The forum began with a tribute to the late Senator the Hon. Peter Cook, the former International Secretary, given by his friend and comrade Hon. Simon Crean. As International Secretary, Cook had laid the foundations for much of Labor’s international work. Crean announced the launch of the Peter Cook Memorial Address, a major address to be delivered by an imminent person on an important issue related to our international work.

In addition to visiting dignitaries and diplomats, and past and present international secretaries, the audience included the late Senator Cook's wife Barbara and brother John.

Focusing on the role of parties in international diplomacy, panellists debated the issues surrounding building party-to-party links, the relative merits of fraternal relations versus non-partisan engagement, and the role for political parties in directly delivering training programs to their counterparts in the developing world. The forum, which included party representatives from Indonesia, Philippines, PNG and Vanuatu, reaffirmed the importance of Labor’s commitment to multilateral and bilateral engagement with our region.

The expert panel included:

• Zhang Zhijun, vice-minister of the International Department of the Communist Party of China’s Central Committee

• Dimitri Dolis, senior Adviser to the Panhellenic Socialist movement and a former deputy leader of Labor in Victoria

• Mike Smith, the New Zealand Labour Party’s General Secretary

• Janelle Saffin, Australian lawyer and politician, and a Senior Advisor to Timor Leste’s President elect, Jose Ramos Horta; and

• Robert McClelland, the Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs.