Ministerial Statement

TIMOR-LESTE DELEGATION

The Hon. M.D. RANN (Ramsay—Premier, Minister for Economic Development, Minister for Social Inclusion, Minister for the Arts, Minister for Sustainability and Climate Change) (14:52): I seek leave to make a ministerial statement.

Leave granted.

The Hon. M.D. RANN: I am pleased to inform the house that a senior delegation from the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste visited South Australia this week as part of an official visit that will include Canberra and New South Wales. The delegation's two-day visit concluded a very short time ago.

Timor-Leste, or East Timor, as most Australians would know it, is a country of over 1 million people, with one of the fastest growing populations in the world, and the United Nations Human Development Index ranks this nation amongst the poorest countries in the Asian Pacific region and, indeed, the world.

Australia has been at the forefront of support for East Timor's transition to independence, which was formerly achieved on 20 May 2002 and continues to play a key role through extensive development and security assistance. South Australia has a very close relationship with Timor-Leste, and the state government has played an important role in providing Timor-Leste with targeted capacity building and skills development assistance.

The Timor-Leste delegation, led by the President, His Excellency Dr Jose Ramos-Horta, included the Ambassador of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, also Australia's Ambassador, Peter Heyward, the Minister for Foreign Affairs from East Timor, the Minister for Economy and Development, and the Minister or Tourism, Commerce and Industry.

The delegation's itinerary in our state was focused on both current and prospective partnership projects between South Australia and Timor-Leste. In partnership with AusAID, South Australia is midway through a three-year capacity building program to help with the development of vital infrastructure and employment in Timor-Leste. Our Basic Skills Project, designed to train approximately 600 young people in basic construction skills, has already graduated about 120 young people with work-ready basic trade skills in carpentry, stonemasonry, electrical work, metal fabrication and plumbing. Over 40 per cent of these graduates are already employed in local jobs.

The unemployment rate in the capital, Dili, is currently around 40 per cent amongst those aged 15 to 29. Programs that skill and engage youth are therefore critical and have been raised as a priority by the Timor-Leste government. Both Austraining International and TAFE SA are key elements in this training effort, and for that reason the Timor-Leste delegation today visited our TAFE SA facility at Marleston to meet with some of the educators who are involved. The South Australian government also assists Timor-Leste through the operation of a public sector capacity building program. This is a three-year mentoring program that provides professional development opportunities for eight senior level East Timorese public servants working mainly in the primary industries, resources, environmental and vocational education and training sectors.

To date, five government instrumentalities have provided mentors for this program, including the Department for Environment and Heritage, Primary Industries and Resources, the Department of Transport, Energy and Infrastructure and SA Water. This is in addition to ETSA, which, of course, is not a government agency. The Timor-Leste delegation's visit provided an opportunity to discuss these valuable mentor relationships.

Timor-Leste is still faced with many challenges related to building a nation, including the need to address environmental degradation with a focus on long-term sustainability. Their environmental challenges are significant and likely to be further impacted by climate change. While in South Australia the delegation visited the Onkaparinga Gorge to view results of the state's Million Trees Program. I think that we are nearly up to the two millionth tree. To date, over 30,000 people have been actively involved in this program, and 1.9 million trees have so far been planted, I am advised.

The program can provide valuable insights to Timor-Leste, which is keen to introduce a reafforestation program which addresses land degradation and which engages young people. The South Australian government is currently working on a partnership project with the United Nations to provide support in this area. Similarly, the delegation met with Events SA and tourism reps to learn from our experience with the Tour Down Under. In September Timor-Leste will run its second Tour de Timor, a five-day international mountain biking event. South Australia may be able to give advice based on our experiences in running a major event, such as the Tour Down Under.

I am very pleased that the Leader of the Opposition, ministers and business leaders joined me last night at a dinner to honour the delegation and the President of East Timor, the Nobel Prize winner Jose Ramos-Horta. We remain committed to a strong, ongoing relationship with Timor-Leste, and I am very pleased to have had the opportunity to welcome the delegation to our state this week.

Honourable members: Hear, hear!