I rise tonight to thank the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office for hosting me and some of my fellow parliamentarians on a delegation to Taiwan. It was an extraordinary experience, and I am one who is fortunate enough to say that it was not my first time in Taiwan. I was fortunate enough to go before. For me, it was very much like going back and visiting an old friend. It felt very familiar, it felt very friendly, and it felt like there was much that Taiwan and Australia could learn from each other and could teach each other.

We were extraordinarily privileged to meet and spend time with Vice President Hsiao; President Han of the Legislative Yuan; Dr Joseph Wu, who is the Secretary-General of Taiwan's National Security Council; and many others. We were given a very deep appreciation of the strategic challenges faced by Taiwan and also the complementarity and future possibilities of our already strong economic relationships. Many people are very well aware of the complementarity of the economies of Australia and Taiwan. Australia obviously has produced raw materials and food and energy that have been exported to Taiwan. In return, Taiwan is obviously a manufacturer of many high-tech goods that are being utilised here in Australia.

It's good to see that it is not just the positives of the past. It is not just a relationship that is based on past success. It is actually one that has a pathway to future success. Taiwan obviously is a significant player in the space of AI and data centres and the possibilities of those being built in Australia. Meanwhile we see the increased development of Australia's rare earths and critical minerals, which obviously are vitally important to things like AI and data centres and also to the production of batteries and so many other of the high-tech products that we so desire.

It was a wonderful opportunity to sit down with many good friends to relearn some of the challenges they face and to see how committed Taiwan is to their democratic institution and how engaged they are. One of the visits that we had was to the two main parties, the DPP and the KMT. Obviously hearing from those two main parties, in a political sense, was very important to the delegation as was hearing from the senior members of the government and the parliament. It was an extraordinary opportunity to renew those friendships, renew those relationships and learn more about the future of the relationship between Australia and Taiwan. I sincerely thank the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office here in Canberra for their assistance in putting this program together. I hope that, before my time here comes to an end, I have the opportunity to visit Taiwan again.