Report of the Parliamentary Delegation led by the Deputy Speaker to the 17 th Annual Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum, Vientiane

Transcription

1 J.2A Report of the Parliamentary Delegation led by the Deputy Speaker to the 17 th Annual Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum, Vientiane January 2009 Lindsay Tisch, Deputy Speaker Forty-ninth Parliament Presented to the House of Representatives

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3 17 TH ANNUAL MEETING OF THE ASIA-PACIFIC PARLIAMENTARY FORUM J.2A Contents INTRODUCTION TO THE APPF...5 General...5 Composition of meetings...6 NEW ZEALAND DELEGATION TH ANNUAL MEETING OF THE APPF...7 General...7 Plenary Sessions...8 First Plenary Session: Economic and Trade Matters...8 Second Plenary Session: Political and Security Matters...9 Third Plenary Session: Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation...9 Fourth Plenary Session: APPF Matters...9 Meetings of the Drafting Committee...10 Adoption of resolutions and Joint Communiqué...11 CONCLUSION

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5 17 TH ANNUAL MEETING OF THE ASIA-PACIFIC PARLIAMENTARY FORUM J.2A Report of the Parliamentary Delegation led by the Deputy Speaker to the 17 th Annual Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum, Vientiane, January 2009 INTRODUCTION TO THE APPF General The Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum (APPF) is a forum of national parliamentarians. The APPF seeks to provide opportunities for national parliamentarians of the Asia- Pacific region to: identify and discuss matters of common concern and interest and to highlight them in a global context deepen their understanding of the policy concerns, interests and experiences of the countries of the region examine the critical political, social, and cultural developments resulting from economic growth and integration encourage and promote regional cooperation at all levels on matters of common concern to the region further in their respective countries a sense of regional cohesion, understanding and cooperation. The APPF acts to promote greater regional identification and cooperation with particular focus on: cooperation for the further advancement of peace, freedom, democracy, and prosperity open and non-exclusive cooperation for the expansion of free trade and investment, and sustainable development and sound environmental practices non-military cooperation, which gives due consideration to issues relating to regional peace and security. The APPF expresses its views on these issues and the positions of the parliamentarians of the Asia-Pacific region through resolutions and a joint communiqué signed by all the Heads of Delegation. To a great extent, the APPF acts as the parliamentary branch of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), and keeps close ties with other regional integration institutions such as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), South Pacific Forum 5

6 J.2A 17 TH ANNUAL MEETING OF THE ASIA-PACIFIC PARLIAMENTARY FORUM (SPF), Pacific Economic Cooperation Council (PECC), and Pacific Basin Economic Council (PBEC), even though it maintains an independent agenda. Twenty-seven national parliaments are current members of the APPF. A list of members is attached as Appendix 1. Composition of meetings The APPF meets every year in January. The Forum consists of three meetings, that of the Executive Committee, the Plenary Sessions and the Drafting Committee. The location circulates between member states. The Executive Committee comprises the President of the APPF (normally the Speaker from the host country), the Head of Delegation whose country is hosting the next Forum, and representatives of two countries from each of the four sub-regions of the APPF: Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia, Oceania and the Americas. The Executive Committee meets on the first night of the conference in order to discuss and adopt the Forum s agenda and programme of activities. It also approves by consensus any changes to the agenda or the addition of draft resolutions proposed by member countries. The Plenary Sessions are attended by all delegates and present them with an opportunity to express their views on the agenda s topics. There are generally five plenary sessions, each covering a major topic. These topics are subdivided into sub-topics or items. The majority of the meetings of the Drafting Committee are run in parallel with the Plenary Sessions. During these meetings, countries that are sponsoring draft resolutions meet in order to discuss and debate the language of a draft resolution. In many cases two or more countries may decide to co-sponsor. NEW ZEALAND DELEGATION The New Zealand delegation comprised three members of Parliament, which allowed New Zealand to participate fully in both the Plenary Sessions and the Drafting Committee meetings. The New Zealand delegation to the 17 th Annual Meeting of the APPF comprised: Lindsay Tisch MP, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives and Head of Delegation Metiria Turei MP Chris Hipkins MP Alison Allen, Secretary to the delegation. 6

7 17 TH ANNUAL MEETING OF THE ASIA-PACIFIC PARLIAMENTARY FORUM J.2A 17 TH ANNUAL MEETING OF THE APPF General The Executive Committee convened on Sunday, 11 January 2009 in the Convention Hall of the Don Chan Palace Hotel, Vientiane, Laos to discuss and adopt the Forum s agenda and programme of activities. It also acknowledged the draft resolutions submitted by the national delegations. In addition, the questions of the further extension of the membership of APPF, observer country status and general direction of the Forum were discussed. It was decided that these subjects be further considered during Item IV on Thursday 15 January and again at the 18 th and 19 th Annual Meetings in Singapore and Ulaanbaatar respectively. Based on these considerations, a new Declaration will be issued at the 20 th meeting in 2012, to be held in Tokyo to commemorate the 20 th anniversary of the founding of APPF in The minutes of the Executive Committee meeting, which include the final agenda, are attached as Appendix 2. The programme of activities is attached as Appendix 3. Heads of Delegation at the Inaugural Ceremony The Forum was inaugurated on 12 January by His Excellency Mr Thongsing, APPF President and President of the Lao PDR National Assembly, at a ceremony at the Convention Hall of the Don Chan Palace Hotel. His address was followed by a statement by Mr Anders B. Johnsson, Secretary-General of the Inter-Parliamentary Union. This is the first time a representative from the IPU has been invited to attend and address an APPF Annual Meeting and is perhaps an indicator of a desire within the member countries to establish closer relations with other parliamentary organisations. I gave the closing address of the ceremony as the representative of the previous Forum host-country and this speech is attached as Appendix 4. 7

8 J.2A 17 TH ANNUAL MEETING OF THE ASIA-PACIFIC PARLIAMENTARY FORUM Following the opening ceremony, the meeting commenced with the First Plenary Session. Twenty-one parliamentary delegations participated. Brunei Darussalam also attended as observers by invitation of the Executive Committee. The New Zealand delegation participated actively throughout the Forum. Members were present at the four plenary sessions and presented their views, by means of speeches, at three of them. New Zealand was also represented continuously at the Drafting Committee meetings. Due to the timing of the Annual Meeting and its proximity to the start of the parliamentary term and the summer recess, New Zealand did not sponsor any resolutions at the Annual Meeting. Plenary Sessions There were four plenary sessions. Interpretation services were available for delegates, with Lao, Russian, English, Spanish, Korean, Chinese and Japanese speakers catered for. Members of the New Zealand delegation had an opportunity to present their views in three of the plenary sessions as listed below. These sessions also presented the delegation with an opportunity to become more informed on the major topics and to contribute to particular subject items. First Plenary Session: Economic and Trade Matters The first Plenary Session was held on 12 and 13 January and explored six subject items: Global Financial Crisis and Effective APPF response APEC 2008 in Peru: Report by Peru WTO 2008 Sustainable tourism Food security Energy security. I spoke on the Global Financial Crisis and WTO 2008 and my speeches are attached as Appendices 5 and 6. 8

9 17 TH ANNUAL MEETING OF THE ASIA-PACIFIC PARLIAMENTARY FORUM J.2A Chris Hipkins MP delivered speeches on Sustainable Tourism and Energy Security. These are attached as Appendices 7 and 8. Metiria Turei MP delivered a speech on Food Security. Her speech is attached as Appendix 9. Second Plenary Session: Political and Security Matters The Second Plenary Session was held on 13 January and explored the following subject items: Review of the political and security situation in the Asia-Pacific region and in the world AFR 2008 in Singapore: Report by Singapore Peace and stability in North-East Asia Peace and stability in South-East Asia Middle-East peace process Cluster munitions Terrorism. Chris Hipkins MP delivered a speech on Cluster Munitions. His speech is attached as Appendix 10. Third Plenary Session: Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation The Third Plenary Session was held on 13 and 15 January and explored five subject items: Parliamentary capacity building Handling climate change and other environmental issues Natural disaster management Poverty reduction Gender issues in Parliament. Metiria Turei MP delivered speeches on Climate Change and Gender Issues. Her speeches are attached as Appendices 11 and 12. Fourth Plenary Session: APPF Matters The Fourth Plenary Session was held on 15 January and explored two subject items: APPF in future (membership, observer status, rules of procedure) Date and venue of the 16th Annual Meeting of APPF. Some of the points raised by delegates in their speeches on the future of the APPF included: A reduction in the number of agenda items (and as a result a reduction in the number of resolutions) That sector experts be invited to speak at plenary sessions Reinforcement of a parliamentary rather than government focus and the right to speak against government policy Technical experience/resources in the form of a central Forum Secretariat The re-evaluation of the relationship between the Drafting Committee and the Plenary Sessions 9

10 J.2A 17 TH ANNUAL MEETING OF THE ASIA-PACIFIC PARLIAMENTARY FORUM The relationship with other international organisations Common website to facilitate the sharing of best practice The process of sharing the resolutions with Parliaments on return to home countries. His Excellency Mr Thongsing called for a vote on Singapore s proposal to host the next APPF Annual Meeting in Singapore from 17 to 23 January The proposal was unanimously approved by the delegates. Meetings of the Drafting Committee One of the advantages of taking a larger delegation than previous years to the APPF meeting in Vientiane was that it allowed New Zealand to participate actively in both the Plenary and the Drafting Committee meeting sessions. The Drafting Committee meetings ran during most of the conference in parallel with the Plenary Sessions, which meant that the delegate who was part of the Drafting Committee was unable to attend the majority of Plenary Sessions. I undertook the role of New Zealand s representative at the Drafting Committee. A total of 35 resolutions were proposed as follows: Australia 3 Canada 1 Chile 3 Indonesia 3 Japan 4 Lao PDR 6 Mexico 8 Korea 1 Russian Federation 3 United States 1 Vietnam 2 Drafting Committee meeting 10

11 17 TH ANNUAL MEETING OF THE ASIA-PACIFIC PARLIAMENTARY FORUM J.2A A list of the draft resolutions is attached as Appendix 13. The United States resolution was a late addition and addressed the Middle East Peace Process. The Committee was divided into working groups comprising the two or more countries that had submitted similar draft resolutions. Delegates from these countries worked together to debate and discuss the topic and adjust the wording of their draft resolutions. Nine working groups were created. New Zealand participated in the working groups concerned with Terrorism, Energy Security and Food Security. Once an agreement was reached, the resolutions were passed to the Drafting Committee for consideration and debate. Adoption of resolutions and Joint Communiqué Finally, the Joint Communiqué and 16 resolutions were adopted and the Joint Communiqué was signed by the Heads of Delegations. The Joint Communiqué is attached as Appendix 14. The closing ceremony followed, with a closing speech by His Excellency Mr Thongsing, APPF President and President of the Lao PDR National Assembly and an address by Hon Dr Teo Ho Pin on behalf of the Incoming President and host of the 18 th Annual Meeting of the APPF, His Excellency Mr Abdullah Tarmugi, President of the Parliament of Singapore. CONCLUSION Overall, the attendance at the meeting of the APPF was very worthwhile. With a delegation of three members, New Zealand was able to actively and constructively participate in all elements of the Forum and maintain New Zealand s profile in the international parliamentary arena. I would like to record my thanks to the National Assembly of the Lao PDR, who worked hard to make the APPF meeting successful. Lindsay Tisch Deputy Speaker 11

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