Christopher Pyne (Sturt, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Education, Apprenticeships and Training) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am delighted to rise in the adjournment debate tonight to extend an invitation to Senator Alfredo Mantica, the Italian government's Undersecretary for Foreign Affairs, who is currently visiting Australia, to come and visit my electorate of Sturt and listen to the concerns of my constituents over the proposed closure of the Italian consulate in South Australia. The senator probably finds himself stranded in Melbourne this evening and tomorrow due to the cancellation of flights, so he may have some time to reflect on my invitation. (Quorum formed)I appreciate the opportunity to continue my speech. I had a feeling the government would buckle.

Two years ago the suggestion that Italian consulates in Adelaide and Brisbane were to be closed brought about a strong reaction from the Italian community, local government and state and federal members of parliament. The issue of maintaining consular services in Adelaide and Brisbane has received overwhelming support, with the Italian government being criticised for not understanding the complexity of the community, the distance between cities in Australia and the vital work performed by the Italian consular network in Australia. The local campaign that forced Silvio Berlusconi's government, the PDL, to backflip on this issue achieved the following key results. Over 15,000 people signed a petition calling on the Italian government to keep the consulates open. The petition was tabled in the Italian parliament by the honourable Marco Fedi in 2009. (Quorum formed)(Time expired)