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New South Wales parliament member calls for Australia to relax travel advice

MON, 20 FEB 2012 15:40 | KRG.org

Following a recent visit to the Kurdistan Region, New South Wales Parliament Member Walt Secord last week called for Australia to develop closer ties. In an adjournment speech, Mr Secord asked the Australian government to relax its travel advice for Kurdistan and to have a diplomatic presence in Erbil to strengthen political and trade relations. The full text of Mr Secord's speech is below.

16th February 2012, 4.29pm

The Hon. Walt Secord: I would like to highlight three issues of concern to the New South Wales Kurdish community.

Despite being only a few hours drive from Baghdad, Iraqi Kurdistan is another world. That is due to the Kurdistan authorities' commitment to security and protecting their community. Throughout the capital, Erbil, there are countless checkpoints staffed by male and female soldiers. Metal and bomb detection systems are everywhere. Thanks to those efforts, Iraqi Kurdistan has not had the terrorist attacks that blight Baghdad. Iraqi Kurdistan is a semi-autonomous zone in northern Iraq, with 12 overseas representative offices. One of those 12 offices is in Liverpool in western Sydney, which is home to almost half of Australia's 10,000 Kurds.

Local Kurds and the Kurdish Regional Government's Australian representative, Mr Hayal Savan, have expressed concern about the travel advice of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade about their region. Because the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade does not differentiate Iraq from Kurdistan the travel advice remains "do not travel".

The Kurds want separate advice for the Kurdish region. Having experienced their region and its security measures firsthand in January, I believe that is reasonable. Secondly, I support their wish to see an Australian consulate or representative office in their capital, Erbil. This would promote business links and assist Australians. There is an Australian mission in Baghdad, but, ironically, it is too dangerous to travel to it. There are many business and education opportunities, particularly in the area of oil development. About 40 per cent of Iraq's 115 billion barrels of oil is produced in the Kurdish region. South Korean and European investment is pouring into the region.

I met Australian Kurdish families, including one family from Wetherill Park and another from Ryde on the north shore, who were visiting relatives and establishing businesses in Iraqi Kurdistan. Australians should have safe access to consular support in their travels.

Thirdly, and finally, Kurdish officials would like to see a New South Wales parliamentary friendship group established, similar to the New South Wales Parliamentary Friends of Israel and the NSW Parliamentary Friends of Armenia.

Therefore, in the coming weeks I will be asking my colleagues to consider such a body. I thank members for their consideration.

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