Sam Lim (Tangney, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

It is always a great honour to have the opportunity to speak in this place. I'm grateful that, like this government, the member for Canning shares an interest and passion for the Australian Defence Force and for the wellbeing of our Defence Force. I thank him for his service to our nation.

The Albanese Labor government has committed to ensure that our Defence Force continues to recruit and keep ADF personnel to meet our current and future defence needs. We have a target to expand our ADF by 18,500 personnel by 2040. Unfortunately, the previous government left us to start from behind the eight ball. I'm excited to see how my friend the Minister for Defence Personnel, and also the neighbour of my electorate, the member for Canning, will address the recruitment objectives that this government has committed to. I'm confident in the minister. But I want to address one of the points in the member for Canning's motion.

The previous government was reckless and only made progress to weaken and worsen the relationships that Australia has with its closest neighbours, its biggest trading partners and even an ally that was going to build a submarine for us. The previous government didn't just put its foot in it; it looked at the relationships that are so vital for peace and prosperity in our region and treated them like a kicked-in bickie tin. The previous government did more harm than good for our nation and for our regional security environment. Everyone in our nation has seen how quickly the Albanese Labor government has worked to rebuild relationships with our neighbours and greet them as our brothers and sisters, and worked with them to build bridges.

Soon we will know the outcome of the Defence Strategic Review. We will have a greater insight into how our country can be a greater leader in this region and work together with our neighbours near and far to continue to propagate peace and rise to challenges, in cooperation with one another. Our greatest challenge will not be one another but our failure to see our neighbour as our neighbour. In this pursuit we must take great care to not lose sight of our ability to do good for others. Every day there is an opportunity for Australia to work in our region to remove trade barriers, develop industry, and improve the provision and opportunity for prosperity and cooperation with our world. If we were to measure the first few months of this government's time in office, again and again we would see this government embracing its neighbour and moving towards old friendships the previous government had let sour. I have a hope. Please allow me to speak in my mother tongue: hua gange weiyubo. In Bahasa Malaysian: Menukarkan Senjata kepada sutera jed. In English it means 'to work for peace'.

I'm proud of the actions of this government and confident to see our government continue to repair the relationships that had been so badly damaged by the previous government. I'm also proud to have my only son serving in the Australian Defence Force, and I encourage all the courageous young men and women out there to join our Defence Force, to serve and protect our country together. Thank you.

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