Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for her question. The Minister for International Development and the Pacific will respond to this, but we went to the election with a substantial upgrade of our engagement with the Pacific islands. Whether it's defence, whether it is migration—including temporary labour coming here but also permanent migration to assist the Pacific—or whether it is assisting with skills or with maritime issues, we have re-engaged with the Pacific. Unlike what occurred just before the election, when the Solomons broke away and came to arrangements that were not in Australia's national interests, not only have we signed agreements with Vanuatu and made an agreement with Papua New Guinea—when I was the first foreign leader of any sort to address the PNG parliament in Port Moresby just last month—but we are back around the table. We are not abusing our Pacific island neighbours or making jokes about climate change; we are engaging in these migration issues.

See this speech in context