Thistlethwaite, Sen Matt

Senator THISTLETHWAITE (New South Wales—Parliamentary Secretary for Pacific Island Affairs and Parliamentary Secretary for Multicultural Affairs) (22:59): Australia is a wealthy nation. We enjoy some of the highest living standards and incomes in the world. But we are also a very generous people. Our aid budget is one of the highest per capita compared to other nations. Importantly, we also give generously of our most precious resource, regularly and throughout the world: our people's time and efforts. And there is no finer example of our generosity when it comes to our resources and people than the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands, or RAMSI. For almost a decade, Australians have given their time and effort to restore peace, renew confidence and promote development in the beautiful archipelago to our north. On the eve of the 10th anniversary of the Australian RAMSI deployment, we should be very proud of the contribution that our countrymen and countrywomen have made to improving the lives of our neighbours to the north. The Australia-led Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands was instigated in 2003 by the Howard government as regional unrest threatened to tear the country apart. Ten years on, RAMSI is a shining example of regional cooperation that gave a new start to a troubled nation. In 2003, law and order in Solomon Islands was in tatters in the wake of devastating ethnic conflict; corruption was widespread; and officials and citizens were regularly intimidated and subjected to physical violence. The nation was descending into lawlessness. Now, thanks largely to the efforts of our dedicated Defence Force personnel, Federal Police, AusAID staff, diplomats and civilians from a host of Commonwealth government agencies working alongside our Pacific island neighbours and, importantly, the Solomon Islands government, order has been re-established and the country's future is much brighter. I must say that on my recent visit to Solomon Islands, to Honiara, I was struck by the positive effect that Australia's RAMSI presence has had on the people of Solomon Islands and their confidence, and the importance of our bilateral aid program to development in the nation. Some of the indicators of that progress are that, in the first year of RAMSI, 3,700 firearms were confiscated and more than 3,300 arrests were made. There have been achievements and productive initiatives in law and order. For example, the building and maintenance of 84 police houses across the provinces and the training of more local police officers have helped to provide a sense of security and confidence to the nation's people and business community. The mission has also brought about remarkable progress in areas such as health and education. To combat rising infant mortality, Australia has helped improve the rate of medically supervised births, and now 86 per cent of all women in Solomon Islands give birth in the presence of a skilled birth attendant. Our work in fighting malaria has also seen the number of cases fall from 199 per 1,000 citizens in 2003 to just 45 per 1,000 in 2012. To ensure that more kids in the Solomons get an education, Australia has worked with local government authorities to provide free primary school education, helping more than 145,000 young Solomon Islanders go to school in 2012. I was equally amazed by the broader structural changes that have come about as a result of Australia's presence and that of our regional neighbours through RAMSI. The number of parliamentary committee hearings has increased from seven in 2004 to 133 in 2009, including the first outside Honiara, with 40 public hearings across all nine provinces. The tabling of the public service code of conduct in the Solomon Islands parliament in December 2009 represented a major milestone in the work to improve the Solomon Islands public service, and the national parliament is about to debate a new public financial management bill and a family protection bill. The new code of conduct provides minimum standards of conduct and work performance for public officers, and the majority of public servants have now undertaken training related to their responsibilities under the code. Significant financial savings are also being realised through better tenancy management and property management practices, and the elimination of incorrect payments to rental-scheme landlords has resulted in savings of approximately one million Solomon Island dollars each quarter. The audits of financial records of state owned enterprises, such as the Solomon Islands Water Authority and the Solomon Islands Electricity Authority, are now up to date and being undertaken annually. Thanks to these and other improvements, RAMSI is now entering a transition phase. Peace and stability have now been restored and our Defence Force personnel are returning home and the work of Australia is very much moving from a peace-keeping operation to one of building development capacity, particularly around health and education. So despite the fact that RAMSI is drawing down, Australia's work in the Solomons will continue. Our Federal Police will continue working with the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force in mentoring, training and in a capacity-building role. Our civilians will continue to assist the Solomon Islands government to improve health, education, access to justice and living standards. During my visit to Honiara I was fortunate to meet a band of very inspirational and dedicated young Aussies, who are working as volunteers at the Solomon Islands Red Cross centre. This centre and its people played an integral role in the response and recovery following the February 2013 earthquake and the tsunami in Temotu province, which killed 10 people, devastated 25 villages and left more than 4,000 people homeless. The Australian government provided $1 million to assist the disaster affected communities. I was really touched by the stories and the experiences of those young Aussies who were working as volunteers at the Red Cross and the wonderful work they had done teaming up with other regional partners—people from France, other Pacific island nations and New Zealand—to provide volunteer assistance to those devastated communities. The Solomon Islands economy is in good shape. It is looking up. There is much work being done and a level of optimism and wonderful opportunity in the Solomon Islands, particularly around the industries of tourism, agriculture and fisheries. It was uplifting to visit some of these organisations, particularly the Forum Fisheries Agency, of which Australia is a sponsor, and to meet some of the wonderful people who were responsible for helping rebuild the region's communities in the wake of the tsunami and earthquake and the wonderful Australian Defence Force personnel, the Australian Federal Police, AusAID staff, DFAT staff and officers working cooperatively to restore peace and good government to Australia's important neighbour. We should be very proud of our countrymen and women who have served and continue to serve in the Solomon Islands. I wish to pay particular tribute to our High Commissioner in Honiara, Matt Anderson. Matt is a down-to-earth bloke. He is a very hard worker and, most importantly, he is passionate about development in the Pacific. He has spent most of his diplomatic life working to improve the health, education and living standards of people working in the Pacific. He is a wonderful ambassador for development and a great symbol—personification of our nation's generosity when it comes to making a difference in the Pacific. I would like to thank Matt and all of his team for their very hard work in showing me around the Solomon Islands and ensuring that I got a first-hand account of the great work that Australians are doing. We need to thank all of our dedicated countrymen and women for their time away from their families, working on restoring peace and promoting development, and we must never forget their contribution in promoting security and prosperity in the Pacific and the continuation of that great Aussie spirit of generosity.