By Kay Scrimger
June 23, 2003

Denver Mayor Wellington E. Webb, Chair of the International Affairs Committee, welcomed the members of the International Affairs Committee, extending a special welcome to the Ambassador of Australia to the United States, His Excellency Michael Thawley, who has served his country as Ambassador since February 2000, and to several international mayors, mayors' representatives, and association directors participating in the meeting.

Ambassador Thawley pointed out the more than half-century strong partnership between the United States and Australia as strategic allies and economic partners. His presentation included the number of areas in which the U.S. and Australia cooperate, including a reminder of many outstanding Australians, such as Mel Gibson, Olivia Newton-John, Nicole Kidman, Steve Irwin, Naomi Watts, Kylie Minogue, and Russell Crowe, many others.

Thawley also pointed out the importance of economic ties between his nation and the United States, noting that the U.S. is Australia's single largest trade and investment partner, with trade between the two countries valued at $28 billion. Australia is the 13th largest export market for the U.S., which has a trade surplus with Australia of $65.6 billion, its second largest. Australia's largest source of foreign investment is the U.S., with assets of $135 billion, and Australia is the eighth largest foreign investor in the U.S. Australian companies provide jobs for 85,000 American workers.

The Ambassador encouraged passage of the resolution, Support for the U.S.-Australian Free Trade Agreement, in order to continue to move the world toward free trade and market liberalization.

Mayor Choongwhan Kim, Mayor of Kangdong-gu, Seoul, Korea, and Secretary General of the National Association of Mayors in Korea (NAMK), explained Korea's local autonomy system and provided valuable information about his city's policies for total recycling, which he emphasized will "solve landfill shortage problems, reduce environmental pollutants like dioxin, and provide energy for local use."

Kim noted that since local governments in Korea received autonomy in 1995, some members of the Korean National Assembly and some political party leaders have sought to reverse that trend; however, he stressed that, "The Mayors of Korea are working hard to develop a better environment for local governments, and I am certain their efforts will succeed."

Mayor Paco Moncayo of Quito, Ecuador, provided a thoughtful discussion on the challenges of safety and security in his city, many of which stem from the narcotics traffic. He noted the high incidence of murders and violence and discussed the safety corporation in Quito, which manages a fund to deter and manage the effects of violence.

Moncayo noted that the fund is supported by a special tax in which all people in Quito pay, according to their economic ability, for security. He also stressed the importance of the safe neighborhood concept. Quito was also the first city in Ecuador to establish a 911 system for emergency needs of its citizens.

Deputy Mayor Catharina Tarras-Wahlberg of Stockholm, representing Mayor Annika Billstrom, noted the power of the Stockholm city government, which has the ability to set income taxes and to decide how funds will be spent. She pointed out how Stockholm's city government is working for strong economic growth in the city and region while planning to invest in housing — adding 20,000 new apartments over the next four years; upholding basic services; and planning to spend approximately one billion U.S. dollars to combat congestion and traffic jams in her city of 750,000 people.

In order to provide for the needs of the city and its people, the mayor has initiated the strongest measures ever by investing "slightly less than $2 billion over the next four years in stimulating housing construction, in stimulating investments, and in environmental improvements." Deputy Mayor Tarras-Wahlberg pointed out that in this undertaking, it is imperative that "the private and public sectors join forces and collaborate to reverse the economic slump that we now are going through." She emphasized that long-term goals include taking responsibility for both the economy and environmentally-friendly policies.

Naofumi Hida, Executive Director of the Japan Local Government Center, New York City, an organization that promotes mutual understanding among local governments in Japan, the United States, and Canada, focused upon the issue of the environment as a major issue in sustainable development. He noted the importance of joint efforts of citizens, local governments, and local leaders in joining together as a positive force for preserving the environment. Mr. Hida discussed the importance of sharing intergovernmental experiences, citing as one example of important cooperation, the Joint Research Institute of Kitakyusyu in southwest Japan with the University of Pennsylvania.

Samkul Lee, Executive Director of the Korea Local Government Center, New York City, an organization that promotes local government exchanges and cooperation between Korean and U.S. local governments. He pointed out that in this age of localization and computerization, the Korean Local Government Center has, since its establishment in 1995, sought to encourage the exchange of information on best practices in such policy areas as waste management and urban planning. Like Mr. Hida's organization, the Korea Local Government Center has been a highly valued partner of the Conference of Mayors and was active at the First Summit of the International Conference of Mayors in April 2002, held in Washington (DC) and New York City.

Mayor Ken Fellman of Arvada discussed a grant his city had received for establishing a Community Emergency Response Team in Kyzylorda, Kazakhstan. His effort, along with the work of Fort Worth, Houston, and Tucson, is part of a four-city project through Sister Cities International with the U.S. Agency for International Development. Mayor Fellman spoke of the valuable collaborative work that his city is doing in the cooperative arrangement on safety and security and also pointed out that the hearts and minds of the people with whom they are cooperating in Kyzylorda, like the steppes of Kazakhstan, are "wide, kind, and generous."

Resolutions

The committee considered and passed the following four new resolutions, all of which were passed by the assembly of mayors on Monday, June 9, to become Conference policy.

Towards Greater Fairness for MSAs: Counting Non-Resident Users, which calls upon the federal government to examine the practices of excluding individuals from the MSA count, simply because they are not U.S. residents, even though they use and support through user fee taxes such as the gas tax, among others.

Consulting Border Communities in Balancing International Trade and Security Needs, which calls upon the Department of Homeland Security and other government agencies to include border community officials in planning and coordinating efforts to balance the need to open our border to commerce while closing them to terrorism and other illegal activities.

Support for the U.S.-Australian Free Trade Agreement, which supports the speedy negotiation and passage of the U.S.-Australian Free Trade Agreement and hereby affirms to all members of the United States Congress its strong endorsement of such an agreement.

Commending and Building Upon the International Conference of Mayors, which recognizes the importance of continuing to build an international network that links mayors with each other; and requests the leadership of the Conference of Mayors to continue to develop this international network of mayors and to plan future gatherings of this kind.