Michael McCormack (Riverina, National Party, Shadow Minister for International Development and the Pacific) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Recently the member for Tangney and I were asked to oversee the Vanuatu election process, which took place on 13 October. It was a short, sharp 10-day campaign followed by a snap election being called. Vanuatu has a 52-seat parliament serving a population of 300,000. Australia stood tall in these elections to help that process. I know the member for Tangney and I were very proud of Australia's involvement. Indeed, the Vanuatu Election Commission, normally staffed by just eight full-time officers, was assisted by contract staff as well as technical support offered by both Australia and New Zealand.

A major logistical operation was put in train, to support more ballot papers, overland by vehicle and small boats to coastal villages. I want to point out to the chamber the role that the Royal Australian Air Force played using C-27J Spartan. On many of those airstrips, which were barely wide enough to take the landing of such heavy aircraft, those pilots landed brilliantly, to make sure that the ballot papers were delivered to very remote islands. You had to see it to believe it. 'It is a bit difficult in Vanuatu,' the electorate office chairman Edward Kaltamat said. He added, 'We have many islands and not many roads.' I can tell you, Mr Speaker, and the member for Tangney would back me up here, many of those roads are simply impassable. They are unusable. But they got the ballot papers out.

We have a new parliament. Vanuatu's new Prime Minister, Alatoi Ishmael Kalsakau, said:

I want to thank the government of Australia, who assisted us with swift support and facilitated smooth transportation of ballot boxes to remote places in Vanuatu,

Indeed, we also collected those ballot boxes. Gloria Julia King became the first woman to enter the country's parliament in 14 years. We should honour that, we should exalt it and we should absolutely be promoting it to other Pacific nations, for them to do the same. The Pacific has the lowest rate of female representation in parliament anywhere in the world, according to World Vision, but Ms King is going to lead the way, and we praise her for that. The Vanuatu Election Commission listed the names of 219 people contesting the recent election, with only eight females. So well done to Ms King for being elected.

On the day, I went to polling stations right across Tanna Island, also known as Mount Yasur volcano island. I commend the member for Tangney for his bipartisanship. I commend him for the role that he played in this. I also want to especially thank First Secretary, Development, Kirsty Dudgeon, the High Commissioner to Vanuatu, Heidi Bootle, and the member for Tangney for his role and participation in making sure that the election was as democratic as it could be.

Sam Lim (Tangney, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, member for Riverina, for your kind words. It was a privilege to be a political scrutineer for a federal election of Vanuatu, which took place on 13 November 2022. I want to thank Minister Wong for inviting me to participate in this important democratic process. In my few short days in Vanuatu I learned much. The people of Vanuatu are so kind. They do not have much, but they are genuine. They do not have any possessions, but they are grateful. I saw many people with no shoes but with big smiles on their faces. I was touched and humbled by their spirits.

A memory that will stay with me is the process to deliver the ballot box. Ballot boxes were delivered by police officers, from the police station, delivering the ballot box on foot. This involved walking for days, crossing rivers and streams, to get to remote communities so that people living in these communities could have their say. After votes were placed, the police officers had to carry the lot back to where they started their journey from. This goes to show how much work the democratic process can take in developing countries. We should never take this for granted in Australia.

The people of Vanuatu have a great deal of respect for Australians. There is a strong bond between our two countries. It is like a brother-sister relationship. Australia is proud to be Vanuatu's largest development, humanitarian and security partner. The people of Vanuatu recognise the support the Australian government provides to them. Our partnership is going from strength to strength. The ties within our Pacific family will continue to deepen. The Australian government will continue to offer support and assistance to our brothers and sisters in Vanuatu. Our region faces challenges, but we will face them together beside one another. I thank the people of Vanuatu for giving me such a warm welcome. I went to Vanuatu to work, but I came back with many friends.