Judith Troeth (Victoria, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

by leave—I present the report of the Australian parliamentary delegation to the 120th assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union in Ethopia and a bilateral visit to Switzerland, which took place during April 2009. I seek leave to move a motion to take note of the document.

Leave granted.

I move:

That the Senate take note of the document.

I was very pleased to be part of this delegation. The delegation comprised me as deputy leader of the delegation; Mr Harry Jenkins, the Speaker of the House, as leader; Mr Roger Price; Ms Annette Ellis, the member for Canberra, who was present for the Ethiopian part of the delegation; and Mrs Bronwyn Bishop.

The IPU is an international organisation that brings together representatives of the parliaments of sovereign states, and it has 153 nations as members. Assemblies are held twice a year. In October the assembly meets in Geneva, and the second meeting of the year takes place in April, usually in a reasonably economically disadvantaged nation that will derive a great deal of benefit from having the delegation there—and that was certainly the case in Addis Ababa.

There are assemblies and also specialist meetings such as the meetings of women parliamentarians. By and large, the group of 153 nations splits into geopolitical groups: Africa, the Arab countries, the Asia-Pacific—to which Australia belongs—Eurasia, Latin America and the Twelve Plus Group—to which Australia also belongs. Through this means, we have multilateral contact and it helps us cement friendships with other countries in our region such as Timor-Leste and South Pacific countries.

The Speaker, Mr Jenkins, participated in the general debate, which was on the role of parliaments in the global financial crisis; Mr Price was the co-rapporteur in the debate on advancing non-proliferation and disarmament; Ms Ellis took part in the debate on climate change, sustainable development models and renewable energies; Mrs Bishop took part in the debate on freedom of expression and the right to information; and Ms Ellis and I attended the meeting of women parliamentarians. Mr Price and I also met with the Speaker of the Ethiopian parliament, and numerous members of the delegation attended a panel discussion on adolescent girls. We also hosted a luncheon for delegates from China, Great Britain, Indonesia, New Zealand, Switzerland and Timor-Leste.

One of the highlights of our visit to Addis Ababa was a visit to the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital, which is run by an Australian doctor, Dr Catherine Hamlin, who—formerly together with her late husband—has worked in Ethiopia for some 45 years. She has trained Ethiopian staff. She has not only set up the hospital, which treats gynaecological problems for Ethiopian women, but also established a number of outreach stations in Ethiopia. At present she is in the process of setting up a midwifery college. We were very honoured indeed to meet Dr Hamlin.

The Speaker also participated in field visits organised by the IPU and UNICEF to projects for vulnerable children and adolescents. We held bilateral meetings with Iran, Mongolia and Timor-Leste. I must say the assembly was notable this time for the presence of observers from the United States of America. The USA stopped participating in the IPU in 1995, and we were pleased to note the executive committee announced that it would welcome an application from the United States congress to re-affiliate. The Clerk of the House, Mr Ian Harris, and Ms Claressa Surtees, who is the Deputy Serjeant-at-Arms in the House of Representatives, attended meetings of the Association of Secretaries General of Parliaments, which was held concurrently with our meeting. I seek leave to continue my remarks later, as I understand that the President wishes to conduct some business and I would like to accord him that facility.

Leave granted; debate adjourned.