News Stories – 25 September 08
Opening of the 63rd session of the United Nations General Assembly
The opening of the General Assembly is an important opportunity to take forward Australia’s policy of greater engagement with the United Nations (UN), a key pillar of the Australian Government’s foreign policy.
Prime Minister Rudd is leading Australia’s delegation to the opening of the 63rd session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York from 21 to 26 September, accompanied by Foreign Minister Stephen Smith.
The opening of the General Assembly is an important opportunity to take forward Australia’s policy of greater engagement with the United Nations (UN). Comprehensive engagement with the UN is a key pillar of the Australian Government’s foreign policy.
This session of the UNGA will focus on important challenges facing the global community, including climate change, food and energy security, the Millennium Development Goals, peacekeeping, and non-proliferation and disarmament.
Australia is making a significant contribution to addressing these global challenges and is determined to ensure the UN can and will play a central role in meeting them.
Australia remains focused on improving the effectiveness, efficiency and accountability of UN operations to the benefit of the whole UN membership.
Australia supports sensible reform of the UN Security Council (UNSC) to reflect the modern world, including reforms of its working methods.
This involves support of limited expansion of membership, including Japan and India as permanent members and appropriate permanent representation for Latin America and Africa.
Australia has submitted its candidacy for a non-permanent seat on the UNSC for the 2013-14 term.
Since Australia last served on the Council, over two decades ago, we have developed a wealth of experience in peacekeeping, conflict prevention, peace-building and development assistance.
We therefore have much to bring to the UNSC, including insights, creativity, energy and a practical problem-solving ethos and would work hard to ensure that the UNSC operated in a way that takes seriously the view and concerns of non members.
During the visit Minister Smith will also meet with heads of UN agencies including the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the UN Development Program (UNDP)
and take the opportunity to meet with a number of counterparts including Foreign Ministers from Argentina, Bahrain, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Georgia, Iraq, Morocco, Mozambique, the Netherlands, Pakistan, Sierra Leone, Spain and the United Arab Emirates.
The Global Carbon Capture and Storage Initiative (GCCSI)
Prime Minister Rudd has launched the Global Carbon Capture and Storage Initiative and the establishment of a $100 million Global Institute to speed up the development of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd launched the Global Carbon Capture and Storage Initiative (GCCSI) on Friday 19 September 2008.
The Australian Government will contribute up to $100 million a year to a new Global Carbon Capture and Storage Institute, based in Australia, which will work cooperatively with other countries and industry in developing and commercialising CCS technology to help reduce global C02 emissions.
According to IEA Energy Technology Perspectives (IEA-2006), CCS in power generation, industry and synfuel production could contribute 20% to 28% of the effort to reduce global emissions by 50% by 2050.
At the Hokkaido Group of Eight (the G8) meeting in July, attended by Prime Minister Rudd, the G8 recognised the need to act now to commit by 2010 to at least 20 fully integrated industrial-scale demonstration projects to enable the broad deployment of CCS technology by 2020.
The Institute will act as a catalyst for accelerating projects to deliver the G8’s goal through facilitating demonstration projects, identifying and supporting necessary research, including regulatory settings and regulatory frameworks.
The model for the Institute and its operations will now be the subject of further detailed discussions with parties that have an interest in CCS, such as foreign governments, industry and various international bodies.
The proposed Institute builds on Australia's existing reputation as a world leader in CCS. The Initiative reflects:
- the Australian economy’s dependence on coal fired power (80% of Australia's electricity is provided by coal fired power stations);
- Australia’s global obligations as a leading coal exporter;
- Australia’s demonstrated commitment to commercialise technologies through an existing portfolio of programs in Australia; and
- legislation to establish a regulatory framework for C02 storage under the seabed in Commonwealth waters is currently before Parliament.
This legislation will allow Australia to offer the first carbon storage blocks for commercial development in early 2009.
The Australian proposal is a major initiative to accelerate the development and pave the way for CCS commercial deployment across the world by the end of the next decade.
News Stories – 19 September 2008
Australian mining in Africa
The interest of Australian mining companies in Africa continues to grow and many Australian miners are active in community social development.
Australian mining companies are now deeply engaged in the mining sector in Africa, making a substantial contribution to the development of the continent
for example, Australian companies hold 39 per cent of the mining licenses issued in Botswana – a larger share than any other country.
As mining is a vital sunrise industry for Africa, Australia is using its aid program to enhance the skills of African government officials in natural resource management.
Australian mining interest in Africa continues to grow. The Lowy Institute estimates actual and prospective investment by Australian mining companies in the Sub Saharan Africa resources sector has now climbed to US$20 billion.
over 300 Australian mining equipment and services companies are active in Africa, many of them providing services such as exploration, engineering, contract mining, consulting and analysis.
Our commercial relationship with Africa as a whole has also been growing
over the past five years, Australia’s trade with Africa has grown at an average 10 per cent a year to A$7.18billion in 2007.
Australia’s exports to Africa have also grown at more than 10 percent a year over the same period to A$4.77billion in 2007, and a substantial share of this increase is related to the mining sector.
At the Africa Downunder mining conference held 4-5 September 2008 in Perth, the main panel discussion highlighted the need for the mining industry to ‘give back’ to local communities in Africa.
The Australian Government supports good mining practice in Africa and is deeply committed to integrity in the way in which our companies do business.
For example, our strong anti-corruption laws have extra-territorial effect.
The Australian mining industry has a significant role to play in the Government’s policy of broadening and deepening Australia’s engagement with Africa.
Mr Smith’s 8-12 September visit to India
The visit to India by Australia’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Stephen Smith, emphasised the Government’s commitment to taking the relationship with India to the front line of its international partnerships. The two countries agreed to work towards the bilateral relationship becoming a ‘strategic partnership’.
Mr Smith’s visit to India closely followed the successful Australia-India Foreign Ministers’ Framework Dialogue at which Mr Smith hosted his counterpart, Mr Pranab Mukherjee, in Canberra on 23 June 2008.
In New Delhi, Mr Smith met Prime Minister Singh, Foreign Minister Mukherjee, Vice President Ansari, Finance Minister Chidambaram, National Security Adviser Narayanan, and Congress Party General secretary Gandhi.
Mr Smith’s visit laid the groundwork for Australia and India agreeing to work towards the bilateral relationship becoming a ‘strategic partnership’. This term is used by the Indian Government to refer to a select group of high priority bilateral relationships.
Mr Smith also visited the economically dynamic southern cities of Chennai and Hyderabad where he met state government, civil society and business leaders to discuss prospects for greater Australia-India collaboration across the growing breadth of bilateral relations.
Mr Smith and Mr Mukherjee underlined the need to address climate change, endorsed effective multilateralism and restated their respective Government’s longstanding commitment to nuclear non-proliferation.
Mr Smith outlined to Mr Mukherjee Australia’s initiative on the Asia Pacific Community, and welcomed India’s participation in the International Commission on Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament.
The Ministers reaffirmed the importance of concluding the Australia-India FTA feasibility study by the end of 2008, and welcomed work to establish the Australia-India Chief Executive Officers’ Forum. They reaffirmed the strong commitment of the two countries to the successful conclusion of the WTO Doha Round.
The Ministers highlighted a series of initiatives to further enhance cooperation in key spheres of the bilateral relationship including
- the ongoing work to develop a resource strategy and specific sectoral action plans under the Joint Working Group on Energy and Resources
- the success of the Australia-India Strategic Research Fund in increasing scientific collaboration across a range of priority sectors, including biotechnology and information technology
- the signing of an MoU between CSIRO and its Indian equivalent, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, to increase exchanges and collaboration in a range of targeted areas
- the finalisation of a MoU on Cooperation in the Field of Water Management which aims to enhance cooperation through the sharing of policy and technical experiences of water management.
News Stories - 11 September 2008
Her Excellency Ms Quentin Bryce AC, Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia
Her Excellency Ms Quentin Bryce AC has been sworn in as the Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia.
At the swearing-in ceremony as Governor-General at Parliament House Canberra on 5 September 2008, Her Excellency Ms Quentin Bryce AC registered:
- her great pleasure to serve as Australia’s 25th Governor-General;
- to perform her responsibilities according to law and convention;
- and to reflect the ideals, values, expectations, and achievements of the Australian people;
- our experience of the privilege and duty of suffrage over many years – belatedly for our indigenous people – has made Australians savvy participants in our democratic system, and careful scrutineers of its performance and value;
- that Australians are informed and not afraid to question;
- that we intuitively know what serves us well, and what therefore deserves our protection;
- that equally, we embrace change as a natural and necessary consequence of our evolution;
- our growing capacity to balance tradition with renewal is a sure and uplifting sign of our standing as a sophisticated and highly functional civilised society, and member of the global community;
- and that underpinning that capacity are our respect for the dignity, worth, and human rights of every individual; our insistence on equality of access to justice and opportunity; our belief in each other’s ability to contribute to our enrichment and endurance; and our abiding commitment to a fair and inclusive society.
For the Governor-General's speech, please refer to the Governor-General's website.
Africa Trade Mission
A recent trade mission to the Sub Sahara has shown that there are increasing prospects for Australian businesses in Africa.
The first Australian trade mission to the Sub Sahara in 20 years was undertaken in June 2008.
The trade mission provided an opportunity for clients to visit several African nations with strong economic performance to seek trade and investment opportunities in the infrastructure industry.
Economies of Africa’s developing countries are growing at record levels and currently account for around 11 per cent of world trade.
Australia’s two-way trade with Africa was worth $5.9 billion in 2007
the World Bank is currently implementing $US 19.2 million in development projects in Africa.
The trade mission highlighted opportunities in power generation and distribution, transportation, telecommunications technologies, residential construction and a variety of consumer goods.
In particular, mining opportunities in Ghana and Nigeria were targeted by Austrade to take advantage of Australian expertise in this sector.
One of the successes from the mission included Australian firm “Light Eco Ilum-a-Lite” signing a distribution deal. CEO Mark Rutherford said the company had set its sights on Africa because there is a growing demand for energy efficient technology as the region suffers severe power shortages and a rapidly rising cost of electricity. The technology is designed to help reduce peak demand and save energy at critical times of the day.
Light Eco has been installed in 60,000 locations worldwide including Beijing Airport, Sydney Opera House, Royal Perth Hospital and Brisbane International Airport.
Appointment of the First Australian Ambassador to ASEAN
The appointment of Australia’s first Ambassador to ASEAN underscores the importance Australia attaches to its relationship with ASEAN, and will further enhance our engagement and cooperation in key areas.
Senior diplomat Gillian Bird has been appointed as Australia’s first Ambassador to ASEAN. Provision to appoint Ambassadors to ASEAN is included in the new ASEAN Charter (expected to be ratified at the end of this year).
Ms Bird looks forward to commencing her duties as Ambassador, which she will do in conjunction with her role as Deputy Secretary in DFAT.
The decision to appoint an Ambassador to ASEAN reflects the importance Australia attaches to its relationship with ASEAN.
Ms Bird’s appointment will significantly enhance our engagement and cooperation with ASEAN and its member nations.
Australia has long-standing and productive links with ASEAN.
Australia became ASEAN’s first dialogue partner in 1974. Since then we have built a partnership that spans development cooperation, economic and trade links, security and defence cooperation and people-to-people links.
Appointment of Australian Ambassador for Counter-Terrorism
The Australian Government is committed to countering the ongoing threat from international terrorism. Australia has appointed a new Ambassador for Counter-Terrorism to coordinate Australia’s international counter-terrorism engagement.
Mr William (Bill) Paterson has been appointed effective immediately as Australia's new Ambassador for Counter-Terrorism.
Mr Paterson will be Australia's fourth Ambassador for Counter-Terrorism
his predecessor, Mike Smith, was appointed the Executive-Director of the UN Counter-Terrorism Executive Directorate in November 2007.
The Ambassador for Counter-Terrorism is responsible for developing, implementing and promoting Australia's international counter-terrorism efforts
he will play a key role in coordinating cooperation, capacity building and operational collaboration between Australian agencies and international counter-terrorism partners.
The Australian Government is committed to countering the ongoing threat of violent extremism and international terrorism.
Effective counter terrorism efforts by governments in South East Asia, including through extensive cooperation with Australia, has led to a much less favourable environment for terrorists in recent years. However, the terrorist threat in the region persists and there can be no room for complacency.
Australia will be looking to build on progress achieved in partnership in South East Asia and make a similar contribution to efforts in South Asia.
We will also continue to build our counter-terrorism engagement with the United Nations system and continue to work to counter the threat of terrorists acquiring chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear materials.
The government is also committed to working with regional partners to counter extremist ideology and propaganda and promote tolerance and respect for human dignity.
News Stories – 4 September 2008
Australia-ASEAN-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement
The conclusion of negotiations of the region-wide Free Trade Agreement between Australia, ASEAN and New Zealand is a good outcome after three years of negotiations. AANZFTA provides a solid platform for deeper economic integration, further liberalisation and ongoing economic engagement with ASEAN into the future.
The AANZFTA negotiations were concluded at the annual ASEAN Economic Ministers’ meeting with Australian and New Zealand Ministers (AEM-CER) on 28 August 2008 in Singapore.
The concluding agreement locked in the details on goods with all but two countries. We still have issues to resolve on autos commitments involving Indonesia and Malaysia which both countries have undertaken to pursue.
AANZFTA is the most comprehensive FTA ever negotiated by ASEAN covering goods, services, investment, intellectual property, e-commerce, movement of natural persons (business mobility), competition policy and economic cooperation.
It is the largest FTA that Australia has negotiated. ASEAN accounts for 16 per cent of Australia’s trade in goods and services, worth $71 billion.
ASEAN has a combined market of over 570 million people and a combined GDP of over $1 trillion.
AANZFTA locks Australia into the new trade and economic opportunities expected to arise from the establishment of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC).
ASEAN is aiming to transform itself into a region with free movement of goods, services, investment, skilled labour and freer flow of capital by 2015.
AANZFTA also provides a platform for significantly increasing the investment relationship between Australia and ASEAN.
ASEAN only attracts 5% of Australia’s rapidly expanding outward flow of foreign direct investment (as at December 2007).
Aside from the ongoing discussions on autos with Indonesia and Malaysia, the agreement will now be subject to legal processes with a view to a signing ceremony being held at the East Asia Summit in December this year
its entry into force is expected to be mid-2009.
Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games
Australia is looking forward to participating in the 2008 Beijing Paralympic Games.
The 13th Paralympic Games will take place in Beijing from 6-17 September 2008. Some 4,000 athletes are expected to participate.
Australia has participated in every summer Paralympic Games since their inception in Rome in 1960.
Australia’s 2008 Paralympic Team will comprise 170 athletes (96 men and 74 women) and 141 supporting officials, making it one of our largest away teams to participate in the Games.
Athletes from all Australian States and Territories are represented in the team.
Australia has qualified athletes in 13 of the 20 Paralympic sports.
Australia is a small nation of 21.4 million, but has an impressive Paralympic record. Often finishing in the top 10 in the medal tally and finishing first in the medal count at the Sydney Games in 2000.
Our current total medal tally is 906 (including 302 gold, 317 silver and 287 bronze). The team is hoping to win its 1000th medal in Beijing.