Inter-parliamentary meetings
39th EU-Australia Interparliamentary Meeting, Sydney and Brisbane, Australia
They were joined by the Rapporteur of the Foreign Affairs Committee (AFET) and the Rapporteur for the envisaged bilateral Free Trade Agreement from the International Trade Committee (INTA).
While discussions in Sydney focused on the bilateral political and commercial relationship, meetings in Brisbane, the second destination, dealt with agricultural issues, climate change and the conditions of Australia's indigenous people.
22nd EU-New Zealand IPM, February 2018, Wellington and Auckland
MEPs were welcomed by the Right Honourable Trevor Mallard, Speaker of the House of Representatives. The delegation then met with the New Zealand - Europe Parliamentary Friendship Group (including Fletcher Tabuteau, Parliamentary Undersecretary for Foreign Affairs) and Members of the Foreign Affairs, Trade and Defence Committee under the Chair of Simon O'Connor. MEPs also discussed the current state of the bilateral relationship - including the envisaged opening of negotiations for a bilateral Free Trade Agreement - during meetings with officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, with the New Zealand Business community and academics involved in bilateral relations. Given the importance of agricultural issues for the envisaged trade negotiations, MEPs i.a. also met the Minister for Primary Production and a representative of the country's most important (diary) exporter.
In general, discussions not only focused on the bilateral FTA, but also on the importance of the well-functioning of the multilateral trade system and of the global fight against climate change (where the recently announced and very ambitious climate goal presented by the new New Zealand's administration was a major topic). All in all, the mission confirmed the excellent state of the bilateral relationship and the importance of the values shared by both sides in a very challenging and fast changing international environment.
38th EU-Australia IPM October 2017, Strasbourg
The Australia Delegation consisted of:
- Hon. Tony SMITH (Liberal Party, Speaker of the House of Representatives)
- Senator Helen POLLEY (Labor Party, Tasmania)
- Senator David FAWCETT (Liberal Party, South Australia)
- Ms Melissa PRICE (Liberal Party, House of Representatives)
- Mr Andrew GILES (Labor Party, House of Representatives)
- Mr Rowan RAMSEY (Liberal Party, House of Représentatives)
Topics of discussion included:
- Trade relations
- Fight against climate change and terrorism
- Data protection
- Brexit
EP President Antonio Tajani and Hon. Tony Smith, Speaker Australian Parliament
DANZ Vice Chair Axel Voss & MEP L Morgano with Australian Speaker Tony Smith and MPs
Speaker and MPs of the Australian Parliament with EP Secretary-General, Klaus Welle
37th EP-Australia IPM, February 2016, Canberra and Perth
The delegation met with:
- Senator the Hon Stephen Parry, President of the Senate,
- The Hon Tony Smith MP, Speaker of the House of Representatives.
- The Hon Richard Marles MP, Shadow Minister for Immigration and Border Protection,
- Hon Andrew Robb AO MP, Minister for Trade and Investment,
- Mrs Julie Bishop, Minister of Foreign Affairs,
- Senator Linda Reynolds, Senator for Western Australia,
- Mr Craig Maclachlan, Chief of Staff to the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection,
- Hon Peter Dutton MP,
- Ms Nola Marion MP and members of the Australia-European Union Parliamentary Group.
- economic and trade relations,
- counter-terrorism,
- migration,
- Australia in the regional context,
- climate change.
- the (old) ESA antenna close to Perth and
- the Centre for European Studies at Australian National University in Canberra.
36th EU-Australia IPM, February 2013, Sydney
The delegation met with:
- the Hon. Anna Burke, Speaker of the House of Representatives
- Members of the Australia/European Parliamentary Group
- Members of the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade
- Members of the House Standing Committee on Climate Change, the Environment and the Arts
- Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs and to the Treasury
- the Hon. Michael Atkinson, Speaker of the House of Assembly, Parliament of Southern Australia
- the Deputy President of the Legislative Council of New South Wales (NSW)
- European Australian Business Council and other business stakeholders
- the UN Envoy to Cyprus
- Scientists of the Fishery Industry
- Academics from the Australian National University, the University of NSW, the Lowy Institute for International Peace, from the South Australian Research and Development Institute and from The National Aboriginal Cultural Institute
Topics of discussion included:
- domestic political situation in Australia
- Australia's foreign policy (UN Security Council, G20 Presidency)
- Australia's economic situation, bilateral economic and commercial relations and multicultural trade agreements
- environmental issues
- agriculture with a focus on Aquaculture and viticulture
- education
The Delegation also attended Question Time in the House in Canberra.
35th EU-Australia IPM, April 2012, Brussels
The 35th EU-Australia inter-parliamentary meeting was held in Brussels on 23 and 24 April 2012. The Australian Delegation was led by Senator the Hon. J. Hogg who was accompanied by Mr G. Perrett, Ms D. O'Neill, Mr R. Broadbent, Senator the Hon. I. Macdonald and Senator B. McKenzie.
Topics of discussion included:
- political situation in the EU and in Australia
- economic situation in EU and in Australia
- Australia's foreign policy
- cyber-security
- agriculture
- energy and research, including alternative energy sources
The Australian Delegation also met with EP President Martin Schulz.
21st EU-New Zealand IPM, March 2017, Brussels
The 21st EU-New Zealand inter-parliamentary meeting was held in Brussels on 23 March 2017.
The New Zealand Delegation consisted of:
- Hon. Annette KING (Labour Party)
- Ms Tracey MARTIN (New Zealand First)
- Ms Melissa LEE (National Party)
- and Mr Winton HOLMES (NZ Parliamentary Officer, Inter-parliamentary relations)
Topics of discussion included:
- data protection, counter-terrorism and migration
- environmental policies in the EU and New Zealand
- economic situation and ongoing trade discussions
The Vice-President of the European Parliament, Ms Ildikó Gáll-Pelcz, hosted an official lunch. The Delegation from New Zealand also visited the buildings of the European Parliament and the Parlamentarium.