Julian Leeser (Berowra, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister representing Minister for Defence. Will the minister outline to the House how the Australia-US relationship, through our defence cooperation, is creating a stronger Australia and stability and certainty in our region?

Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Minister for Home Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I want to say thank you very much to the member for Berowra for his service on the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security. He contributes an enormous amount to the security of this nation through his work on that committee, and I commend all people from both sides of the House on the work of that PJCIS. As all Australians know, the National Security Committee has met constantly over the course of the last 12 months, not just to deal with the COVID pandemic and to try and keep Australians safe. We've made a number of decisions, including closing our borders, which have resulted in us being able to work closely with Health to deliver the best possible outcome for the Australian people. We've dealt with issues around counterterrorism. We have dealt with issues around cyberattacks on Australian businesses and families. But we have never ever taken our eye off the ball of keeping Australians safe by making sure that we have the appropriate compacts, friendships and alliances with those nations which are most important, not just for our country but also for our region and indeed for the rest of the world.

There is no more important alliance than between our country and the United States of America. The work that we do with the United States is incredibly important. The intelligence that we receive, the intelligence that we provide to the United States and the way in which we work with our Five Eyes partners help keep Australians safe. It has done it for generations and it will do it for generations into the future. It is why the Prime Minister's call this morning with the President of the United States, President Biden, was so important; it underscored that relationship. Mr Biden is an exemplary friend of Australia and the work that the Prime Minister's put into the relationship over the course of the last few years has been quite remarkable. It has built us into a position where we are able to provide support to troops coming into Darwin. We have even been able to do that during the course of COVID because the way in which our troops are able to work with their American colleagues is incredibly important.

I know that Minister Reynolds had a very important and productive discussion with her counterpart, the new Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, last week and underscored what are the three key priorities for the alliance defence cooperation in 2021 and they are as follows: progressing bilateral force posture initiatives to contribute to regional security; enhancing our regional activities to contribute to a region that is secure, prosperous, inclusive and rules based; and deepening our technology and industry cooperation to ensure the alliance maintains its capability edge. This is an enduring alliance that so far has lasted seven decades and it will continue to go from strength to strength. By sharing our values, our interests and our security with the United States, we can provide the best possible opportunity to keep Australians safe.