Glenn Sterle (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

by leave—I present the report of the Australian parliamentary delegation to Egypt and Israel, which took place from 31 October to 6 November 2008. I seek leave to move a motion in relation to the report.

Leave granted.

I move:

That the Senate take note of the document.

The delegation also made a brief visit to the West Bank of the Palestinian territories. On the delegation, I was accompanied by the member for Canberra, Ms Annette Ellis MP, who was the delegation leader; the member for Maranoa, the Hon. Bruce Scott MP; Senator the Hon. Richard Colbeck from Tasmania; Senator Gavin Marshall from Victoria; and the member for Fisher, the Hon. Peter Slipper MP. Of course, one must not forget Ms Lyn Witheridge from the Department of the House of Representatives. I thank them all for their active and constructive contributions. All members engaged in discussions, visits and inspections with enthusiasm and in a spirit of bipartisanship. Australia has significant involvement in the Middle East as a trading partner and also through the continuing efforts of our Australian Defence Force. It is important that Australia’s parliamentarians maintain an interest and continue to develop relationships in the region.

The visit provided us with a valuable opportunity to gain a better understanding of the Middle East peace process. We also explored opportunities for expanding relationships, particularly in the areas of trade and investment. We all learnt more about Australia’s wheat and live meat exports to that region as well. It was very pleasing to meet with members of the ADF serving in key peacekeeping roles. We have men and women in the region serving as part of the multinational force and as observers and also as part of the United Nations Truce Supervision Organisation. All Australians can be justifiably proud of their commitment and service. There is a significant level of goodwill generated from our contributions to these operations.

We also valued the opportunity to pay tribute to Australia’s war dead in both countries. While in Egypt, we visited El Alamein, and in Israel we visited Beersheba. On behalf of the delegation, I would like to commend the Commonwealth War Graves Commission for its care of the graves of Australians and others buried in the Middle East and elsewhere in the world. In addition to honouring the sacrifices of those who served and died, the cemeteries are a continual reminder of the need to strive for peaceful outcomes to disputes between nations. While I am talking about El Alamein and Beersheba, I would like to say that a very moving part of the journey occurred at El Alamein while we were watching the going down of the sun. I can tell you, Madam Acting Deputy President, it was a very moving time for all of us—certainly for me—when we looked around and reflected for that minute or so on the Aussie boys who had fought and died on that foreign soil. We do commend them.

During the visit, the delegation was encouraged by statements of optimism made about the peace process; however, it was at the tail end of the fragile truce. We were on tour at a desalination plant in Ashkelon in Israel, and when got back on the bus our guide told us that a Hamas rocket had fallen nearby. I said, ‘How nearby?’ and he said, ‘Very nearby.’ So let us keep our fingers crossed. We were extremely concerned about the breakdown of the ceasefire agreement in December 2008 and the resulting conflict between Israel and Hamas. The delegation and, I have no doubt, all Australians support continuing diplomatic efforts to halt the violence and to find a path towards a lasting and stable solution. But, sadly, that is entirely in the hands of Hamas. While they continue to send rockets into Israel, it is very hard to put your hand on your heart and think that we will achieve this peace process.

In 2008, $45 million of development assistance was provided to the Palestinian people by the Australian government, doubling the amount of the previous year. I note the recent announcements of a further allocation of $10 million towards humanitarian assistance to the people of the Gaza Strip. Just last week, there was an additional $20 million to meet the recovery and reconstruction needs of the Palestinian people.

The delegation received a briefing from UNRWA, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, and visited the Dheisheh refugee camp in Bethlehem. I had visions of a refugee camp with tents, putrid conditions and stagnant water, but, to my mind, this camp was not anything near that. There were brick and tile constructions, which were very clean. A significant level of Australian assistance is provided through that agency. It aims to improve governance and reform health care and food security for refugees.

We also had the pleasure of visiting a project supported by Australia’s Direct Aid Program in Cairo. The Australian embassy in Egypt provides funding to support the Kids Bake Vocational Training Centre in one of the squatter communities in Old Cairo. I know my esteemed colleague on the other side of the chamber Senator Colbeck would say that it opens your eyes when you get into the squatter areas of Old Cairo. The kids bake training centre provides valuable skills training for young girls with a view to assisting them to find employment and a future livelihood. We sampled their wares and they did a fantastic job. It was uplifting to see these young girls, living in such squalid conditions, all smiling—the looks on their faces because they had learnt something. They baked some bread for us and every member of the delegation sampled it. The girls looked absolutely sweet in their uniforms. It really opens your heart to see them. We think we have hard times now and again—a pie at the football might be cold. We really need to get out and experience the conditions that some people around the world live in. Whatever little we can add to get a smile on people’s faces is rewarding. I commend the Australian embassy in Cairo for its support of the kids bake program.

Delegation members join me in expressing sincere appreciation to the governments and the parliamentary, business and other representatives we met. We were grateful for the welcome and the hospitality extended to us and for the time made available for meetings and the useful and interesting exchange of information and views. We also express appreciation to those who assisted with the arrangements for the visit, in particular the staff of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Canberra and overseas—they were exemplary. The second and third secretaries in the Australian embassies in Egypt and in Israel do a magnificent job in trying conditions. It makes it harder for them when, after spending a few hours on an aeroplane, they have to look after our wants and needs, but they did a fantastic job. I am sure other members of the delegation would join me in congratulating them.

To Ambassador Shwabsky in Cairo and to Ambassador Larsen in Egypt go our sincere thanks for their hospitality and for the program they put together to give us the opportunity to meet a lot of members of parliament and businesspeople in Egypt and in Israel, and it was also rewarding to bump into a lot of expats who are flying the Australian flag in those countries. I was talking to a gentleman at the Australian embassy in Egypt and found that he lives two streets away from me in Cardinia in Western Australia. We exchanged phone numbers. We could not work out who owed whom a beer, but we are going to have it when he gets back to Australia. I thank the Senate for their time.

Richard Colbeck (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I would like to associate myself with the comments made by Senator Sterle and make a contribution to the debate on the report of the Australian parliamentary delegation to Egypt and Israel, which took place from 31 October to 6 November 2008. I concur with Senator Sterle’s comments about the spirit in which the delegation was conducted. The group did gel particularly well, even to the extent of some decisions we had to make on variations to the original program to fit in specific interests. Right from the beginning of the delegation, we worked very well together to get the outcomes we were all looking for.

I will begin with our arrival in Egypt and going down to El Alamein to take part in the commemorations there. As Senator Sterle has said, it is quite a profound experience to see directly where our troops have fought and the conditions they lived in compared with our modern-day experience. To even consider the difficulties that they would have faced in their time really brings it back to you. I add my congratulations to the role of the ADF in those commemorative services and, in particular, the major contribution they make to peacekeeping in the Sinai. It was great to meet them and see the professionalism and the pride with which they undertake their jobs there. Also an important perspective for me was the personal development and growth in their careers and the general capabilities of our troops which come about because of their roles on these postings. It was really great to see the pride with which they conduct themselves in the work they are doing and also the way they represent our country. It was really fantastic.

The value of our trip was that we saw two countries with slightly different perspectives of the situation in the region. We were persistently given the perspective of the 22 Arab countries on peace in the region during the time we were in Egypt and by the end of our trip it was quite clear to us what that view was. It was also good to hear of the hope they hold for a resolution to the current difficulties that exist in the region. I only hope that can materialise at some point.

One of the things that really grasped me was in relation to the importance of our wheat trade with Egypt. When you consider that each day the Egyptians produce more than 200 million loaves of 20-centimetre flatbread weighing 130 grams and subsidised for the people at all levels of the country, it is a staggering number—200 million loaves of bread. A major concern of the Minister for Social Solidarity, whom we would see as having a slightly different perspective, is to make sure that that bread is available every day; otherwise there would be significant social unrest. Our wheat trade, which provides an input to this bread, was of major importance in our discussions with the Minister for Social Solidarity. We met him on our first night in Cairo and his major concern was what our wheat crop was going to be like and whether we were likely to be providing wheat to his country.

We also had the opportunity to visit an abattoir that will be taking Australian live beef. We got a good insight into what was going on with that trade. The standards that they are complying with and the importance with which they place the live trade from Australia and the needs of the country were quite interesting.

While in Israel we had the opportunity to participate in some commemorative services at Beersheba and the role of Australian defence services played in that region came out. We had further interaction with them when we went into the Golan Heights. We saw the proximity they are working in with the Israelis and the Syrians. It was interesting for us to be able to observe those differences.

As Senator Sterle said, when we were at Ashkelon visiting the world’s largest desalination plant that was the day the Israelis found the Hamas operatives in the tunnels. We did notice a fair bit of aircraft activity that day. We were not too certain what it was. As it turned out, it was not just aircraft activity in the region; there were other projectiles. That facility, which is next to a power station, is obviously a significant target for Hamas. When we were conducting our briefing with the manager of the facility we expressed our desire to go outside and walk around. He was very reticent about leaving the facility. He told us several times that he could show us plenty of photographs and give us an extensive briefing of the facility. It was not until he informed us that the briefing room that we were in was also their bomb shelter that we got a sense of the issues that he considered to be of significance as part of that process.

We did in fact go for a walk around and have a look outside. It goes to show the issues that Israelis deal with on a day-to-day basis. When we went down to Siderot to talk to the mayor, again the issue of Israelis having to live with the spectre of rockets arriving in their backyards on a daily basis was quite profound.

We were privileged to meet with some significant people. Our briefing with Mark Regev, an Australian who is working in the Prime Minister’s office in Israel, was a highlight for me. He is obviously highly trusted. He gave us a very good briefing on the issues and, importantly, again expressed high hopes for the peace process. All of us who have come away from that trip hope that the hopes that were expressed by the Arab community while we were in Egypt and by the Israelis can come to pass. One issue that was being discussed at the time we were in Israel was: would Israel go back into Gaza? That has obviously come to pass. I sincerely hope that the desires and the hopes from both sides of that argument can be put into effect as soon as possible. It is certainly a conflict that has gone on for too long.

Like Senator Sterle, I would like to thank my fellow members of the delegation and particularly thank those who helped to pull it all together. It was really well organised in Egypt—well, as well as you can organise things because of the vagaries of working in that country. Anyone who has been there would well know that it is very difficult to get to places on time because the traffic is so variable. Stephanie Shwabsky and Hugh Robilliard, whom I think we nearly drove to distraction, did a fantastic job. James Larsen in Israel showed his true professionalism. Ben Scott looked after things on the Palestinian side and Patricia Smith stayed with us throughout our time there. I thank them all for the efforts they put into a very successful trip. I would also like to mention Major General Ian Gordon, another Australian who is playing a significant part in the region in heading up the United Nations Truce Supervision Organisation. He is highly regarded. They all contributed to a really significant trip. (Time expired)

Question agreed to.