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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2002 Week 1 Hansard (11 December) . . Page.. 23 ..

MR PRATT (continuing):

Finally, I wish to dedicate this win to that great political watcher and supporter, my mother, Mavis Pratt, who sadly passed away just three weeks prior to the election.

Mr Speaker, the events of 11 September have changed our lives and our world, despite the fact that Canberra is a world away from New York, in another hemisphere, another time zone, on another continent. Inescapably now, we are one world. There is no longer a first, second or third world in the sense that our borders are porous, our coastline penetrable, the economy global. The tragedies of the poorest countries in our region become our concerns, our responsibilities. We cannot escape them. Events in Kabul or Dili may affect our lives almost as much as those in Civic Square or Martin Place. Yet, though our world is shrinking, our sense of place-in the Aboriginal sense-grows stronger.

Our place, Canberra, in this, our lucky country, Australia-which really is a lucky country when compared to so many others-has truly been blessed in being a tolerant, compassionate and, in the main, an harmonious society. However, the price of such social cohesion is eternal vigilance.

If, on 10 September, someone had warned of a terrorist attack on the mightiest financial centre and military nerve centre of the United States, would anyone have listened seriously? Here in Australia we cannot afford to be complacent, for to be lulled into complacency-believing that it never would, never could, happen here-is to ignore reality at our peril.

My great concern is that, in our somewhat laconic Australian way, we continue to think that we are divorced from "these troubles overseas". However, that is no longer true, in this shrinking world. To that end we have a duty here in the ACT to educate our citizens so that they understand that these troubles can now touch our nation, and the ACT, the seat of federal power and diplomatic representation.

I strongly believe that we have a duty as a nation to do everything humanly possible to intervene in a humanitarian way in the world's trouble spots, and we, the ACT community, must lead the way. For it is by humanitarian intervention that we contribute to resolving conflict, to the early resolution of refugee problems on the ground, and, last, to encouraging the development of a truly civil society in those countries. Hopefully, these efforts will lead to the eventual development of a rough but workable democracy in those places, therefore contributing to world peace.

The ACT, an affluent and one of Australia's most educated communities, has a duty to lead the way in our international commitments. To this end, we, as a community, are uniquely positioned to lobby the federal government to increase its overseas humanitarian and development assistance. We in the ACT should support our credible Australian overseas aid agencies, such as Care Australia, the Australian Red Cross, and World Vision Australia, which, by the way, are all headquartered here in Canberra.

Finally, in terms of our humanitarian responsibility, I believe we should ensure that new sister city relationships are selected on the basis that we can help those cities materially, politically and philosophically to reach for stability and peace. I think, for example, a Canberra/Dili sister city proposal, as put forward by the former Liberal government, is a very good idea.

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