Anne McEwen (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I, too, would like to make some comments about this report of the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade References Committee's recent delegation to Vanuatu and New Zealand. Before I get to the details of that delegation, of which I was privileged to be part, I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the departing members of the Senate Foreign Affairs and Trade Committees, in particular Senator Stephens, who was and still is the chair of the Senator Foreign Affairs and Trade References Committee, Senator Alan Eggleston, who is the chair of the Senator Foreign Affairs and Trade Legislation Committee, and Senator Helen Kroger, who, like me, is a member of those committees. I also acknowledge Senator Mark Bishop, who was a long-term member of the Foreign Affairs and Trade Committees of this parliament, and who is also retiring.

It is one of the most interesting committees of the federal parliament. In my few years on that committee I have been involved, as have those retiring senators, in numerous inquiries into aspects of Australia's foreign affairs and defence portfolios. Some of those areas of investigation have included monitoring Australia's engagement in Iraq—a topical issue right at this moment, and also our engagement in Afghanistan and the withdrawal of our troops from that country.

We have been involved, as well, in numerous inquiries into allegations and findings of sexual and other abuse in Australia's Defence forces. There were some harrowing inquiries and evidence there that the parliament has had to deal with. The flow-on effects from those inquiries have seen substantial changes to the way Defence handles the issues that arise not just from ADFA but from deployments overseas and activities on naval ships et cetera. It has been one of the more interesting things for the Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade References Committee to be part of that change of culture, if you like, within the Defence forces.

The committee has also been engaged in military justice and the implementation of military justice. That is a very significant inquiry that was undertaken with significant outcomes. That committee deals with the Defence Materiel Organisation, which is an organisation that plans, budgets for and schedules replacement or refurbishment of Australia's Defence estate and capabilities. Again, it is a committee that has to grapple with significant issues, as that is one of the biggest budget spends in the Australian government budget every year. The committee pays careful attention to where Australian governments, of all persuasions, are spending money in the area of Defence materiel.

The committee has dealt a lot with recruitment in the Defence forces. Over a number of years, they have worked with the ADF to ensure that there is some focus on the recruitment of women into the Australian Defence Force. A number of senators on the committee have paid particular attention to that. This committee also deals with the Australian War Memorial, an iconic institution much loved by most Australians. At every Senate estimates, we are always pleased to hear about the plans for that institution from whoever the director of the War Memorial is at the time.

The committee deals with the foreign affairs portfolio of the federal parliament. One of the more current issues that has been dealt with in the foreign affairs portfolio is the rolling of what was AusAID into the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. A significant difference to the way that overseas development aid is rolled out in Australia is being monitored and considered by that committee. Overseas development aid is very topical at the moment with the Minister for Foreign Affairs' recent statement on the delivery of overseas development aid. Discussions between members of the committee about what would be an appropriate funding allocation for the overseas development aid budget is something that we probably disagree about a fair bit on the committee. Overall, I would have to say there is a commitment on that committee to continue our overseas development aid and, in particular, to ensure that overseas development aid in our nearby regions goes to support women in developing countries.

Those are just some of the many things that the Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade References Committee has dealt with. I would like to commend Senators Kroger, Eggleston, Stephens and Bishop for their extraordinary work. It is a very hardworking committee with a lot of responsibilities. I have been privileged to work with all of those retiring senators on those issues that I have just outlined. In terms of the most recent delegation that I was privileged to be on with Senators Kroger, Fawcett and Stephens, it was and always is inspiring to go to the Pacific Islands and the Pacific nations in our region, like Vanuatu, to see the very real benefits of Australia's overseas development aid being rolled out on the ground.

The delegation was given many opportunities to see the value of Australia's overseas development aid. We had a look at numerous projects. One that sticks in my mind is the midwifery course at Port Vila in Vanuatu, where both women and men were being trained in midwifery by Australian doctors so that they could go out—not just into Port Vila but also into regional areas—and assist women to give birth safely. We understand and appreciate the importance of their work. It was great to see the Australian and New Zealand doctors and nurses there in Vanuatu training men and women to become effective midwives.

We were also privileged to visit a training facility that is similar to one of our TAFEs, where there was VET training for people in Vanuatu to work, in particular, in the tourism industry. They learned important skills like how to manage a small business and how to take advantage of the few advantages that there are in Vanuatu. That includes the massive cruise industry, which Australians make great use of. It is really important that the value-add from the cruise industry goes to the people of Vanuatu and not necessarily just to the big cruise liner ships. Again, it is great to see Australian initiatives there, which are assisting the people of Vanuatu to make the most of whatever opportunities come their way.

In New Zealand, we were very privileged to meet with the Ministry of Defence there, as well as the Minister of Defence. I appreciated his frank discussions about issues within their defence force about recruitment and, in particular, the recruitment of women into the defence force. I appreciated his frank comments about the difficulties they have had recruiting women, but the important steps that they have taken to ensure that their defence force is a welcoming place for women who see that as a potential career.

As always with New Zealand, there is a lot that we can learn because of our shared histories, let alone our shared tourism opportunities. The people of New Zealand were very welcoming of us. Like Senator Stephens, I too acknowledge the incredible efforts of New Zealanders and, indeed, Australians who went to work in New Zealand on the reconstruction of Christchurch. The devastation of Christchurch from the earthquakes has been phenomenal, but even more phenomenal has been the reconstruction efforts and the way in which that has been coordinated. It was a great lesson for those of us from Australia to learn about disaster response activities and how we can do better in that space. Again, I would like to thank my departing colleagues for the opportunity to work with them on the Senate Foreign, Affairs, Defence and Trade References Committee.