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

on indulgence—I want to offer our full support to the efforts of the government here and congratulate the Prime Minister, and the Deputy Prime Minister as well, on advancing the relationship. I had the great fortune to meet with the now President-elect and then defence minister, Prabowo, in Jakarta a couple of years ago. His appreciation for Australia and his genuine interest in the relationship and the friendship was obvious during the course of that meeting, but it has been obvious during the course of his career. I believe very strongly, as the Prime Minister does, that Indonesia and Australia have a shared past but it is incredibly important for us to ensure that the future is even more emboldened, as well as the fact that we can work together closely not just on defence matters but on national security and otherwise—on people movements, on drugs and on illegal fishing within the region. Indonesia obviously brings a very significant effort to making sure that with near neighbours we can protect and defend our equities as we go forward. I welcome any opportunity to work with the Prime Minister and to support the work of the government in what is a very important bilateral agreement, arrangement and friendship between our two countries.

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