Roger Price (Chifley, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I present the report of the Australian parliamentary delegation to the Republic of Serbia and to the 119th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union held in Geneva, Switzerland, 4 to 18 October 2008, and I ask leave of the House to make a short statement in connection with the report.

Leave granted.

This was a very important delegation, as it was the first Australian parliamentary delegation to visit the Republic of Serbia. As such, a major objective was to establish relations with the new Serbian parliament. This was achieved through a series of valuable and informative meetings held with the speaker and vice-speaker of the national assembly, with ministers, secretaries of state and political leaders.

Serbia is a young democracy, and the delegation was impressed by the continuing efforts to develop and enhance democratic traditions. The delegation considers that Australia could provide assistance in strengthening parliamentary democracy by sponsoring exchanges of parliamentary staff and/or officials through AusAID programs or through the Australian parliament. The delegation was also impressed by the younger, well-educated, progressive and professional generation of ministers and political leaders that it met. They have great dedication and confidence in the future of their country and see membership of the EU as the way ahead.

Two major issues were constantly raised during our meetings. The first was the move towards membership of the EU, which has strong support politically and within the population. The harmonisation of laws being undertaken across ministries to meet European requirements has the added result of bringing strong benefits economically and socially to Serbia. However, disappointment was expressed that the Dutch parliament continued to block further progress by refusing to ratify the EU Stabilisation and Association Agreement. Full cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, including all possible efforts to arrest and transfer indictees, is an essential element of the agreement. Serbia has been cooperating fully with The Hague Tribunal and European requirements by arresting and transferring to The Hague many people, including Radovan Karadzic. The delegation did not find evidence of any reluctance to pursue the two remaining indictees, including Ratko Mladic.

The second major issue related to Kosovo. The delegation gained a deeper understanding of Serbia’s position on the issue of Kosovo’s independence and Serbia’s perspective on the region. Serbia regards Kosovo as an integral part of its identity and remains very determined not to recognise Kosovo’s independence. Significantly, Serbia chose to pursue its strong objections through diplomacy and the rule of law, which saw Kosovo’s independence referred to the ICT by a United Nations vote during the delegation’s visit.

Serbia is very aware of its former image and is very keen that its commitment to and utilisation of international legal procedures will enhance its new image, emphasise its emerging democratic status and gain international respect. In addition to adopting pro-European policies, Serbia remains committed to regional cooperation. It is actively involved in a range of regional organisations and initiatives. Serbia is in a position of strength within the Balkan region and is a key to stability in the region.

It is important that the world community encourage and support a democratic and pro-Western Serbia. The delegation also met with a range of people from across a broad spectrum of society. The delegation considers that there is significant potential for increased cooperation or bilateral agreements across many sectors. Trade is at very low levels and offers scope for development. The scientific, technological and educational sectors are areas where exchanges of information and expertise could provide significant benefits and development. In education the greatest potential exists at the tertiary level and especially in cooperation with research and the opportunity for student exchanges to pursue graduate or postgraduate study and research. The environmental and resources sectors also provide potential for assistance, especially in the areas of environmental protection and waste management. Culture and the arts are areas that could also benefit from Australian support and assistance, financial or otherwise. A highly developed and sophisticated artistic scene in Serbia is led by a number of extremely motivated and dynamic people. While artistic and theatrical troupes receive full support from the Serbian government, there is limited opportunity to travel, due to expense.

The success of the delegation’s visit was due to the dedicated work of many. I would like to thank Mrs Slavica Djukic-Dejanovic, Speaker of the national assembly, and all our Serbian hosts. Meeting Madam Speaker proved particularly invaluable, as both Madam Speaker and the delegation were attending the following week’s IPU meeting in Geneva and both countries are members of the Twelve Plus geopolitical group at the IPU.

I would especially like to thank Ambassador Claire Birgin, Melanie Davies and all the staff at the Australian embassy, who performed such an outstanding job in arranging such a comprehensive program of meetings, not just at the political and governmental levels but also with senior representatives from the educational, scientific, religious, artistic and cultural fields. To compile such a program in a relatively short time frame is testimony to their professional capabilities, dedication and enthusiasm.

Moving on to the Inter-Parliamentary Union meeting, a large section of time was devoted to the panel discussions on the subjects before the three standing committees. I was honoured to deliver the draft report and introduce the panel discussion on the subject considered by the First Standing Committee: ‘Advancing nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament, and securing the entry into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty: the role of parliaments’. It was a lively panel discussion, with some 50 speakers representing many countries contributing to the debate and a number of others who had wished to contribute not being able to do so by the expiration of the discussion time. Considerable interest was generated by the draft report, with a range of issues being raised and many comments being made during the debate. These have been taken into consideration as the report has been redrafted and a preliminary resolution prepared for submission and finalisation at the next IPU meeting in April 2009, which, Mr Speaker, you will lead.

The issue of admitting Palestine to membership of the IPU and the necessity of amending IPU statutes and rules to permit this to occur had been postponed from the previous IPU meeting in Cape Town. When the question to amend the IPU statutes and rules was put at the Geneva meeting, a rollcall vote was taken, with Australia voting to oppose the change. With the rule changes having been agreed to, the question to accept Palestine as a member passed on the voices. Australia also opposed this question, though a formal rollcall vote was not taken.

The issue of Palestine is a highly complex one. The delegation had been briefed on Australia’s position regarding the situation with Palestine and the Middle-East and upheld this position in exercising its vote. The delegation considered that the proposed amendment of the IPU statutes and the admission of Palestine was highly inappropriate, and it was not consistent with the IPU’s own statutes, which state that the function of the IPU is to represent parliaments of sovereign nations. Although the amendment was argued to be specifically drafted to admit only Palestine, the delegation considered that it would set an unhelpful precedent because it may encourage other non-state entities to pursue similar representations and was clearly politically motivated.

Australia’s position is to recognise Palestinian aspirations for statehood and to strongly support a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian issue, based on the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people to a state of their own and Israel’s right to live in peace with secure borders. The delegation did not consider that the course of action being proposed through the IPU would advance this position or enhance the peace process.

Australia maintains an active membership of both the Twelve Plus and Asia-Pacific geopolitical groups. In the Asia-Pacific group, Australia suggested that the group build on recent reforms by instituting an elected position of secretary for a period of three years, which would provide secretarial support and assistance to the chair—which rotates. We considered that this proposal would allow the development of skills, expertise and continuity. The proposal is being considered by the working group and will be further discussed during the next IPU meeting. The Australian delegation was delighted that Mr Zha Peixin of China assumed the chair of the Asia-Pacific Group, as he is also the Chair of the Australia-China Parliamentary Friendship Group. The delegation has pledged its support and commitment to working closely with Mr Zha in advancing the interests of the Asia-Pacific Group within the IPU.

This meeting elected a new IPU president for a three-year term. The Australian delegation gave strong support to the candidacy of His Excellency Agung Laksono, the Speaker of the Indonesian parliament. Although Mr Laksono was not successful at the election, he expressed deep appreciation for Australia’s support. The delegation was concerned at the position of the Pacific nations and some of our smaller Asian neighbours. In particular, representation at the IPU Assembly by Pacific countries was limited. Samoa was represented by a single delegate without any support, and Papua New Guinea, who also had a single delegate, lost its voting rights. Timor-Leste is a newly emerging nation and is still finding its way as a participant in international institutions. The delegation had bilateral meetings with representatives of Timor-Leste to discuss issues of mutual interest. The delegation considers that Australia and New Zealand must play a greater role in supporting the Pacific and neighbouring countries, especially to encourage these countries to engage with the IPU and to ensure their views are heard on the international stage.

Finally, I would like to thank Alison Purnell, our DFAT adviser, who once again provided professional advice and assistance to the delegation during the IPU meeting. Alison, who has been our adviser at a number of recent IPU meetings, has now moved on in DFAT and we wish her well in her new posting. I would also like to thank Angela Robinson, of the Office of the Ambassador for Disarmament, for her specialised knowledge and expert advice on the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty matters. I would also like to thank the delegation members—in particular, the honourable member for Hughes, Danna Vale, the deputy leader, for her support and continued involvement in both the IPU and Serbia; Senator the Hon. Judith Troeth; and Senator Claire Moore, who joined the IPU delegation. Last but not least, I would like to thank the unflappable Elton Humphrey, who was secretary of the delegation and who did an outstanding job.

I commend the delegation’s report to the House.

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