Sam Birrell (Nicholls, National Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Regional Health) Share this | Hansard source

I echo the statement made by the member for Adelaide and thank him for leading the delegation to the 45th general assembly of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly in Vientiane, in Laos. The member for Adelaide represented Australia. I believe we both did. It's very important that we present a united front as Australia on behalf of our parliament. I think that the member for Adelaide and I were able to do that during the discussions we had in the bilateral meetings. It was a very well-facilitated trip, as the member has said. I would like to thank the Australian embassy in Laos for hosting us and looking after us and I echo what was said previously about Dr Susan Love and her support of the delegation.

One moment that stood out to me, that I'd like to share, was a wonderful conversation we had with the inter-parliamentary assembly's secretary-general, who's from Brunei, about enabling more women to be involved in parliaments across the ASEAN area. We were able to share some great examples not only of federal parliament but also of some things that the state parliament—in particular, the Victorian parliament—has done around child care. Australia can be a great example as to the way that parliamentary democracy, particularly across genders, can be enhanced around the world. I think that we were able to do that with our discussions. I echo the comments of the member for Adelaide and thank him for his leadership in the dialogue.

See this speech in context