

The interesting thing is that we get a diverse range of students in a diverse range of disciplines. As young people, they are all terribly enthusiastic, which is great indeed—and sometimes some of them are more mature students. We get students from not just the local area here but across Australia and we also get international students. It has been my pleasure now to have had a number of these people pass through my office. They have always been very cooperative and the standard of the work that they do is second to none.

I always impress upon these young people, as they come to do an internship with me, that they are not only welcome but also being given an opportunity that many of us would have liked to have been afforded in our youth but, of course, missed out on for a number of reasons. Of course, they make the most of the special opportunity that is made available to them.

My experience has been that invariably it is an eye-opening experience for them. Obviously, they meet firsthand with not just the senator or the member of the House of Representatives that they are studying with but also a wide range of other students, whom they probably would normally never have come in contact with. They get to use the facilities that are associated with this place to enable them to enrich their knowledge and, at the end of the day, to gain not only a better academic appreciation of what parliament is about but also a broader social context of what parliament is about and how it operates.

A handout that I have on the program says that people have come from countries such as Canada, China, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, Nigeria, the Philippines, Singapore, Sweden and the United States; so they have come from everywhere. The success of the scheme is a testament to the members of the parliament, to the officers of the parliament and to the foresight of the ANU to institute such a program here. It would be wonderful indeed if, in the ANU report, they could sneak in just a little more than a hidden line about this wonderful achievement that they undertake on behalf of education in Australia for young Australians and in bridging the gap between young people and the parliamentary process.

Stephen Parry (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I wish to comment on the same Australian National University report and will be very brief. I totally endorse the comments by Deputy President Hogg. At present, I have a second intern working in my office. The value of this program is not just as stated in the outline that Senator Hogg has given us; there is also value to the Parliament of Australia. My first intern compiled an important aspect of a report for the skilled migration inquiry, which was incorporated and tabled with that committee. My current intern is working on the issue with the Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity.

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

I thought it might be how to use a tape measure.

Stephen Parry (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

No, definitely not, Senator Hogg. So the value to the parliament will be great. Hopefully this report will also be tabled with that committee when that committee is up and running. So I endorse the remarks of Senator Hogg. I seek leave to continue my remarks later.

Leave granted; debate adjourned.