Deborah O'Neill (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On Monday of this week, I spoke in the chamber about my recent travel to Lithuania and the deeply enriching experience of meeting with diplomats, parliamentarians and stakeholders from a wide range of nations with whom I was privileged to be interacting. Opportunities for education, consultation and learning are rarely gifted to us, and they must be sought out. As parliamentarians, we have an active duty to engage with as many of our own constituents and stakeholders as possible and to actively seek out the wisdom and advice of exports whenever we are able to do so.

The work that's done within this parliament is not just important in the context of our own lives and the lives of our constituents. Australia is part of a global network of countries and communities who we must engage with, particularly those that support the values that are enshrined in the practices of our democracy here: a respect for the international order and the rule of law. Democracy is not something that we should ever take for granted. The capacity to stand in this place and speak on the matters which are of import to us and our communities is a privilege, and it was hard fought for and won. We must actively strive to preserve it. Australia must be increasingly international in our efforts to remain a benchmark for respect and tolerance within the international community and to continue our ongoing engagements with other nations.

Over the course of my travel through Ireland, the UK, Lithuania and Poland, I was privileged to engage with multiple ambassadors for Australia who are currently on postings overseas and serving our nation in that capacity. I spoke on Monday about my extensive engagement with the parliament of Lithuania and also Ambassador Lloyd Brodrick, who is the Australian ambassador to Poland and Lithuania.

I was also privileged to meet in Warsaw with Australia's ambassador to Ukraine, Mr Bruce Edwards. Many times in this place, I have sought to bring attention to Russia's illegal and immoral invasion of Ukraine and the need for Australia to ensure the ongoing condemnation of the gross breach of state sovereignty which has occurred. Ambassador Edwards's deep knowledge of the conflict and his ongoing representation of Australia within this region is commendable, and to meet with him and discuss the issues that prevailed as we approached the second year of the war, in February, was a very great privilege for me. Australia must continue to shine a light on the conflict within Ukraine and to provide whatever support we are able to provide for their people. We must be a trusted friend and a supporter of their democracy. I'm proud to be part of a government which continues to engage meaningfully with this issue, and I look forward to continuing to advocate for the Ukrainian people within the parliament. I also note that the Australian embassy in Kyiv has been relocated to Warsaw, in Poland, and it is only in recent weeks that Mr Bruce Edwards has been able to travel into Ukraine to meet with key stakeholders there and to continue to commit Australia's support for action to encourage and support the resolution of that war in Ukraine.

My travel concluded with a number of days in London at the international Parliamentary Intelligence-Security Forum. In particular, I want to thank those who played a crucial role in the formation and organisation of this event. One of those who provided opening remarks at the beginning of the conference was the Hon. Robert Pittenger, the chairman of the Parliamentary Intelligence-Security Forum. We were also given great insight into the particular situation in the UK by Alicia Kearns MP, a member of the House of Commons and chair of the United Kingdom's Foreign Affairs Committee; Colonel the Rt Hon. Bob Stewart, a member of the UK's parliament; and the Hon. French Hill, a member of the US Congress and of the US House intelligence, financial services and foreign affairs committees.

Gaining insights from these international players in the democracy space who are advocating for the advancement of good policy is important work for all of us to do. We have great leadership throughout the parliaments with the ministers and the departments who do the work, but each of us is called on to take our part. It's our responsibility to inform ourselves about what's happening in the world around us.

A number of panels throughout the conference were on matters of particular interest to us here in Australia and were particularly relevant to the work I'm undertaking. A panel on illicit finance was presented by parliamentary and industry experts from across the world. It touched on issues of financial crime and the response. It highlighted the ongoing need for engagement between nations as we seek to respond to criminal behaviour in the 21st century. As our world becomes increasingly interconnected there has to be capacity for governments and law enforcement agencies to work productively with one another in order to protect consumers and governments from dangerous cybercrime and illicit finance.

The panel was particularly important with respect to my role as the chair of the Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services. I look forward to sharing the insights gained through this panel with my colleagues and to continuing to undertake work on this matter through the forum of that committee and through input to discussions about legislation that comes to the chamber.

Earlier this morning there was debate on a private senator's bill that talked about digital assets. The matter of cryptocurrency and digital assets was also prominent throughout the conference. Earlier today I was hoping to speak to the bill and share some of the new knowledge on that matter. I expect the bill will return to the chamber, and I will make a contribution at that point in time.

As technology continues to develop and digital assets evolve it's crucial we have deep subject matter knowledge and capacity to generate appropriate and effective policy as a government. The insights gained on this matter throughout the conference, particularly through the panel discussion of industry experts, were deeply informative and notably heightened my understanding of the core issues at hand. There was discussion of adversarial foreign investments, which was of particular interest to me and deeply relevant to the work I previously undertook related to Australia's Foreign Investment Review Board. That was in my capacity as part of the Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services in previous parliaments.

International engagement with colleagues should not be an afterthought of governments. None of us should absolve ourselves of the responsibility to be 'team Australia' as part of this parliament and interact with our colleagues around the world. It's a crucial component of our responsibility as parliamentarians to engage meaningfully with those counterparts overseas, both to solidify Australia's crucial role in the international community and to ensure that our legislatures are benefiting from the full breadth of global knowledge that exists on matters that are relevant for us.

I put it simply: if Australians aren't in the rooms around the world where these matters are being discussed, we will be overlooked, and we have a vital role to play. Throughout the former government we saw again and again Australia's place on the global stage slipping and the international respect for our nation dwindling. I'm deeply proud of the work undertaken in this sector since the Albanese government has come to power, particularly the steps by Minister Wong to cement Australia's reputation on the international stage.

We are once again a respected and revered member of the global community, with leadership that is trusted by other nations. We cannot take this for granted. It's crucial for our stability and security that we can be relied on by all other nations. Our allies in particular need us to fulfil our obligations, to attend to our commitments to be international, global citizens, to use the opportunities that are granted to us, to seek the opportunities that we may be able to take and to advance Australia fair.

I look forward to next month when I will attend the Inter-Parliamentary Union's 147th assembly in Luanda, Angola, with a team of colleagues. Along with my colleagues from across this parliament, I will convene with parliamentarians from a wide range of other nations and engage in meaningful discussions related to but not exclusive to trade, human rights, economic stability and security. These particular opportunities through the IPU are incredibly important, and such engagement cannot be taken for granted. I consider it a deep privilege to represent this parliament in the international community at this forum.

I'm also looking forward with eagerness to December this year when I will join with members of the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties on a delegation to India. We will be able to meet with crucial stakeholders and further enrich our understanding of the importance of issues on which we must engage throughout the course of our work. Yesterday, in planning for that trip, I asked the secretariat to have a look at how we can see how Australia's international education is intersecting with the provision of Australian education in-country in India, which is a very significant growth sector for us.

Nothing great can be done alone. That's why it's crucial that Australia is a trusted partner on the global stage and that we engage meaningfully, proactively and frequently with other nations in the spirit of goodwill and in the interest of peace.