Mr HAWKER (12:50 PM) —I am pleased to present the report of the Australian Parliamentary delegation to the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, 18 to 29 November 2002. During the two-week visit we met with ministers, senior government officials, parliamentary committees, and civic and business people in both countries. This report details the activities of the delegation and summarises the discussions held during the visit.

Productive exchanges took place with ministers in both countries on agricultural reform within the European Union and on the potential impact on reforms that may arise from the proposed expansion of the European Union. We held discussions with senior officials on current issues such as the fight against terrorism, asylum seeking and the situation with Iraq. Also useful were discussions with representatives from each country on their handling of foot-and-mouth outbreaks, drawing on their experiences in the management of such situations.

A warm welcome was extended to our delegation by the United Kingdom parliament, including the Speaker of the House of Commons, the Rt Hon. Michael Martin MP. Delegation members were honoured to be guests of the parliament at question time in both houses.

During the visit to the United Kingdom we were fortunate to meet with representatives from the Corporation of London and the London Stock Exchange. Notable from those meetings was the importance placed on retaining London's reputation as a leading international banking and financial centre by maintaining it as a world-class city with first-class services and security.

The delegation was invited to York to meet with council and county council representatives. We discussed with them the impact of parliament's modernisation plans for local government and the increasing difficulties that local governments are facing in funding local services. We also met with officials from the University of York, who outlined their highly successful and innovative approach to promoting and supporting the creation of commercial enterprises, particularly in the areas of science and information technology research.

The delegation was appreciative of the interesting program hosted by the United Kingdom parliament, under the auspices of the UK branch of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, and of the generous and warm hospitality extended to us during our visit.

Our visit to the Netherlands coincided with the lead-up to a national election, following the collapse of the coalition government there. However, the sudden political developments did not impact on the success of the visit, and members of the delegation were received warmly by members of the Dutch parliament. A feature of the visit to the Netherlands was the discussions with caretaker ministers and senior government officials on the Netherlands' advanced policies on drug use and euthanasia. In both these areas it was noted that the government has strict regulations to ensure its policy aims are not compromised. Given the very warm welcome we received from members and officials of the Netherlands parliament, we were delighted to extend an invitation on behalf of the Parliament of Australia to Mr Frans Weisglas, the Speaker of the Tweede Kamer, which is the equivalent of our House of Representatives in the Netherlands, and to Mr Gerrit Braks, the President of the Eerste Kamer, which is the equivalent of our Senate in the Netherlands, to undertake a reciprocal bilateral visit to Australia.

During our visit we had the opportunity to hold discussions with business representatives and authorities from Amsterdam Schiphol Airport about airport security, noise abatement and land acquisition, and its approach to creating airport cities. Of particular interest was the briefing about and demonstration of biometric iris scanning for processing of passengers. Schiphol was the first airport to introduce this measure as a means of fast-tracking travellers with a trusted profile.

We were honoured during our visit to the Netherlands to visit the site of the memorial to the crew of Lancaster JB659 of No. 97 Squadron, who lost their lives when shot down over Amsterdam in 1944. Two of the seven crewmen were Australians. Delegation members laid tributes at the cemetery to honour the crewmen.

In conclusion, I sincerely thank my fellow delegation members, Senator Forshaw, Senator Heffernan, Senator Hutchins, the member for Paterson, Mr Bob Baldwin, and the member for Grayndler, Mr Albanese, for the cooperative spirit in which this visit was undertaken and for their input into making this a successful and enjoyable visit. I also give special thanks to Denise Gordon, who accompanied the delegation and made everything run so smoothly. I am sure all other delegation members will agree with me when I say that we received excellent support from the High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, His Excellency Mr Michael L'Estrange, the Ambassador to the Netherlands, Mr Peter Hussin, and their respective staff. I would also like to thank Austrade, Foreign Affairs and everyone else who helped. (Time expired)