Luke Gosling (Solomon, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Mr Deputy Speaker Mitchell, welcome to 2018. I hope you had a great Christmas. I support this motion and I thank the member for Forde for articulating those good things that are happening between Australia and Japan, both for the benefits that we get in terms of jobs and improvements to our economy and for the great things the people of Japan get as part of our strengthening relationship. I just want to acknowledge the importance of our trade and economic relationship, and add to that the importance of our defence relationship.

Japan is a large economy. It is a large trading partner for us and it is also, as we heard, a very important source of foreign investment. In Darwin, where I'm from, and which I represent, we're very conscious of this. We have a very large gas project, the INPEX project, worth about $40 billion—not a small project at all—the gas from which will be processed and shipped out from the Port of Darwin, and it will literally keep the lights on in Tokyo. The construction phase for that massive facility in Darwin is winding down now—the project is moving into the operational phase—but it has been a big boost for many companies in Darwin and for the people of Darwin and Palmerston, in my electorate. It's a big boost for the energy security of Japan.

We need further investment in the North. Whilst the INPEX project has been great, we can't depend on it; we need to make our own luck and create our own job-producing projects. That's why we look forward to the confirmation of the Darwin City Deal and some form of Commonwealth investment in Darwin. We also need to look at ways that, when there are large projects like the INPEX project coming to town, we can maximise the benefit to the local economy.

There are many opportunities for investment in the Northern Territory, other than in natural gas. We really welcome further Japanese involvement in our many and varied industries in the Top End. We heard a bit from the member about cattle—we've got those. We have natural resources in abundance and we look forward to a deepening and strengthening of our trading relationship with Japan.

But our relationship goes beyond trade and investment. Since the 1950s our relationship with Japan has been broad and deep. Our shared interests in defence, international security, democratic government, humanitarian aid, and disaster response, in which Darwin plays a pivotal role, and our strong ties of cultural exchange, education, and research are but a few of the ways that everyday Australians experience this strong bond.

Darwin, as the capital of northern Australia and the centre of the defence of northern Australia, is part, with the Japanese and our allies, of keeping markets open. Together, we are committed to the rules based order that allows global trade to continue. That's why it is so important that we work closely with Japan and our allies. In Timor-Leste last year I saw firsthand some of that close interaction. There was an exercise involving Timor-Leste, Australia, the US Marines and Japanese defence force personnel, which was fantastic. I note that the anniversary of the bombing of Darwin is coming up on 19 February. We do not forget the loss of Australian lives in World War II, but, in the spirit of the Fujita family, we also look to reconciliation. Our trade and defence ties will get stronger as we move on.

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