P8499b-8506A Hon Pierre Yang; Hon Alannah Mactiernan; Hon Darren West; Hon Laurie Graham; Hon Kyle Mcginn; Hon Dr Steve Thomas
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Extract from Hansard [COUNCIL — Thursday, 22 November 2018] p8499b-8506a Hon Pierre Yang; Hon Alannah MacTiernan; Hon Darren West; Hon Laurie Graham; Hon Kyle McGinn; Hon Dr Steve Thomas ASIAN ENGAGEMENT STRATEGY Motion HON PIERRE YANG (South Metropolitan) [11.40 am] — without notice: I move — That the Legislative Council commends the McGowan Labor government for the release of the “Asian Engagement Strategy Consultation Paper” and for holding the inaugural Western Australian– ASEAN trade and investment dialogue. On 2 May 1829, almost 190 years ago, the Swan River Colony was established and proclaimed. Three years later its name was changed to the colony of Western Australia. The connection between Western Australia and Asian countries and people began after European settlement in the early stage of Western Australia’s history. Shortly after the establishment of the settlement in 1829, the first person of Chinese heritage, Moon Chow, and the first two people of Indian heritage, Chan Homed and Mosam Nochachaneer, came to Western Australia. Other Asian people came to Western Australia, such as Japanese pearl divers, Afghan cameleers, and many Malaysian and Filipinos. Although the colonial and federal governments’ subsequent restrictive immigration policy aimed to stop immigration from Asia, the connection was never severed. In fact from the late 1940s to 1970s, successive Labor and Liberal governments worked consistently towards a non-discriminatory immigration policy. Since the abolition of the White Australia policy and the introduction of multiculturalism in Australia, Australia and Asia have grown closer and closer. Asian Western Australians are today part of our community. For example, among the 2.5 million non-Western Australians, 100 000 are of Chinese heritage, 70 000 are of Indian heritage, and over 120 000 were born in Association of South-East Asian Nations countries, including Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia, Brunei and Laos. Asian countries are very important trading partners for our state. China is our largest trading partner and Japan is our second-largest trading partner; and if we take ASEAN countries as a single market, they are the third-largest trading partner for the state of Western Australia. Ninety per cent of our state’s merchandise exports go to Asia; in 1990 the figure was only 55 per cent. Members can see that there has been a huge increase in our exports to Asia. We have heard that agriculture is a great business in our state, and it is also a great exporter for our state economy. Asian countries love to buy our resources—minerals, iron ore and other resources—and agricultural products. Asian countries are also very important for our imports. Around 64 per cent of our merchandise imports are from Asian countries. We have a huge, huge trade surplus from trading with Asian countries. Our export value is about five times that of our imports, so we are making a lot of money from trading with Asian countries. Asian countries are also very important for tourism and our international student intake. Tourists come from every Asian country every year. Our Asian visitors have doubled from 226 700 to 446 800. Forty-six per cent of our tourists are from Asia; meanwhile, 61 per cent of WA’s outbound visitation is to Asian countries. During the past decade our international students increased by 62 per cent, from 23 314 to 37 853. Asia is very important to our economy. As Asian countries develop, it is more important than ever that we capitalise on that unique opportunity. The situation is this: Asia has more than four billion people—more than half the world’s population. Our nearest neighbour, Indonesia, has over 262 million people, and Asia is expected to maintain its population into the foreseeable future. Economically Asia is also on the rise. In the 1980s, Asian countries accounted for about 20 per cent of the world’s economy; that figure is now well over 40 per cent and is estimated to reach 45 per cent by 2023—just a few years from now. About 15 years ago, during my university days, I was involved in a class discussion about the Indonesian–Australian relationship. An argument was made about the size of the Indonesian economy, which back then was about the size of the economy of New South Wales. Someone asked why we were putting Indonesia at such a high level when the economy was only the size of the largest state of our country. Fast-forward 15 years, and Indonesia has the largest economy in South-East Asia and is ranked about sixteenth in the world. The Australian economy is fourteenth. Indonesia is projected to become the fourth-largest economy by the middle of this century. It is very important that we capitalise on and utilise that, and to be part of that growth for the benefit of our state and other people. Economic growth also means increasing income. Average personal income in Asian countries has doubled since 2000, and that is expected to increase. That means an increase in purchasing power; Asians will have more money to buy more stuff from us, to send their children to study here, to visit and hopefully to spend a lot of money in our beautiful state. We cannot just sit back and wait for things to happen. Although the number of international visitors and international students has been on the rise, our share of Australia’s overall visitor and student numbers are decreasing. We have to be more proactive and look for ways to make us more attractive so we can capture this opportunity. [1] Extract from Hansard [COUNCIL — Thursday, 22 November 2018] p8499b-8506a Hon Pierre Yang; Hon Alannah MacTiernan; Hon Darren West; Hon Laurie Graham; Hon Kyle McGinn; Hon Dr Steve Thomas Just last week, the McGowan Labor government released its Asian engagement strategy consultation paper at the inaugural Western Australian Association of South-East Asian Nations Trade and Investment Dialogue. I remember back in 2016 when I was going through WA Labor’s plan for jobs and working through 138 pages, translating it into the Chinese language, that I read this chapter and was very much looking forward to the election of the McGowan Labor government so we could put our great policies into reality. I have had an opportunity to read the consultation paper. I must say it is a very comprehensive document. It defines what is meant by Asia and which countries are included in that definition. It looks at Asia’s growth. It looks at our relationship with Asian countries and how we, as a state, both at the government-to-government level and people-to-people level, engage with Asia. In addition to our economic ties, the paper discussed the importance of cultural exchange and people-to-people connection. The paper also invites submissions on a number of questions. The first ones were — 1. What type of Asian engagement activities are you currently involved in and why? 2. What are your priorities for Asian engagement in the future? 3. Are there any specific factors that assist or limit your Asian engagement activities? 4. Thinking about Western Australia as a whole, how can the State better engage Asia for the future? The deadline for submissions is 18 January 2019 and can be submitted via email to [email protected]. As I said, the consultation paper was launched at the inaugural WA ASEAN Trade and Investment Dialogue, which was attended by a range of excellent speakers and participants, such as Dr Muhamad Chatib Basri, former Minister of Finance of the Republic of Indonesia; Professor Gordon Flake, CEO of Perth USAsia Centre; and our own Minister for Asian Engagement—the first Minister for Asian Engagement appointed in the history of our state—Hon Bill Johnston, MLA, who himself is a fluent Indonesian speaker. I am very pleased that the government is delivering on its promises. It is very important that we have a plan to capitalise on every opportunity available to advance the interests of our people and the interests of our state. There is an old saying that if you fail to plan, you plan to fail. I think the government is certainly being very proactive and positive about the opportunities that are literally at our doorstep but, as the government has been doing, we need to be proactive, take the opportunities when they come and ensure we make the most of them. I commend the government and the minister for the positive action they are taking. HON ALANNAH MacTIERNAN (North Metropolitan — Minister for Regional Development) [11.53 am]: I thank Hon Pierre Yang very much for bringing forward this discussion in Parliament today. It is a very important area. It is important for us to understand where our geography places us in the world and the opportunities we have for cultural and trade ties with our neighbours to the north. I take this opportunity to again particularly acknowledge Hon Pierre Yang—how fantastic that we now have greater diversity within our Parliament, courtesy of Hon Pierre Yang. I do not think he is the first person of Chinese descent we have had in the Parliament. Hon Pierre Yang interjected. Hon ALANNAH MacTIERNAN: I think there was another when I was here. Hon Pierre Yang might find that Hon Mark Nevill had Chinese in his ancestry, if I remember this rightly, as I think a great many Australians may have a bit of that ancestry. Hon Pierre Yang: Hon Helen Bullock. Hon ALANNAH MacTIERNAN: Yes, Hon Helen Bullock. It is fantastic that Hon Pierre Yang is here and is using his very considerable skills to encourage relatively more recent arrivals in Australia from China to get involved in community life.