Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On indulgence, I was recently informed by my good friend and colleague the honourable Duncan Kerr that he has decided not to recontest his seat of Denison in Tasmania at the next federal election. Duncan has done an outstanding job during the 22 years that he has been the federal member for Denison. As Parliamentary Secretary for Pacific Island Affairs he has played an outstanding role in strengthening Australia’s presence in the region. Australia is currently chair of the Pacific Islands Forum. Last month we hosted the 40th Pacific Islands Forum in Cairns and the relationship with our neighbouring countries has never been better. I would like to place on record the contribution by the parliamentary secretary, the member for Denison, in improving Australia’s relations with our most critically close neighbours, the Pacific island countries of the South Pacific.

In bringing his considerable talents to bear to this task, I am mindful of the fact that the member for Denison has had extensive experience in the past, including in Papua New Guinea. As he has travelled across the Pacific island countries he has been able to draw upon that natural empathy with many of the development challenges faced by countries in the region and to engage them in considering what Australia can do to partner with them in the great challenges of development for the future.

When I have spoken to Pacific island heads of government, they have been singular in their praise for this parliamentary secretary’s sensitivity, understanding and embracing of the development challenges they face. Establishing democracy in Fiji will continue to be an important challenge for us all, which is why this forum is important for facilitating regional cooperation and unity in the Pacific.

I am also mindful of the history of our intervention when it comes to other challenges to democracy in the South Pacific, namely in the Solomon Islands. My recollection—and I look to the honourable member for Denison in case I mislead the House—is that, prior to the previous government undertaking a necessary military intervention in the Solomon Islands, he had engaged personally, as an opposition member of a parliamentary delegation to the Solomon Islands, to come back to the government of the day with a recommendation that, with the early dispatch of a modest force of 50 police officers, subsequent interventions on a much larger scale could be avoided. I simply note—and I seek to do this in a bipartisan spirit—that, regrettably, that was not done at the time. Several years later, as a consequence, we found ourselves engaged in what became RAMSI. I indicate, of course, our support for the RAMSI operation, but I draw again the attention of the House to the foresight contained in that original correspondence from the Parliamentary Secretary for Pacific Island Affairs, then simply the member for Denison, to the then Minister for Foreign Affairs on this subject.

Duncan was a formidable shadow minister during the 11 years that we were in opposition, holding such portfolios as immigration, environment, justice and the arts. I also applaud Duncan for the important reforms he introduced to the Australian legal system while Minister for Justice and later Attorney-General during the Keating government.

Duncan informs me that he will step down from his role as parliamentary secretary as of the end of October. On behalf of the government and on behalf of the federal parliamentary Labor Party, I would like to formally thank him in this place for his tireless work for the government and the Australian Labor Party throughout his career.

Honourable Members:

Hear, hear!

Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, on indulgence: on behalf of the opposition, I wish the member for Denison a happy retirement as he returns to the bar and his previous avocation in the legal profession of Tasmania. We do not dissent from the praise that the Prime Minister has given him, but naturally we look forward to the next member for Denison being on our side!