 Good morning, everybody. My name is Harinda Sudu. I'm the First Assistant Secretary of the Multilateral Policy Division in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. I want to wish you all a very warm welcome. Before I begin this morning, I'd like to acknowledge the people who are the traditional custodians of the land on which we meet. I'd like to pay my respect to the elders past and present and to extend that respect to other Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people present here today. Ministers, Secretary, your Excellencies, distinguished guests. On behalf of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, I'd like to extend a very warm welcome to you all, to this event this morning, to introduce and to have an opportunity to meet our newly appointed Ambassador for Women and Girls, Natasha Stott-Desfoyer. It is, of course, fitting that we hold this event in the week of International Women's Day. That's a time when the international community places a particular focus on the rights of and challenges facing women and girls around the world. The Australian government established the position of an Ambassador for Women and Girls only in 2011, appointing career diplomat Penny Williams to the role. Ms. Williams held that position until about the middle of last year when she departed overseas to accompany her spouse on a posting. Ms. Stott-Desfoyer was appointed on the 16th of December last year and has already made a mark on the role, and we will hear a lot more about that this morning. So I guess, for me, on a personal level, as the division head in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, who is responsible for gender equality issues in the foreign affairs and in the development policy arena, it has been truly a privilege over the last few months to work for a minister who's genuinely engaged, committed, and active on embedding gender equality into our foreign policy agenda. Ms. Bishop's leadership in this regard has been unique, and I am certain she will leave a substantial legacy in Australian foreign policy. So without further ado, I might invite the Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Honourable Julie Bishop, MP, to say a few words. Thank you. Harinda, thank you for your kind words and for the work that you do for Australia as a fine representative within the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Secretary, my ministerial colleague in Senator Macaulay Cash, my parliamentary secretary in Brett Mason, ambassadors, excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, what a delight it is to see so many people gathered here today in the week of International Women's Day. Now, I think that we should have a week to commemorate women's achievements and the challenges facing women rather than just a day, so we have functions throughout this week to build up to International Women's Day on the 8th of March. So let's have a week instead of a day. I'm particularly pleased to have the opportunity to host this event, to greet a very dear friend in Natasha's Dr. Spoyer. She is known to so many of you, but the role that she now undertakes will mean that she will be the face of Australia, both across this nation and across the globe in her role as the ambassador for women and girls. The previous ambassador, Penny Williams, did a wonderful job as the inaugural ambassador, but I know that Natasha's Dr. Spoyer will make this role her own. About 12 years ago, Natasha and I were on a parliamentary visit to the Pacific, and I recall vividly our first stop in the Solomon Islands. At that time, the Solomon's was going through a period of conflict and turmoil, and the then foreign minister, Alexander Downer, met with the parliamentarians of the Solomon Islands, all male, in Parliament House. Natasha and I were outside, and we met a group of women who were weaving baskets, doing handicrafts for sale in the markets. And during our discussion, I will never forget one of the women saying, there will not be peace in the Solomon Islands until we are in there, pointing to the Parliament House. And I've never forgotten that very simple but powerful message. Now, as Australia's first female foreign minister, I believe that we are able to put the challenges facing women and the issues facing women at the heart of our foreign policy. Under a coalition government, Australia's foreign policy is designed to project and protect our reputation as an open, export-oriented market economy. It's also designed to project and protect our reputation as an open liberal democracy committed to values of freedom and the rule of law and democratic institutions and human rights. And as Hillary Clinton once said, women's rights are human rights. We're also focusing on economic diplomacy. Now, just as traditional diplomacy aims for peace, so economic diplomacy aims for prosperity. And that means if you are to pursue these aims, women must be at the heart of your policy. In our aid program, we have brought AusAid into the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade so that we can align all our efforts within the department, our resources, our people, our creative thinking, our policies. And in the aid area in particular, one of our pillars will be relating to women. Over 50% of our aid initiatives are directed towards women. And there are three areas where we will focus. Women's economic empowerment, giving women access to resources and assets and finance so that women across our region can take part in the formal labor market, can be part of the formal economy and can be part of developing economic growth in their particular country. Secondly, we're focusing on women's leadership, whether it be political or business or community or family, we want to empower women to take leadership positions at whatever level, be part of the decision making at family, business, community, political level. And third, we will focus on combating violence against women and their families. And whether it's announcing funding for a case management program in Lai, in Papua New Guinea as I did the other day, whether it's supporting women in Vietnam, across the Pacific, the Indian Ocean, we will be supporting the fight against domestic violence, against domestic violence that affects so many women and their families. And I can't think of a better advocate for Australia than Natasha Stott-Despoir. Natasha came into Parliament as the youngest woman ever to be elected to Australia's Parliament at the ripe old age of 26 and she became a senator for South Australia. So she and I have a bit in common there for a start both hailing from South Australia. Natasha proved to be a formidable opponent for those who crossed her path. She was a very strong policy advocate. She introduced many bills. She worked very hard in the Senate. All of the opportunities available to a senator, she took up to promote the causes that were dear to her. And for 13 years, she represented her party and her state with distinction. She is a mum. She has two children and a husband who support her and she left politics after being the leader of her party but she didn't stop promoting the causes about which she feels passionate. And that includes setting up a foundation last year to combat domestic violence against women and their families. And this foundation was focused on the domestic policy framework in Australia and initiatives that she could put in place to help women in these situations. When I became foreign minister and I knew that the position for ambassador for women and girls was available to be filled, I could think of no better person than Natasha Stott-Despoia. She is a powerful woman. She is a great role model for all and already her voice is being heard on the world stage. She accompanied me to the Pacific just before Christmas and I observed Natasha engaging so enthusiastically with women and men, policy makers, decision makers, from those running shelters to those in their parliaments. And I knew she would make an impact. Natasha has also represented Australia at an ASEAN meeting in Indonesia. This is the 40th year of Australia's engagement with the ASEAN countries as a dialogue partner. And we asked Natasha to represent Australia as they focused on some of the gender issues and gender equality issues that beset the nations of ASEAN. And later this month, she will be part of Australia's delegation to the UN Commission on Women's Issues at the United Nations. I have a very full program designed for Natasha and given our focus on the Indian Ocean, Asia Pacific, I'm sure she will be very soon a familiar face and a familiar voice in that region. But her voice will be heard and that's why Senator McAlea Cash and I both approached the Prime Minister and asked that this appointment be made. And as McAlea will confirm, the Prime Minister was enthusiastic from the moment he heard her name and said, yes, Natasha is precisely the figure that we want representing Australia. She's precisely the person with the character, the values, the interest, the passion to get across our message about the empowerment of women and girls. The foreign minister last year called me and she said, McAlea, the position of ambassador for women and girls. There's a name I'm going to put forward, I'd like your reaction. Natasha Stott Despoia. I think quite literally, there were squirrels at both ends of the phone. We can do girly things occasionally. Quite seriously though, as the minister has stated, there was no other name, quite literally. Natasha just stands head and shoulders above others when it comes to her genuine passion, but not only that, her record throughout her career, when it comes to promoting gender equality and the human rights of women, both domestically and internationally. I have the role this morning of formally introducing our new ambassador, Natasha Stott Despoia, to you. As we all know, and as the foreign minister has already stated, the ambassador has an exceptionally important role to play, both domestically and overseas. She is responsible for high level advocacy to promote Australian government policy and activity regarding gender equality and the social, political and economic empowerment of women and girls, particularly in the Asia Pacific region. As you would be aware, and I think everybody here does know Natasha Stott Despoia, her achievements to date make her without a doubt absolutely ideal for this role. Throughout her work as the non-executive director at the Burnett Institute, Ambassador Stott Despoia has travelled to Southeast Asia to raise issues in relation to maternal and child health. She has an enduring interest in women's leadership, being obviously a leader herself, particularly political and parliamentary leadership. On a personal note for me in my role as the minister assisting the prime minister for women, I look forward to continuing the very close relationship that I have with the ambassador in relation to her role as chair, as the foundation to reduce violence against women and children, and certainly the ambassador and I have already had many conversations and many meetings in relation to how we both can tackle this issue. As the foreign minister stated, Ambassador Stott Despoia will play an invaluable role as she accompanies me next week to the 58th Commission on the Status of Women, and I can see here today some of the other people from the NGOs who will also be joining us. Ambassador Stott Despoia also has a very important role to play in seeking to protect women and girls in conflict and promoting the role of women in peace-building. As most people in this room would be aware, United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 and the suite of supporting Security Council resolutions calls for an end to the impunity of sexual-based violence in conflict situations and highlights the need for promoting women's participation in conflict prevention, peace-building and post-conflict reconstruction efforts. And in fact, I'll be in Melbourne tonight as part of my International Women's Day events to address these issues. Australia's commitment to this UN resolution has been affirmed through our National Action Plan in relation to women, peace and security. As the minister assisting the Prime Minister for Women, I personally look forward to delivering the Australian government's first progress report on the National Action Plan later this year and to working closely with Ambassador Stott Despoia in relation to the roles women play in conflict and post-conflict situations. Ladies and gentlemen, enough from me. It's now time to put your hands together and welcome to the stage Australia's Ambassador for Women and Girls, Natasha Stott Despoia. Not so much head and shoulders there, Makalia. Some of us are a little vertically challenged. Good morning, everyone. I begin, of course, by acknowledging the traditional owners. I pay my respects to their elders past and present and also to any other elders from any other communities who may be present here today. I'd also like to acknowledge, of course, the ministers. Minister Julie Bishop, the Foreign Minister of Australia, Minister Makalia Cash, who is, of course, the minister, assisting the Prime Minister on the status of women. To the other ministers and shadow ministers, to Parliamentary Secretary Brett Mason, who is here. Indeed, to members of the Diplomatic Corps, and I look particularly at that strong group of female ambassadors in the room today. Thank you for gracing us with your presence. Ladies and gentlemen, members of many organisations here today, and indeed, Shirley Stott Despoia. Mum, thanks for coming. I also want to add on to the comments by Minister Bishop about my predecessor, Penny Williams. It would not be appropriate for us not to acknowledge her work today. I look forward so much to building on the groundbreaking work that she did in this role. Thank you, ministers, for very generous comments today. Thank you for your kind words. Thank you for honouring me with this appointment. Thank you for trusting me with this role. And you certainly know how to host a welcome party. I also want to say thank you to the many organisations, many individuals, many representatives who are in the room today. Many of you have worked for a long time with great personal commitment in order to advocate on behalf of women and girls, not just in Australia but beyond. I look around and some of you I know very well. Some of you are dear friends, some of you I know from former lives. Some of you I have looked up to, admired, been mentored by and have appreciated the guidance and views. The doyens of the feminist movement are here today and I applaud you. I look forward to working with you. I look forward to working with you to achieve our shared goal of a world where women participate, women and girls, participate equally in political leadership, in business and community life, live in a world that is free from violence, free from the fear of violence, where women can participate in business, in the workplace, where women can play a role in peacemaking and peace-building, and where women and girls have proper access to education and health services. Now, when Julie Bishop announced my appointment in December last year, I described it as my dream job, indeed it is, but it's not often that a lifelong passion and a government's core priority come together in this way. Yes, my job is to promote gender equity and gender equality in the international arena. Good job, hey? Sounds similar to some of your jobs, I suspect. I'm not sure about being the face of Australia, Julie, we need to talk later. As you heard from the minister, my work is focused across three pillars, across the foreign policy and the aid program, women's leadership, women's economic empowerment, and indeed addressing violence against women. And you've heard about the wonderful foundation to prevent violence against women and their children. Unfortunately, minister, I can't take credit for establishing that. That was a joint Victorian and Commonwealth decision and now receives the support of this government and for that, I am thankful. It's the dirty little secret of this nation, domestic, family abuse and sexual assault. But my geographic priority is the Indo-Pacific region, a region in which Australia already enjoys its closest relationships and where we can build on valuable partnerships with women and men who are already working hard on gender equality. Indeed, the day my position was announced, as you've heard, minister Bishop and I, I was honored to accompany her to the Pacific, where we visited Nauru Solomon's and indeed Vanuatu. And it was a great opportunity to learn firsthand from women in that region, look at the obstacles they face, hear about how they are working to overcome those obstacles and also how Australia is and can play a diplomatic and aid role in those areas. So I'll soon return to the Pacific to promote women's political participation. I will be in PNG to assist with addressing violence against women. I'll be attending the APEC Women and the Economy Forum in China to advance a regional dialogue on women's economic empowerment. But my first solo trip as ambassador was only a fortnight ago to Indonesia. As minister Bishop said, I was representing Australia at the ASEAN Commission on the promotion and protection of the rights of women and children, but also was engaged in bilateral activities in Indonesia. And as part of that work, just out of Jakarta, I went to the Tigrisaka, Tiga Raksa district just outside Jakarta to meet with the beneficiaries of our microfinance programs. Australia supports these people, women in particular, through the Indonesian government's national program for community empowerment. And as a wonderful example that stays with me, I met with Ibu Ning in her small but thriving restaurant. Yes, this multilateral visit involved a lot of food, I might suggest, a lot of sampling. But five years ago, Ibu Ning had a small catering business. She ran from her house as a bit of a sideline for her work as a teacher. But since 2007, she's used five revolving microfinance loans to grow her business to a successful restaurant, catering enterprise that employs 15 people, 10 of whom are women. Business has been so successful that she plans to open another restaurant in a sub-district nearby. And she's used those profits to put her children through university. Now when Ibu Ning first received her loan and opened her restaurant, she decided to call it Rajawali, meaning eagle. She said her business was like a powerful bird. It had the body, but she wanted it to grow wings and fly. So the microfinance loans and a lot of hard work are now making that vision a reality for Ibu Ning and enabling the dreams of many Indonesian men and women and their dreams of their families to soar. I did want to emphasize though that it is wonderful to see the Australian government place economic diplomacy, specifically women's economic empowerment at the center of its foreign policy and aid program. Women like Ibu Ning, who I was talking about, they do drive economies. They do build peace, political stability and progress. They're the best hope we have for a future in which everyone thrives. Next week I look forward to supporting Senator Cash at the Commission on the Status of Women in New York, where many of you will be there working to secure a future where the interests of women and girls are protected and promoted. So ladies and gentlemen, I know this role offers many opportunities to improve the lives of women and girls and especially the poorest women and specifically those in our region. I'm proud of Australia's efforts to work with and for the world's women and one thing we all know is that anything that improves the lives of children makes the world a better place. I'm honored to have been given the chance to contribute to this work and I thank you so much for coming this morning and I suspect everyone deserves a cup of tea and a nice glass of water. Thank you, ministers. Thank you, horrenda. Enjoy.