Debates Day 5 - 31 October 2018
Parliamentary Record 15
Debates for 13th Assembly 2016 - 2018; ParliamentNT; Parliamentary Record; 13th Assembly 2016 - 2020
2018-10-31
Made available by the Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory
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Debates
Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory
Darwin
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DEBATES Wednesday 31 October 2018 4836 outset that Bills ability to navigate and broker in the Indonesian context was extremely useful. He continues to be highly respected by all the people and organisations we met. Clare holds a significant wealth of information about Territory historical relations with Indonesia, and her former role as Chief Minister of the Northern Territory brought a welcome level of importance to our delegation. I thank her for her constant wise counsel in how meetings are conducted and how to achieve an outcome, which usually begins with me introducing myselfshe had to remind me of this at one stage. But it all went well after that. I also sincerely thank Mr Luke Bowen, the General Manager of Northern Australian Development and Trade, who is a font of wisdom on our cattle industry. He spoke with intelligence and passion about all matters Territory. He is a great ambassador for us and has a wealth of experience that stood us in good stead during our negotiations. Any such trip is only as good as its organisers. I give special thanks to Kate Walker, the Director International Engagement from the Department of Trade, Business and Innovation. Whilst now a consummate public servant, Kate previously lived in Indonesia working for Customs and was based within the Australian Embassy. Kate has extraordinary skills, including being a fluent Bahasa Indonesia speaker, but most impressive is her ability to rewrite a full itinerary on the back of a brown paper bag whilst hurtling in the back of a police-escorted minivan between meetings. Kate is a huge asset to the department and I am grateful for her wise counsel and friendship over the trip. Kate organised Dr John Ackerman to be part of our trip. John is a well-respected business adviser based in Indonesia and he provided lots of important and timely local insights during our trip, which kept us abreast of potential local issues. I was fortunate to have Tristan Sloane and Leanne Hudson on loan from my colleague Minister Vowles office. Both knew their stuff and were vital in ensuring I was able to confidently discuss important matters with Indonesian officials. Leanne is also great for taste testing unfamiliar foods, though she gave me a bit of misdirection with durian. Tristan is committed to taking our Indonesian Consul, Pak Dicky, and Clare Martin to catch their first barramundi. While the trip was well coordinated, we were there for specific purposes: to build our relationships; consolidate our important trade partnerships; and make new contacts. I led the delegation with my three assistant minister hats on: Small Business; Arafura Games; and Multicultural Affairs. Our teams mission was not only to attend the trade expo but to utilise the opportunity to meet key senior government and industry officials and promote the Territory governments vision for engagement across the region. I will shortly table my full travel report, but I will provide a truncated version of the trip for Hansard. Our delegation was met and supported by embassy staff, Daniel Rantzen and Edwin Sillence. I thank them both for their excellent support. Initially, we met with the Australian Ambassador to Indonesia, Mr Gary Quinlan, and his senior staff to attend a full briefing on the current political and economic context of trade. The ambassador then hosted a friends of the Territory event at his home, which saw around 90 local and international people come together informally to share information, network and build new relationships. I gave the welcoming address on behalf of the Chief Minister with great support from the ambassador. I thank him and all his staff for their support of our delegation. I was delighted to meet Bupati Willybrodus Lay and his wife Ibu Vivien Ny from Belu in the East Nusa Tenggara province, which borders Timor-Leste. They are textile makers and had taken two flights to meet us that evening to make a first connection with a view of trying to commence trade with the Northern Territory. We also connected with representatives from the Indonesian cattle industry; Indonesian shipping company representatives; Territory businesspeople; Linda Reeves from the Australia Indonesia Business Council; NT Chamber of Commerce representatives; representatives from CAUSINDYthe Conference of Australian and Indonesian Youthwhich will be held here alongside the Arafura Games; and Ibu Febrina Prameswari, who is an alumna of the NT Cattlemans Association internship program. I could see and hear many connections being made that evening which will no doubt continue to develop over time. Our agenda also included attending the official opening of the trade expo and hearing from President Joko Widodo. We met with Pak Syukur Iwantoso, the Indonesian Secretary General Ministry of Agriculture, and his advisers. We met with Pak Juan Permata Adoe, the Deputy Chair of KADINthe national Indonesian