Luke Simpkins (Cowan, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Recently, this parliament established the Australian-Azerbaijani Parliamentary Friendship Group, and I am very pleased that the Chief Government Whip endorsed my request to chair this group. The Republic of Azerbaijan is not a nation that many Australians know much about. It is situated in the south Caucasus, bordering Russia to the north, Georgia, Armenia and Turkey to the west, Iran to the south and the Caspian Sea to the east. Azerbaijan has experienced high economic growth due to its vast reserves of Caspian Sea oil and gas. Although Azerbaijan's economy is heavily reliant on oil and gas production, they are seeking to diversify their economy given the challenges of lower oil prices. With regard to oil exports, the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline extends over 1,770 kilometres from Baku via Georgia and into the Mediterranean Turkish port of Ceyhan, where the oil is loaded onto tankers for Europe. Just last year in September, BP began construction of the Southern Gas Corridor. By 2019, it will link reserves from the Shah Deniz field to Europe via Turkey.

The capital city is the very modern and advanced city of Baku. Azerbaijan itself has a population of around 9.5 million. Australia recognised Azerbaijan's independence on 26 December 1991, after Azerbaijan regained independence from the Soviet Union. Our diplomatic contact is via our ambassador in Ankara. Azerbaijan established an embassy in Australia in June 2013, and I acknowledge the efforts of the ambassador, His Excellency Mr Rovshan Jamshidov, and his staff here in Canberra.

I recently had the opportunity to visit Azerbaijan at the invitation of the Chairman of the Australian-Azerbaijani Parliamentary Friendship Group, Mr Khanlar Fatiyev MP. I acknowledge the efforts in Perth of great friends of Azerbaijan Mr John Hammond of Hammond Legal and Ms Aida Rzaeva. They worked and continue to work with Mr Fatiyev to promote the relationship between Australia and Azerbaijan.

With my colleagues in the federal parliament and, in particular, the deputy chair, Alan Griffin MP, we are now looking to advance that relationship—at the political level, yes, but also through so many other facets of a potentially very good trade relationship.

As I said, we recently had a chance to visit Azerbaijan, and it was a most interesting visit. As I also said, Baku is a modern and impressive city. The nation itself is clearly a very good example of a democracy at work, where there is great respect for different religions and even ethnicities. We should certainly acknowledge the location of Azerbaijan and the challenges that it has as a result. Russia, to the north, is unhappy with Azerbaijan's involvement with the European Union. Iran, to the south, is also a Shiah Muslim country but with much different views on the observance of religion, and they frequently show their views to Azerbaijan. To the west, there is Armenia, closely allied with Russia and the illegal occupiers of the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan. This is a challenging geopolitical landscape and the way in which they have established a functioning democracy and a nation with great respect for different faiths should be an example to others in the region. The Republic of Azerbaijan is a Shiah Muslim country, but it was interesting to visit a Jewish synagogue in Quba and see churches and mosques all allowing worshippers to observe their respective faiths without fear of persecution. I met several people who were Muslim but married Jewish people. Also, despite the ongoing issues with Armenia, I met people who were part Armenian, and that was no problem in Azerbaijan.

This year Azerbaijan hosted the first European Games, in Baku, and a few years ago the Eurovision Song Contest was held in the city. These events were an endorsement of the Republic of Azerbaijan, and a close look at that nation demonstrates its success as a nation and the success of all of its people, and we should acknowledge these matters.

I know that the United Nations has raised human rights issues about Azerbaijan. As the chair of the friendship group, I plan for the members of the group to examine these matters more closely. The ambassador of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Mr Jamshidov, and Mr Fatiyev have offered their full support for us to look at these issues. I note as well that, on 1 November 2015, a general election will take place in Azerbaijan. This is the moment when the state of the Azerbaijan democracy can be assessed. I have great confidence that observers will see that the elections are fair and that alternative political viewpoints will be heard. I think that the world should be objective on Azerbaijan. Yes, look at the nation critically, but also be prepared to acknowledge that, in comparison to its neighbours and, in fact, most nations in the world, it is a modern and stable country. It is an economic and political success. It is a good democracy where religious rights and the rights of minorities are protected. As the Chair of the Australian-Azerbaijani Parliamentary Friendship Group, I will do my duty to see that the relationship between our nations is strengthened and that the Australian view on Azerbaijan is fair and, above all, accurate. I look forward to an ever-improving relationship of mutual benefit for the people of Australia and the people of Azerbaijan.