Raff Ciccone (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak about a program that you, Acting Deputy President Chandler, and I recently took part in—the International Visitor Leadership Program of the United States Department of State—along with a number of our other colleagues not just in this place but also in the other place.

The program was an opportunity to meet with political, academic and advocacy leaders in the US, particularly those who have an interest in the relationship between our two countries. We flew into Washington DC in mid-January, and we spent the bulk of the week talking about and looking at—and understanding, I should say—the important international symbols for democracy and freedom. We also managed to talk to these political and academic leaders about our engagement and the United States' engagement in the Indo-Pacific region and the impact of China that it is plain right now.

Over the course of the week, we received briefings from US departments on several policy issues. Of course, AUKUS was a major focus, as it represents a significant collaboration between our two great countries. We also discussed other policy areas, including manufacturing, energy and climate, which are a major focus for both the Biden administration and the Albanese Labor government. I particularly appreciated the tour that we did of congress and seeing some of the differences and similarities between our chambers and our democratic systems. It was also fascinating to be able to walk the corridors of the Pentagon and also mark our respects where the aeroplane hit the side of the Pentagon. Thank you very much to our ambassador, Arthur Sinodinos for hosting us at the Australian embassy, as well as ambassador Mitch Fifield, Australia's representative to the United Nations, for taking time to explain about the important work that Australia does on the world stage. I thank the US embassy here in Canberra for organising the tour and the program.