Lisa Singh (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

by leave—I table and present the report of the Australian parliamentary delegation to the 33rd General Assembly of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly held in Lombok, Indonesia, which took place from 16 to 22 September 2012. I seek leave to move a motion to take note of the document and to speak to the motion.

Leave granted.

I move:

That the Senate take note of the document.

It was an honour to represent Australia as an observer country at the general assembly and to discuss the interests and concerns we share with countries in our region. The main focus of the AIPA general assembly was the role of parliamentarians in the establishment of an ASEAN community by 2015. It is evident that there is a unified commitment among member countries to achieve this and Australia, too, supports that goal—in particular through the ASEAN-Australia Development Cooperation Program. I gave a speech to the general assembly in which I talked about how Australia is committed to deepening our relations with ASEAN.

We noted with satisfaction that several new initiatives were announced by Prime Minister Gillard during the last East Asia Summit meeting held in Bali in November 2011. I note that there has been another East Asia Summit since then. At the November 2011 East Asia Summit, Australia committed $24 million to combat infectious diseases in people and animals across the region; $32 million to combat pandemics—announced at the fifth East Asia Summit; $1 million to support a disaster coordination secretariat in the ASEAN humanitarian assistance centre in Jakarta; $8 million for the UN World Food Programme to improve emergency preparedness in the region. We also committed to hosting two seminars exploring how East Asian cities can become more sustainable and adapt to climate change.

It was indeed a great opportunity to build relationships between ASEAN parliamentarians and Australia—for Australia to strengthen ties between ASEAN parliamentarians in the region and meet with other observer parliaments such as Canada, India, China, and the European Parliament, to name a few. One of the most significant elements of the assembly was the formal dialogue between myself, my co-delegate colleague, Mr Simpkins, and ASEAN parliamentarians. During that dialogue, key issues directly related to people in ASEAN countries—and how Australia currently responds to those issues—were covered. Issues including human-resource development and capacity building, agriculture, food production and forestry, and climate change and environmental issues were canvassed in detail. What was clear was the fact that Australia engages in varied yet strong cooperation with ASEAN countries. Australia became an observer of ASEAN in 1974 and since that time the relationship has become a lot stronger because both parties see the importance of enhanced relations in creating peace and prosperity in the region.

Since the time of the AIPA general assembly we have, as a nation and a government, released the Australia in the Asian century white paper, cementing our strong bonds to the Asian region—including with ASEAN countries—and framing a narrative that recognises that we are, indeed, living in the Asian century and that Australia has an important role to play in it. It will be interesting and important for the next Australian delegation to canvas ASEAN member states' views on the white paper when the next AIPA general assembly is held next year.

It was also pleasing to see AIPA host a women's AIPA on one of the days and to witness how the number of women parliamentarians has grown in ASEAN parliaments. The importance of women's empowerment and the necessity for ASEAN parliaments to address woman-related issues was an important component. Three resolutions were adopted at the women's AIPA—firstly, support for ASEAN member states in strengthening collaboration in implementing the Millennium Development Goals to narrow development gaps; secondly, support for the role of women parliamentarians in enhancing pro-woman policies in the economic, health and education sectors; and finally, support for enhancing capacity building by training women in rural areas in relevant and specific skills. The AIPA committees also addressed political, economic, social and organisational matters. There was clearly a desire to improve bilateral, regional and multilateral relations between countries in an effort to support the establishment of an ASEAN community by 2015.

I would like to thank the host country, Indonesia, for its professionalism and generous hospitality in hosting the 33rd assembly, particularly the president of AIPA and speaker of the Indonesian House of Representatives, His Excellency Dr Marzuki Alie, and my Indonesian aide, Ami, who did an excellent job of organising the Australian delegation. All delegates certainly appreciated the well organised nature of the assembly provided by the Indonesian parliament. I would like to acknowledge the input of my House of Representatives colleague on the delegation, Mr Luke Simpkins. I would also like to thank the International and Community Relations Office, especially the secretary of the delegation, Ms Peggy Danaee, who provided unwavering support in the lead-up to and throughout the assembly; and Dr Cameron Hill from the Parliamentary Library for his research into Australia and ASEAN countries. Finally, I would like to highlight how important this dialogue is for ASEAN parliamentarians and also how important it is for Australia to observe their work and share ideas, initiatives and commitments with them in this Asian century.

Question agreed to.