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

Working with our Pacific family is incredibly important, and to strengthen their security, prosperity and safety from the effects of climate change is an overriding Australian national interest. There's no separating Australia's security from the Pacific's security, and the recent commemorations of 75 years since the end of the war in the Pacific should tell us that. We are a Pacific nation and an active member of the Pacific Islands Forum. Our fates are intertwined by ties of kith and kin, as my friend mentioned a little while ago. Culture, sports, religion, and economic and strategic reality bind us to our family in the Pacific. In Cairns last year our Indo-Pacific trade task force had great meetings about encouraging and fostering those bonds better into the future. Strengthening Australia's vital relationships with Pacific island nations has traditionally been, and should be, a bipartisan priority. The Pacific Maritime Security Program mentioned in this motion, for instance, is the successor to the original Pacific Patrol Boats program, which saw Australia give vessels to Pacific island countries, beginning under Labor from 1987 to 1997.

Ignoring the Pacific has been an own goal by the coalition government, with costly strategic consequences. The Pacific Step-up was designed to fill a vacuum created by this government's own Pacific step down. The chronic gutting of Australian aid and climate change inaction have decreased the influence and credibility Australia long enjoyed among Pacific nations. The one thing that the Pacific really cares about—

A division having been called in the House of Representatives—

Sitting suspended from 17:46 to 17:58

I was mentioning that our credibility among Pacific nations has been good, but it did suffer from what has been called the government's own Pacific 'step-down' in the past. I continue to encourage them to step up. One area is climate change action. If there's one thing the Pacific really cares about, it's the existential threat that they see climate change and sea level rise as. It's funny, isn't it? When people who live on islands see those islands being subsumed by the ocean, it's going to be an important thing to them.

On top of the Guardian class patrol boats and the Lombrum base initiatives that have been mentioned in this motion, I'd like to mention the plan for the Navy to acquire a new Pacific support vessel that would provide assistance with humanitarian and disaster recovery efforts, including responses to cyclones. This Defence acquisition was first announced by the Prime Minister in November 2018, but there hasn't been a lot of progress in delivering it. The new Defence Force structure plan in July this year indicates that it is expected to be acquired by 2024. I urge the government to follow through and provide more information on when the capability will be delivered. I note that Queensland and the east coast in general play a significant role in the maintenance of our Pacific friends' patrol boats. Darwin too is a natural partner for the servicing and maintenance of Timor-Leste's two new patrol boats under the program. This is in line with Darwin's increasing role as a Navy hub in Australia's evolving strategic posture.

The Pacific is currently hit hard by COVID-19, with PNG and other countries experiencing a second wave and with the devastating impact on their economies due to travel restrictions hitting tourism and remittance from workers abroad. Australia needs to show that the Pacific Step-up is real by providing assistance, not only with the immediate health impacts but also with medium-term economic recovery. That means it's time to boost Australia's development assistance, along with diplomacy and defence cooperation, and not make further cuts to the aid budget. Aid NGOs are concerned that the government may make even more cuts in the coming budget.

Recently, the Prime Minister announced that the government's COVID vaccine initiative would also be extended to people in Pacific island countries. I welcome this, but call on the government to make sure it follows through by ensuring the vaccine is made available for free in Pacific countries. It's good for the people and it's good for our relationships. This is not a defence matter— (Time expired)

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