James Stevens (Sturt, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. From Europe to our region, the world is facing increasing uncertainty. Will the Prime Minister please outline to the House how the Morrison government is addressing these challenges and the importance of acting in our national interest with strong and consistent principles and values?

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Sturt for his question.

Andrew Wallace (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Moreton is warned.

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is true that we do face, particularly at this present time, incredibly uncertain international and regional circumstances. These are very uncertain times. It is a very uncertain environment, not just in Europe but in our own region here in the Indo-Pacific, with the threats and the coercion that we face here in Australia. We are seeing threats and coercion and bullying in other parts, which I will come to in a moment. It is a time for resolve, it is a time to stand up against those who would seek to bully, whether it is Australia, whether it is Lithuania, whether indeed it is Ukraine. It is a time to stand up to the bullies and the autocrats who work together, not just in Europe but also here in our own region. It is not a time for having an each-way bet on national security. It is not a time for appeasement and the trading away of Australian values in search of appeasement.

It is a time to work with our partners, as our government has done, enlivening the Quad that was dismantled by the actions of the Labor Party when they were last in government. It is a time for AUKUS, which was brought together with our closest of partners in the United Kingdom and the United States, for a generational leap forward in our national security settings that were put in place by our government to give us the capability to defend Australia in a way we have never been able to before and to work closely with our Five Eyes partners. It is a time to strengthen our defences, as we have done as a government, whether it is our cybersecurity defences, our land defences, our air defences, our sea defences, and particularly our submarine capabilities. All of these are working together to keep Australians safe.

Indeed, as Russian troops are amassing on Ukraine's border—and Australians in the Ukraine have been advised of the seriousness and dangerous nature of this situation now for many weeks—we look at these issues and these events with great concern. We support Ukraine's sovereignty, absolutely; we support their right to their territorial borders, that they not be imperilled by their neighbour. We denounce Russia's bullying, their coercion, their intimidation and their threats of violence against Ukraine. We will always take steps to do that. We have taken those steps with our like-minded partners. But I know that the Chinese government has not stood with the rest of the world in denouncing the actions of Russia, and they should do so. There should be no cue taken from the actions of Russia for coercion or bullying in our region. (Time expired)