Tim Watts (Gellibrand, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

We know that Australia lives in challenging times. Strategic competition in our region, the Indo-Pacific, is increasing, and domains that were previously considered separate—economic, diplomatic, strategic, military—are converging. Events in our region and beyond have shown, as well, that peace is not a guarantee and will become harder to maintain in the future. The Albanese government, though, is working to shape a region that is stable, peaceful, prosperous and predictable; a region where sovereignty is protected, where countries can make their own choices, where no country dominates and no country is dominated; and, importantly, a region that is governed by rules, norms and international law.

A region like this doesn't just emerge on its own. It requires active investment from all countries in the region, including Australia. It requires diplomacy. It requires us to build our defence capability and our ability to contribute to collective security in our region. It requires strengthening Australia's economic security, building our resilience, our sovereign capabilities, at home. The Albanese government is deploying all elements of our national power to make Australia stronger at home and more influential in the world. We won't be content to be mere commentators, mere spectators, to the changes going on around Australia. We're engaging to shape the world around us, and our budget makes responsible investments to mitigate the threats that we face and to seize the opportunities that are presented to us.

Since coming into office, the Albanese government has worked to rectify a decade of underfunding and resourcing neglect at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. The previous government failed to ensure long-term resourcing for our diplomatic capability. A wasted decade saw Australia's diplomatic footprint shrink at the worst possible time. The previous government also failed to provide ongoing funding for critical aspects of our diplomacy and national security, to the detriment of the national interest. The previous government provided no ongoing funding for the interim mission in Afghanistan, for overseas leases of embassies, for the foreign arrangements scheme and for many more. And what did their failure leave us with? A slew of commitments with none of the funding needed to deliver them. Australians deserved better.

I'm proud of our efforts to restore both the capability and the leadership of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. We've brought the department back into the centre of government decision-making and of Australia's engagement with the world, where it belongs. We're investing in our diplomats. They are our people on the ground, who put our foreign policy into action. Our budget will better enable Australia's diplomatic network to shape the region and advance our interests. So, in this increasingly contested environment, the Albanese government is investing to lift the capability of our diplomats in the Indo-Pacific. I wish that all Australians could see the enormous capability of our people across our diplomatic network. I'm privileged in my role as Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs to have seen Australian diplomats at work in dozens of countries, and I wish all Australians could see them. They'd be so proud of the people representing us and the capabilities that they have. They are our frontline of engagement with the world.

Our diplomats are our instruments of influence, and they've achieved a lot in the last year. Our diplomats worked around the clock to help Australians and their families returned home from the conflict in Sudan. They successfully assisted over 300 Australians and their families to evacuate from a very dangerous civil conflict. They successfully advocated and worked to bring Professor Sean Turnell back to Australia after 21 months of unjust detention in Myanmar. As we speak, they are working tirelessly at all hours of every day to provide consular support to Australians who face difficult situations overseas. Our diplomats have worked and continue to work with partners around the world to respond to Russia's illegal and immoral invasion of Ukraine, to counter Russian lies and to deliver justice for Ukraine and its people. Our Australian Passport Office staff have successfully resolved the backlog of passport applications that we inherited from the failure and the lack of planning of the previous government. Passport processing rates are back to what they were before the COVID pandemic.

Our diplomats advance Australia's interest in every corner of the globe. That's why the Albanese government will continue to invest in our diplomats. We will continue to advance our interests around the world, shape the region that Australia exists in and build a region that's peaceful, prosperous and secure—a region that operate on rules, norms and international law, a region where all countries, including countries like Australia, exercise their sovereignty and their own choices, because if we don't do it, other countries will.

Proposed expenditure agreed to.

Federation Chamber adjourned at 19:32

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