Peter Lindsay (Herbert, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I present the report of the Parliamentary Delegation to the 26th AIPO General Assembly, Laos and Bilateral Visit to Pakistan—17 to 30 September 2005. I want to thank the members of the delegation—Harry Quick, who is with us in the parliament this afternoon, Senator Ruth Webber, the Hon. Peter Slipper and the secretary of the delegation, David Fitzgerald, who did a mighty job. My colleagues on the delegation were all there in Australia’s interest and flying the Australian flag at every opportunity. We learnt a lot. I particularly want to thank our DFAT people in both Laos and Pakistan who exhibited a high level of professionalism and assistance to the delegation as well as very significant administrative support. His Excellency Alistair Maclean, in Laos, and Her Excellency Zorica McCarthy, in Pakistan, gave invaluable assistance to the delegation.

The AIPO General Assembly was very valuable to Australia, an observer nation at that assembly. The dialogue session, in particular, stood out in my mind in relation to what was discussed. I think more representatives of nations attended our session than attended any other dialogue session. The subjects that were raised were wide ranging and informative. It gave Australia the opportunity to express its position, and our comments were very well received.

Outside the AIPO meeting, the delegation was able to get briefings on a number of other matters. Two briefings stand out in my mind—firstly, the briefing on the unexploded ordnance issue in Laos. Few people know or understand that there is more unexploded ordnance in Laos than in any other country in the world. The country has been very heavily bombed. In the majority of cases, the ordnance that still exists in the country was sourced not from the United States but from other countries. I am personally involved because my son works in Laos; he is a geologist. When he goes prospecting, he has to have somebody walk in front of him with a metal detector.

The second briefing of particular interest was on the Sepon project, which is run by the Australian mining company Oxiana. Mining is the second largest industry in Laos, after hydroelectricity. Oxiana is a model Australian company in how it relates to the Laotians. On things like technology transfer and helping to preserve the culture, Oxiana is not backward in coming forward. I pay tribute to the Managing Director of Oxiana, Mr Owen Hegarty, and his team for how they run the Australian company in Laos.

The delegation was also able to go to Pakistan as part of the bilateral visit. We met with a very significant number of the Pakistani parliament and a range of other people. I think the member for Franklin enjoyed his visit to Lahore and the cricket ground. Our meeting with the President of Pakistan was an outstanding meeting. It was scheduled for half an hour but it ran to 1¼ hours. The President was very interested in the Australian delegation. After 1¼ hours his aides were saying, ‘Mr President, you really must go.’ It is unusual for a delegation to meet the President, but the President is certainly a great friend of Australia.

I thank those who participated in the delegation. It was certainly in Australia’s interests that we were able to represent our country in Laos and Pakistan.

Harry Quick (Franklin, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I would like to endorse the member for Herbert’s comments. Pakistan was a real highlight. We had the opportunity to speak to not only the President but also the Prime Minister. We were able to get a very deep understanding of Pakistan’s approach to countering Islamic extremism and terrorism. The issue of Kashmir and the dialogue with India was also raised. We visited some provincial parliaments and got an understanding of parliamentary practice in Pakistan. Also, we discussed the bilateral relationship between Pakistan and Australia and met with parliamentarians to talk about a whole lot of political, social and economic issues.

I, like the delegation chair, would like to express my appreciation to Ambassador Alistair Maclean in the Lao PDR and Ambassador Zorica McCarthy in Pakistan. When we were in Laos, two bombs went off in Lahore and some of us were a little reluctant to travel to Pakistan. But, having been in this place for many years, the visit to Pakistan was a real highlight. I guess the highlight of highlights was to stand in the Khyber Pass and gaze at Afghanistan across the horizon—to try to understand just how difficult it is for Pakistan and Afghanistan to sort out this whole issue of terrorism. When you look at the mountains of up to 12,000 or 14,000 metres, starting off in the foothills and then going up to the Himalayas past the Hindu Kush, you realise that it is virtually impossible. We visited Peshawar, Islamabad, Rawalpindi and Lahore. We had countless meetings with people and got a wonderful insight into the challenges confronting Pakistan.

Laos was also a privilege to visit. We took a two-hour trip up the Mekong River, in one of the traditional boats, to stop off at a village. As an ex-teacher, I was interested to visit the local primary school and see the appalling conditions that children in Laos experience when it comes to education. I am delighted to say that Australia is doing a wonderful job over there with its aid. The previous speaker, the member for Herbert, mentioned the work being done on UXO, unexploded ordnances. I take my hat off to the Commonwealth government for the amount of money they are putting into this program and to the dedicated people, from a range of nations, who are working there. Close to 200 people die each year from the million tonnes of unexploded ordnances still lying in the fields in Laos as a result of the Vietnam War.

Another highlight of the trip was a visit to a madrasah. Lots of us have seen television footage of young Muslim youths learning the Koran—nodding their heads and learning it by rote. We challenged one of the people who knows the Koran from the first word to the last. I remember challenging him, and he responded automatically. He knows it off by heart. There is a perception in the West that these are hotbeds of future terrorists. As a teacher, I would like to say this is ridiculous. There might be one or two madrasahs around that are fomenting unrest and providing a haven for future terrorists, but all the others are providing a wonderful service and a wonderful educational opportunity for the young people in Pakistan.

Another highlight was going from Laos to Pakistan via Dubai and seeing the absolute opulence and decadence of Dubai. It is one of the trading hubs of the world. I would like to compliment the other members of the delegation—Peter Slipper and Senator Ruth Webber. As the chairman, the member for Herbert, has said, we worked as a wonderful team, especially at the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Organisation, or AIPO, conference. Like him, I really enjoyed the dialogue sessions where we heard firsthand just how effective Australia’s relationship with the ASEAN countries is and how much they appreciate the work that we do. (Time expired)