Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I present the report of the Australian parliamentary delegation to the 151st Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, held in Geneva, Switzerland, and the bilateral visits to Romania and Switzerland from 12 to 23 October 2025.

I'm pleased to present this report of the Australian parliamentary delegation to the 151st Inter-Parliamentary Union, or IPU, held in Geneva, and the bilateral visits to Romania and Switzerland in October 2025. It was an honour to lead a high-level delegation comprising the Deputy Speaker, Ms Sharon Claydon MP; Senator Andrew McLachlan CSC; Senator the Hon. Carol Brown; and Senator Deborah O'Neill. I thank the delegates for their commitment, diligence and hard work.

The IPU was founded in 1889 as the first permanent political forum for international negotiation, providing the origins for multilateral cooperation. Australia officially joined the IPU as a member parliament at the first IPU assembly held in Asia, in Bangkok in November 1956. This year we celebrate 70 years of membership of the IPU. The Australian delegation continues to have representation across important IPU bodies, advancing a proposed resolution on tax avoidance and engagement in key debates.

As chairperson of the IPU Executive Committee's Sub-Committee on Finance, I reported on the IPU's financial situation to the IPU's geopolitical groups and answered questions from the floor. As a co-rapporteur to the Standing Committee on Sustainable Development, Senator O'Neill participated in a debate on a resolution on tax avoidance which will be endorsed at the next assembly in April this year. The Deputy Speaker, Ms Claydon, was endorsed by the Asia-Pacific Group to serve on the IPU's Bureau of Women Parliamentarians for the next two years.

I am pleased to advise the House I successfully advocated for inclusion of the Australian led Declaration for the Protection of Humanitarian Personnel in the IPU's Geneva declaration of the 151st Assembly, 'Upholding humanitarian norms and supporting humanitarian action in times of crisis'. Senator O'Neill had also served as the President of the Bureau of the Standing Committee on Democracy and Human Rights, and I recognise her longstanding commitment to those issues. The delegation concluded a record 22 bilateral meetings with other parliamentary delegations, strengthening interparliamentary relations to discuss matters of mutual interest.

On behalf of the Australian delegation. I wish to thank those who supported our delegates at the 151st IPU Assembly, including the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Canberra; the Parliamentary Library; the International and Parliamentary Relations Office; Dr Jane Thomson of the Department of the Senate, who served as delegation secretary; and Her Excellency Ms Claire Walsh, Australian Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations and the Conference on Disarmament, and her team in Geneva;

From 12 to 15 October, the delegation undertook a historic bilateral visit to Romania. It's been seven years since a parliamentary delegation travelled to the country, with the last visiting in October 2018. The key themes of the visit were acknowledging the significant contribution made by Romania in assisting Australians to flee Ukraine following the invasion by the Russian Federation in February 2022, their support to Ukraine and the current threat to democracy of misinformation and disinformation. The delegation was fortunate to meet with high-ranking officials including the President of Romania, the Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of National Defence. We also had the privilege of meeting with presiding officers and toured the Romanian parliament. I thank Her Excellency Ms Alison Duncan, the Australian Ambassador to Romania, Bulgaria and Greece, and her team for their tireless efforts to organise what was an extensive and very successful bilateral program. We also thank His Excellency Mr Radu Gabriel Safta, the Romanian Ambassador to Australia, who accompanied the delegation.

During a bilateral visit to Switzerland, the delegation met with His Excellency Mr Pierre-Andre Page, the first Vice President of the National Council of Switzerland in Bern. We discussed democracy and civil engagement to trade and investment between our two countries. The delegation also visited the transport company Carrosserie Hess, which is providing electric buses to the Brisbane Metro system in my home state of Queensland, and travelled to Fondation Opale, where delegates toured the Australian Indigenous art gallery. On behalf of the delegation, I also thank our Ambassador to Switzerland and our Head of Mission, Her Excellency Ms Elizabeth Day and Mr Dylan Walsh, for providing the delegation with a snapshot of Swiss politics, business and culture. I commend the report to the House.