Dave Sharma (Wentworth, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak in support of the Morrison government's budget for the Foreign Affairs and Trade portfolio and the impact it will have on our Pacific step-up. The Pacific is our home, and it's where we can have the most genuine impact and contribution on the international stage. As the Prime Minister says, 'It's our patch and it's our backyard.'

The 2019-20 budget underscores Australia's commitment to step up our engagement in the Pacific and our broader region and to work across government to further Australia's security and prosperity in a contested world. We're committing $12.7 million in additional resources to the Australian Infrastructure Financing Facility for the Pacific. The facility will use grant funding provided alongside loans to significantly deepen Australia's support for high-priority infrastructure projects in the Pacific and Timor-Leste, reaffirming our commitment to work with Pacific partners to support their development priorities. This facility opened on 1 July this year and will invest in high-priority infrastructure across the Pacific in areas such as telecommunications, energy, transport and water and other essential infrastructure such as the Highlands Highway in Papua New Guinea.

We're also investing in greater collaboration between all of our Pacific neighbours, with $3.9 million going towards developing measures to guard against foreign interference. This strategy will mobilise international collaboration towards stronger global norms and against inappropriate interference and will enable cooperation with regional partners. As part of a broader measure led by the Department of Home Affairs, DFAT will implement a program to support these efforts in our region and more broadly.

Australia has also committed $4 billion in official development assistance, $1.4 billion of which will be directed towards our Pacific neighbours. This is a third of our total aid budget and reflects our enduring ties with our nearest neighbours. It's our highest ever aid spend in the region. We're also increasing humanitarian funding to $450 million, ensuring that Australia can respond rapidly to help those affected by humanitarian crises and allow us to continue to respond to unprecedented levels of displacement and humanitarian need across the globe.

We have also committed $44 million to establish a new National Foundation for Australia-China Relations, investing in one of our most important bilateral relationships. The foundation will provide a new and innovative platform to provide practical support and expertise to Australians developing links and exchanges with Chinese counterparts. It will harness the efforts of the private sector, peak bodies, NGOs, cultural organisations, state and federal agencies and the Chinese-Australian community.

Australia will also step up its engagement on maritime issues in South-East Asia, building on our long history of maritime support across the Indo-Pacific. We will deepen our investment in maritime cooperation, including on regional maritime organisations; maritime domain awareness; illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing; and support for a rules-based maritime order. Since announcing the Pacific Step-up last year there has been a major refocusing of our efforts within foreign policy, aid, defence and policing strategies to make sure that the Pacific is our highest priority. This is important for ongoing prosperity and security in Australia as well as for the prosperity and security of our region as a whole.

In addition to refocusing our efforts on our own region of the Pacific, the government's budget has continued funding of Govpass, a trusted digital identity, a key component in the further digital transformation of government. The additional $4.1 million in funding supports the government's commitment to better and more accessible digital services.

A South Pacific that is secure strategically, stable economically and sovereign politically is in Australia's national interest. This government has made that achievement a priority. The Pacific is front and centre as our strategic priority, right where it should be, and I'm proud to be part of a government that is leading from the front on these important issues. I wish to acknowledge the work of the Minister for International Development and the Pacific, who is here this evening. I ask the minister to please explain to the chamber how the government's budget will continue to support the Pacific Step-up and our engagement in the region.

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