Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Hansard source

I want to thank the Prime Minister for his advice to the parliament in relation to this latest advance in our very important and special relationship with Papua New Guinea. I want to thank him for his call, earlier today, in relation to his decision to invite Prime Minister James Marape to address this parliament.

It will be a great honour for us to have Prime Minister Marape in the parliament, in this chamber. I hope it sends a very clear message not only to the government of PNG but to the people of PNG that they have a very strong abiding friend in Australia. The people-to-people links, as the Prime Minister says, go back many decades and, importantly, to the Second World War where, with the assistance of many brave Papua New Guineans, we were able to save our country from certain devastation. We will never ever forget that.

I want to say thank you to Prime Minister Marape for his continued engagement with our country. It is a contested era in which we live. We do know that we live in precarious times and that the relationship with PNG is more important than ever for both countries. We know it's a democracy that is longstanding and, as democracies, we will always stand together. I welcome supporting the Prime Minister in whatever moves the government continues to make to enhance the relationship which has been building for many, many years; may it continue to do so long into the future.

See this speech in context