Page 5262 - Week 16 - Thursday, 28 November 1991
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Lanyon, hosted by Mr Kaine, as Chief Minister. That was not only a pleasant social occasion, with splendid service from our TAFE hospitality program, but also a learning experience from two ends.
The diplomats - who, after all, are residents of the ACT, albeit temporarily - were, so it seemed, intrigued by us. As diplomats, that is what they would at least pretend to be. Naturally, anyone would be intrigued by us. We are intriguing people, are we not? Above all, they were interested in education and health services. Their children are in our schools, and they and their families are dependent on us for their very lives. Also, consider the degree to which the diplomatic industry, the foreign policy industry, the international relations industry, is an intimate part of the economic, political and social life of this city.
The major isolation, however, is at our end. We are swamped, are we not, by our parochial concerns? We lose our sense of perspective. Yet our nature as a city is that of an international city - a city which should be concerned with the kinds of problems that we now should be fully aware of in the Balkans, Europe and East Timor. I feel that there is insufficient contact between us and those who are a vital part of one of our largest concerns - diplomacy and international affairs.
There is so much to be done in this Assembly - too much. But may I put that on the agenda of every member, for the future of the Assembly in several areas. I offer some suggestions - and I am cutting down on this speech. We could give briefings about our city to arriving diplomats. We could cooperate with Foreign Affairs. Secondly, we could have social occasions at which, perhaps by rotation, those same arriving diplomats and members of the Assembly could meet. It should not be just one more cocktail party, but a working, cooperative relationship, perhaps with a speaker or a theme. I would welcome a chance to hear much more, for example, about Timor. Thirdly, we could have meetings of our Amnesty International sub-branch with special invitations to representatives of appropriate nations. How appropriate that would be now for the Balkan countries and for East Timor.
Fourthly, in relation to the Education Department, we could develop a cooperative relationship, vis-a-vis our excellent special schools, for the study of English - with people from Latin America, Europe, Africa and all over the world bringing their children here to study in those schools. Another element, of course, is the increased number of foreign students in Australia.
Specifically - and I will cut down my comments - I am very glad indeed to support Mr Collaery's motion, especially in terms of the degree to which we are isolated from these matters; and we should not be. As Canberra citizens and community leaders, we should play a role in discussing and
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