Warren Truss (Wide Bay, National Party, Leader of the Nationals) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the minister for his statement. I am delighted to join the Minister for Infrastructure and Transport in welcoming the distinguished delegation from Indonesia here today led by the Minister for Transportation, His Excellency Lieutenant General Evert Ernest Mangindaan, and other officials from his ministry and accompanied also by the Indonesian Ambassador to Australia. It is a particular pleasure to have you in the gallery today, and I look forward to meeting your delegation in a few moments time.

Australia's relationship with Indonesia is without doubt one of our most important. Indonesia has the world's fourth-largest population and is the world's third-largest democracy. Not only is Indonesia one of our closest neighbours; it is also our fourth-largest trading partner in ASEAN and our 12th-largest trading partner in the world. Over the past decades, our governments and our peoples have grown closer as business partners and friends, and it is pleasing that the strengthening of our two nations' relationship has increased the bonds and the close ties between our countries—and it has strong bipartisan support, as the minister has already mentioned, from both the government and the opposition.

From the coalition's perspective, we welcome the opportunity for our two countries to work together with respect and understanding to further our many mutual interests in trade, transport, security, education, health and emergency management, just to name a few. The Leader of the Opposition was warmly welcomed by Indonesian President Yudhoyono and his ministry on his visit to Indonesia in October last year. To underscore his and the coalition's commitment to the Indonesian-Australian bilateral relationship, he has announced that, should he become Prime Minister, his first overseas visit will be to Indonesia. The coalition strongly supports the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement negotiations that the current government announced in 2010 and would certainly want to continue the annual ministerial meetings which have been established and which I had the opportunity to participate in on several occasions when I was a minister.

As the Leader of the Opposition noted on his visit to Indonesia last year, more and more the assistance and support goes both ways, as a truly bilateral relationship should. For instance, Indonesia provided much-appreciated financial and engineering assistance in the wake of the devastating floods in my home state of Queensland in 2011. The minister may be interested to know that we are now going through it again in 2013, and another recovery phase has begun.

As Minister Albanese has said, Australia and Indonesia have every reason to work together to improve the safety, security and efficiency of our transport network. As we all know, Indonesia is a popular destination for Australian tourists. In fact, in the last financial year it was second only to New Zealand and ahead of Thailand, the USA, England and every other country. As the minister noted, over the past year passenger arrivals from Indonesia have increased by 13 per cent.

Minister Mangindaan and Minister Albanese will today renew the memorandum of understanding on transport cooperation between our two nations. This represents the continuation of the Indonesia Transport Safety Assistance Package, known as ITSAP, which was first announced by the former Minister for Transport and Regional Services, the Hon. Mark Vaile, in May 2007, at a time when Indonesia faced real security challenges. At that time, the Australian government provided $23.9 million over three years for training and technical assistance to address issues associated with aviation and maritime safety. This allowed our governments, through their respective departments and transport agencies, to assess arrangements as they stood and identify improvements to the systems and practices. This program was further expanded by the current government in 2010, and Australia has now committed almost $40 million to this initiative.

There is no doubt that ITSAP has been a valuable initiative for both Indonesia and Australia. It has seen the development of new safety procedures and manuals and has invested in training for over 1,000 Indonesian government and industry professionals. The minister has outlined a number of ITSAP's achievements, including advances in shipping standards and airspace management and the development of a tropical mountainous terrain flying operations kit. Under ITSAP, Australia has also provided training and support for safety investigators in the Indonesian National Transportation Safety Committee and provided opportunities for exchanges of personnel, techniques and support with particular investigations. I welcome the minister's announcement that this worthwhile initiative will continue so that our two countries can work together on aviation and maritime safety into the future.

The minister's visit to Australia today will also see the joint signing of the new annex to the Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in the Transport Sector, which, as I understand it, will build on the Lombok treaty signed by our countries' foreign ministers in November 2006. The Lombok treaty provides the legal framework for supporting increased collaboration on a number of security and counter-terrorism related matters. The signing of this annex builds on the strong foundation of bilateral cooperation on security issues that already exists between our two countries.

Following the tragic 2002 bombings in Bali, our two countries' counter-terrorism and security ties have grown dramatically. The Indonesian government has proved a willing and able partner in addressing regional security issues and disrupting terrorist networks. The minister has outlined some examples of where our two countries have worked together on transport security, and I am sure that, through the signing of this annex, this cooperation will continue to grow.

In conclusion, can I again join Minister Albanese in welcoming Minister Mangindaan, together with officials from his ministry, to Australia and thank them for their commitment to strengthening the security relationship between our two countries. Maintaining a productive and cooperative relationship between our transportation departments and agencies is very important, and the two transport initiatives that will be signed today will assist in improving transport safety and security outcomes, not just for Australia and Indonesia but for our whole region. I welcome Minister Mangindaan. I trust that your visit to Australia will be pleasurable and that the bonds of friendship that are now secure and strongly developed between our countries will be further strengthened by your days in Australia.

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