Richard Marles (Corio, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Defence) Share this | Hansard source

I thank all members who have contributed to the debate on these important bills. I'd also like to thank the opposition for their bipartisanship and support in progressing these bills through the parliament. There's been constructive engagement across the aisle and with defence officials to support a considered outcome for Australia's protective security framework. The Defence Trade Controls Amendment Bill 2023 and the Defence Amendment (Safeguarding Australia's Military Secrets) Bill 2023 represent critical reforms to Australia's protective security framework. In the complex and challenging strategic environment that we face today, preventing our defence technologies, capabilities and information from falling into the hands of our adversaries is paramount.

At the same time, these reforms represent a significant opportunity to unlock the benefits of AUKUS, helping establish a seamless industrial base between Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom. These reforms will achieve this by establishing a new licence for the environment among AUKUS partners through a national exemption for the US and UK from Australia's export control licensing requirements under the Defence Trade Controls Act. This will revolutionise collaboration and defence trade, unlocking investment and growth opportunities for Australian industry, research and science. These reforms are expected to provide an estimated net benefit to the economy of $614 million over the next 10 years. The reduction in regulation through the national exemption for export permits to the US and the UK would benefit 5 billion of the almost $9 billion in annual defence exports. These exemptions would also mean that almost a third of the 3,000 export permit applications currently assessed annually are no longer required.

Australia's export control regime is a permissive system designed to permit the responsible transfer of controlled goods and technology. These reforms do not change this underlying principle. Similarly, the safeguarding Australia's military secrets bill does not seek to limit the employment opportunities of any Australians. It extends Australia's already robust legislation and policies further by enhancing the protections around our defence information and technology and that of our allies. It adopts a proactive approach by establishing an authorisation framework to regulate the performance of work and specified training to a foreign military, foreign government or foreign government entity.

The reforms in these bills strike the balance between protecting our national security while supporting our economic innovation and international research collaboration. These bills will ensure the United Kingdon and the United States can collaborate, innovate and trade at the speed and scale required to meet the challenging strategic circumstances, and they will build Australia's long-term national defence by supporting our AUKUS commitment.

These bills were the subject of inquiry processes by the Senate Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade and the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security. The government thanks the committees for their work. As I said in my second reading speech, the government is committed to improving the bills through an inquiry process. The assistant minister has outlined in his contribution the government's response to these reports, and the amendments that I will read shortly achieve this aim. I commend the bills to the house.

Question agreed to.

Bill read a second time.

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