Distinguished guests from the International Federation, representatives from Diabetes Australia and my parliamentary colleagues, in particular Richard Marles Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs and Pacific Affairs.

I’m delighted to have the opportunity to show my support on behalf of the Coalition for the Western Pacific Region Diabetes Declaration Action Plan for 2012-2015. For over three decades Diabetes Australia has been raising awareness, supporting further research into the causes of diabetes, being a voice for those who are suffering from it and calling on the rest of our country to be aware of the consequences of this debilitating disease and holding out hope for the 1.5 to 1.8 million Australians who are hoping for a cure for diabetes.

You will forgive me if, as a Western Australian, I pick out three people in this room, who happen to be West Australians, who’ve done an extraordinary job of raising awareness of diabetes amongst the parliamentarians who spend a lot of time here in Canberra and yet have time to focus on issues beyond the day to day.

First my friend and colleague Judi Moylen, who was the founder and immediate past chair of the Parliamentary Diabetes Support Group. Judi has been a powerful tireless advocate for diabetes research, support for better treatment, for management, she has been a strong voice in this parliament.

Mal Washer, another colleague from Western Australia, happens to be a medical practitioner and bought his perspective to the Parliamentary Diabetes Support Group and now my good mate Ken Wyatt, also a Western Australian, who takes over from Judi as the chair of the support group. The three of them represent a very powerful recognition within the Parliament, on a bipartisan basis, that diabetes in Australia and elsewhere is a significant and debilitating issue for countries around the globe. READ MORE »

To mark the historic passing of the Act of Recognition today I take this opportunity to highlight the positive work young people in my electorate are doing to promote reconciliation.

Last week in Canberra I met with the founder and CEO of ICEA Foundation (Indigenous Communities Education and Awareness), Lockie Cooke from Mosman Park.

Lockie was in Canberra to present at the Reconciliation Australia Lecture series. He was inspired to develop ICEA after a Christ Church Grammar School leadership camp to the Kimberly in 2006.

The ICEA Foundation is youth driven and works closely with young people in remote Indigenous communities in North Western Australia and High Schools in the Perth metropolitan area, particularly in the Curtin Electorate, to promote reconciliation through experiences, understanding and relationships.

ICEA runs a number of programs including ICEA conversations, the ICEA mentoring Program, ICEA Cultural Camps and ICEA Waves. ICEA Waves is a surf mentoring program that pairs young indigenous kids with non-indigenous surf mentors and will be held in Cottesloe on the 31st of August.

Information about ICEA and their programs can be found on their website at http://iceafoundation.com.au/

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Foreign policy has been thrown into the spotlight as Australia takes up its seat on the United Nations Security Council.

The federal government says the two-year mandate shows Australia is a trusted member of the international community, and will make Australians proud. But as Australia enters a federal election year, the Opposition argues the government has made a costly political mistake, and should instead be more concerned with what’s going on closer to home.

SBS spoke to Foreign Minister Bob Carr and Opposition foreign affairs spokeswoman Julie Bishop about some of their foreign policy priorities in 2013 and how decisive a role this area can play in determining who will govern Australia for the next four years. Kristina Kukolja reports. The federal government says the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan will remain one of Australia’s main foreign policy priorities.

NATO forces, among them Australian soldiers, are due to leave the country by the end of next year, as the alliance transfers security control to Afghan forces. It’s an area both sides of federal politics agree must remain a focal point for Australia, despite challenges including those posed by a growing number of so-called insider attacks on international forces.

Senator Carr says he expects the return of Australian soldiers to continue, undeterred.

“The withdrawal of Australian troops, the withdrawal of other members of the assistance force in Afghanistan is underway, it’s taking place and we’re committed to that and we expect and we’ve always expected that during this process there will be challenges and tensions. One of these is green-on-blue attacks, but you’ve got to put it in context, you’ve got to remember that today there’s an estimated 300-thousand Afghans fighting and performing as police and armed forces besides the members of the Coalition who are assisting them and their government and inevitably there are more opportunities for green-on-blue attacks as a result.” READ MORE »

Written by Julie Bishop Thursday, 18 October 2012

Former US president Harry S. Truman once observed that “Experience has shown how deeply the seeds of war are planted by economic rivalry and social injustice”. Few things in life give rise to greater feelings of indignation than when we believe we have been victims of an injustice.

In a country like Australia, perceived injustices can be experienced many times throughout our lives but we ignore most situations as being too minor to warrant attempts at redress. Where there are genuine grievances we have avenues of recourse including the justice system where we can have our day in court.

While there are shortcomings in Australia’s judicial process, as it is not perfect, there is a general respect for our legal system. Most people understand the concept of the rule of law and recognise that all are deemed equal before the law.

This is not the case in many countries throughout the world where corruption and abuse of power are commonplace. There can also be institutionalised bias against groups of people within countries, based on ethnic and religious divides.

President Truman understood that when whole sections of society are marginalised economically or suffer ongoing injustice there is the potential for upheaval and conflict as those with a grievance rise up against those in power.

He was US President from 1945 to 1953 and there is little doubt that his views played a major role in the Marshall Plan that underpinned reconstruction of Europe, including Germany, after the ravages of World War II.

This visionary plan resulted in former bitter enemy Germany becoming an economic powerhouse and playing a major role in European unity and stability. Few people would have predicted the role that Germany has played in Europe since 1945 in the wake of the destruction unleashed by its armed forces on the entire continent and beyond. READ MORE »