Andrew Hastie (Canning, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Defence) Share this | Hansard source

Let me begin by saying that the opposition shares the minister's view that our sovereignty, our territory, our values and our way of life are a sacred duty of the Australian government and, indeed, of this parliament. On this question, the coalition are of one mind and spirit with the government, for if we cannot secure and defend ourselves we have failed at the most basic duty entrusted to us by the Australian people.

In this task, strength and resolve are vital. We must be strong because weakness is provocative. We must show resolve because we live in a contested, competitive world. Our national history reminds us of these truths. Australia has been tempered by war in the last century. More than 100,000 men and women have given their lives in war defending the things that we love and cherish. Indeed, many of us stood at the War Memorial on Sunday at the Last Post Ceremony and said as one, 'Lest we forget.'

In speaking those words we pledged to remember the sacrifice made by previous generations, but we also pledged to strengthen and defend Australia today and for the generations to come. The opposition embraces this obligation, and we will always work with the government in a spirit of goodwill to provide for the safety and security of the Australian people. Our decisions on national security reflect our priorities. They show our strength and resolve. That's why the former coalition government embarked on a new course through the AUKUS partnership on 16 September 2021.

AUKUS is a new partnership that will build our military strength through the acquisition of nuclear submarines and other advanced defence capabilities. This task will span multiple parliaments, multiple governments and multiple generations of Australians. It requires leadership from government and institutional support from this parliament, for this is a truly complex and demanding nation-building project that engages government, business, industry, our schools and universities, our workers, our allies and our regional neighbours. Most importantly, this task demands resolve, for we do live in a contested and competitive world.

There are naysayers and opponents of AUKUS here in Australia and abroad. They will counsel doubt, delay and deferral. We must ignore them and stay the course. Delivering nuclear boats to the Royal Australian Navy on time demands singular focus and resolve. It demands relentless mission focus, not just from government but from all of us in this House.

The opposition believes in the AUKUS mission, and we are resolved to see it through to completion at best speed with the most capable nuclear submarine that we can get. This must be our priority, as time is not on our side. Our strategic circumstances have changed for the worse, as the minister has outlined today.

The past 12 months have added urgency to the AUKUS mission. A little more than a year ago we saw China and Russia sign a no-limits strategic partnership on the eve of the Beijing Winter Olympics. Only weeks later, Russia commenced the barbaric, illegal and unjustified invasion of Ukraine. Thousands have perished since, and, despite our best efforts to support the Ukrainian people in their struggle against barbarism, Europe remains no closer to peace today.

Nearer to home we have witnessed a creeping strategic disorder over the past six months. Rockets from the People's Republic of China streaked across the skies of Taiwan in August, and PRC spy balloons breached sovereign airspace in the United States and Central America. Authoritarian powers are on the move, and the rules based global order has groaned under the strain. The risk of miscalculation has risen to dangerous levels.

A new reality is darkening our region, one that has the potential to diminish our collective security and prosperity. This emerging reality was forecast by the former coalition government in July 2020, when the Defence Strategic Update was given at the Australian Defence Force Academy by Prime Minister Morrison. Great power competition, military modernisation and grey-zone operations conducted below the threshold of war—they were all forecast in the DSU in 2020, and even then, authoritarian powers were on the move.

It was this assessment that led the former coalition government to act, to see the world as it was, not as we wished it to be. It meant that we had to take a tough but necessary decision: to cease the Attack class project with our French friends and to pursue a new trilateral agreement with the US and the UK that would deliver the most capable cutting-edge nuclear submarine. This was not easy, but tough decisions never are. The Leader of the Opposition knows this better than most in this House, and I acknowledge his leadership as a former minister for defence.

The coalition acted in the best interests of the Australian people because we believe that national defence is a sacred duty of government. We can't afford to be weak in this new reality, and nuclear submarines will make us strong. It will change the balance of power in the Indo-Pacific region in favour of those who want peace, security, stability and prosperity, of those who want a bright future for Australia, for children and for our neighbours in the region.

But relying on submarines is not enough. Even as we build our strength through AUKUS, we must redouble our frontline diplomatic efforts, as the minister said. We must build our friendships to reduce tension and create pathways for peace. We are blessed to live in a colourful, dynamic region of many countries and cultures. Modern Australia reflects this regional diversity with our multicultural society. This is a strength as we step out into our Indo-Pacific neighbourhood. We understand and respect differences as we encounter them.

Our neighbours are important to us, friends such as Japan, Singapore, New Zealand, South Korea, India, Papua New Guinea and Indonesia, among many others. We benefit from their strategic insights and perspectives and uphold their sovereignty with the same zeal that we wish to safeguard our own. But we all share the same desire for a brighter future. On that common ground, we must work together to avoid conflict, disorder and strife with all nations in our region, sometimes with outstretched arms towards those who wish to remain aloof. We must stay engaged, and we must maintain a bias for dialogue.

The minister touched upon our alliance with the United States. He mentioned our joint facilities and covered the perennial questions of full knowledge and concurrence. I will not cover the same ground, except to say that there is no space between the government and the coalition on the critical importance of those capabilities to our national security, nor on the need to maintain them for the challenges ahead.

I have a few words in closing about our closest security partner, the United States of America. The Indo-Pacific region has benefited greatly from the US since the Second World War. On a personal level, I wouldn't be standing at this table if a US medic from Virginia had not saved the life of my grandfather under fire in the Indonesian archipelago on 31 March 1945. On a national and geopolitical level, US investment in regional security and trade has helped to build peace our common peace and prosperity for more than 80 years, and, as a trading nation, our lives depend upon it. We wish to see this continue, as do other nations. We urge our American friends to retain an outward-facing posture to stay engaged in the region and to be responsive to the needs of allies, particularly when it comes to the liberalisation of defence and technology transfer.

The US Congress, the UK parliament and the Australian parliament must work together to realise the host of legislative changes that will enable the smooth operation of AUKUS beyond the respective governments of the day. This might require institutional experimentation, and I encourage the minister to consider all options going forward. In closing, we look forward to the next steps with AUKUS and the Defence Strategic Review announcements. We will offer robust support from the opposition, with the national interest as our guiding star in the best Westminster tradition. I thank the House.

See this speech in context