Kate Thwaites (Jagajaga, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I present the report of the Australian parliamentary delegation to Germany and the 68th annual session of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, at Berlin and Madrid, from 13 to 21 November 2022. I ask leave of the House to make a short statement in connection with the report.

Leave granted.

The principles of supporting democracy, upholding the rule of law and promoting peace and security are very important to Australia, and they're ones that we share with our friends and allies in NATO. Together with the member for Hinkler, I was pleased to have the opportunity to take a parliamentary delegation to attend the NATO Parliamentary Assembly in Madrid last November, as well as a visit to Germany.

Australia is not a member of NATO, but it's a recognition of the regard with which our country is held that we were invited to participate in what was the first in-person assembly held since the onset of the pandemic. The invitation was extended to Australia, as well as other members of what is now called the AP4: South Korea, Japan and New Zealand, to both opportunities like the assembly as well as opportunities such as on the scale of the leaders' summits that our Prime Minister has been invited to. These do provide us with important opportunities to share the Australian perspective on the world and to understand what is happening with our allies in NATO.

Of course, the Prime Minister will visit Lithuania next month for the upcoming leaders' summit, with a focus to again reinforce Australia's support for the global norms that NATO helps to uphold, and to demonstrate our country's solidarity with Ukraine as Russia's illegal and immoral invasion of that country continues. Certainly, those were messages that the member for Hinkler and I did our best to convey while part of this delegation. These issues were discussed at the assembly in November last year. While Australia is not a voting member of NATO, our invitation enabled us to fully participate in the various sessions and activities of the parliamentary assembly. As you'd expect, NATO's response to Ukraine dominated discussions, and as part of this Australia's support for Ukraine was recognised and appreciated by NATO members. Other topics that were relevant and that featured in discussions included the rise of cyber based warfare, the importance of defending democracy, technological developments around the world and the strategic importance of the Indo-Pacific region—and I know that's of particular importance to many in this parliament.

Prior to visiting the NATO assembly, the delegation visited Berlin. This trip was a chance to highlight Australia's close relationship with Germany, a relationship that spans many decades, a long time; our alignment in upholding international norms and the rules based order, for all those reasons that I have just outlined; and our defence links and our emerging links in facilitating the transition to cleaner and greener energy. Certainly this was an area that many people that we met with in Germany both from a political side and from a business and industry side were particularly interested in exploring with us: the potential for Australia and Germany to work together as our country seeks to be a renewable energy superpower and as Germany seeks to benefit from that. It was a very productive trip to Germany and an excellent chance to make some of those connections.

I would like to close by noting my thanks to all those involved in the success of this delegation, including Australian Ambassador to Germany, Philip Green, and his team at the Australian embassy in Berlin; Australia's Ambassador to Spain, Sophia McIntyre, and her team at the embassy in Madrid; and the team at the International and Parliamentary Relations Office and the delegation secretary, Joel Bateman, for their efforts in organising and supporting the visits. Thank you.

Keith Pitt (Hinkler, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

by leave—I rise to make a brief contribution on the report of the parliamentary delegation to Germany and the 68th Annual Session of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly. Can I thank the member for Jagajaga as the delegation leader. Of course, when it comes to national security we are always bipartisan and acting in the best interests of our country. Can I thank the delegation secretary, Joel Bateman, and the staff at the posts in both Berlin and Madrid, and Ambassadors Philip Green and Sophia McIntyre.

We also had the opportunity to visit some quite extraordinary manufacturing facilities as part of this visit in Germany, including the VW factory. For those who are involved in heavy industry or have significant knowledge around manufacturing, this is a business that employs 60,000 people in just one town, in one location. In fact around the factory you can still see damage from World War II. It is quite extraordinary in terms of the length of time that it has survived and the way it actually manufactures cars. To give you an idea, every 18 seconds enough material arrives to put a car out the other end. In terms of advanced manufacturing, it was quite something to see.

We also saw the MAN factory, which basically constructs and delivers multistage super-high-pressure pumps. They are used predominantly for carbon capture and storage around the world, and they have delivered and sold hundreds and hundreds of them. If I recall the numbers correctly, it was around 600 delivered around the world. That is quite incredible. They are expensive and they are quite an impressive piece of machinery to see.

In terms of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, both I and the member for Jagajaga had the opportunity to provide an intervention to the assembly, and I'm very pleased to be able to not only put forward the position the coalition but to of course support the government when it comes to national security and the events in Ukraine. I'm very impressed with the NATO Parliamentary Assembly dedication to what is happening in Ukraine and those particular outcomes which we all strive for, and the fact that they're turning their eyes to the Pacific. For NATO to be turning their eyes to challenges in the Pacific, I think, says everything about the current challenges in the world.

Can I thank the government and all those who organised the trip. It was an important part of what we do here as members of parliament. Once again I place my thanks on the record to the member for Jagajaga for leading the delegation. Thank you.