M45

10 May 1995

REPORT OF THE AUSTRALIAN PARLIAMENTARY CONSULTATIVE DELEGATION TO VIETNAM

The report of the Australian Parliamentary Consultative Delegation, Australia-Vietnam Dialogue: the Currents of Change, was tabled today in both Houses of Parliament. The Australian Parliamentary Consultative Delegation visited Vietnam at my request from 5 to 12 April.

The delegation which was led by Senator Stephen Loosley, Chair of the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade, comprised Mr Alexander Downer MP, Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs (Deputy Leader); Senator Vicki Bourne of the Australian Democrats; Professor Nancy Viviani, Faculty of Asian and International Studies at Griffith University; Mr Chris Sidoti, a Commissioner of the Australian Law Reform; and two prominent and highly-regarded Vietnamese-Australians, Professor Trang Thomas, Chair of the Victorian Ethnic Affairs Commission; and Ms Mai Ho, a Melbourne businesswoman and formerly Footscray City Councillor. The delegation was accompanied by two officials of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

I welcome the delegation's report, which is comprehensive, balanced and forward-looking and should contribute to a strengthening of relations with Vietnam. The delegation has achieved its basic objectives, including opening a dialogue on human rights issues between Australia and Vietnam.

The delegation had good access to a wide range of senior officials, usually at the Vice Minister level, and was successful in opening effective dialogue on wide-ranging issues, including human rights. Beyond official contact, the delegation was also able to discuss matters of interest with religious leaders, the diplomatic, legal and business communities, representatives of international agencies, intellectuals and political critics of the Vietnamese government. Vietnamese-Australian members of the delegation were able to move unescorted and to meet and talk freely with ordinary Vietnamese people. The delegation also raised cases of individuals in detention and made representations for their release and well-being.

I welcome the delegation's proposals that Australia should extend its contacts with Vietnam, both generally and in areas of specific relevance to the social and legal infrastructure of the country, and am particularly pleased with the recommendations about the pivotal role Vietnamese Australians had to play in strengthening connections between the two countries. The delegation's report suggests helpful ways of improving human rights observance in Vietnam, through cooperation in areas such as the legal field, and in education and training.

While the Government has yet to consider and respond to the recommendations in detail, I expect the delegation's report to become the basis for a wider program of constructive cooperation with Vietnam.

CANBERRA