Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Minister for Defence) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the honourable member for his question and acknowledge his service to our country and his very strong support of those Defence Force personnel who are resident and working within the Lavarack Barracks and the Townsville community. He's a staunch advocate for our veterans and he should be proud of that advocacy.

This government has taken decisions over the course of the last few years which will stand our country in the best possible stead in a very changing and uncertain Indo-Pacific region. This has been described as a period not dissimilar to the 1930s. We are worried about the build-up of military power and might by others in the region. We know that there has been a very significant change in the stance of China in the Indo-Pacific towards partners and in the East China Sea and the South China Sea as well. This government has taken a decision in relation to AUKUS which is more significant than any military decision taken by this country since the end of the Second World War. This decision stands our country in good stead and gives us the best ability to keep our country safe today and into the decades ahead.

At the time of the AUKUS announcement 68 days ago, the Labor Party and the Leader of the Opposition rushed out, and the Leader of the Opposition could not have been any stronger in his support, at least at that time, for the AUKUS announcement. So it's taken 68 days, and now we see Senator Wong sent out today with a speech that could have been written by Paul Keating. It could have been written by Paul Keating. It was a sop to old kooky Keating.

The reality is that Labor has always been weak on national security and border protection. Mr Speaker, if you want to look at what they would do in government, look at what they did in opposition. This guy was the architect, along with Kevin Rudd, of the unsuccessful boat policy that resulted in people dying and children going into detention. When it comes to the defence of our country, I can assure this weak Leader of the Opposition that you don't deter an adversary and you don't maintain peace in our region from a position of weakness. That is what he is advocating. The Australian public know him very well. They know him to be weak on national security. I note the Chinese acting ambassador has been attacking Australian values, and Senator Wong today doesn't stand up for those values; instead, she folds in a fit of weakness. This Leader of the Opposition is leaving no Australian uncertain as to what their view is of him. He is weak when it comes to national security. (Time expired)

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