Libby Coker (Corangamite, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

ER () (): My question is to the Prime Minister. How is Australia's work with the Quad helping to advance our national interest? What were some of the outcomes of the Quad leaders' meeting held over the weekend?

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Corangamite for her question and for her understanding that, in today's globalised world, we need to engage with our friends and partners in order to deliver for our national interest. The Quad Leaders' Summit that was held in Hiroshima on Saturday evening, that I convened, was the third in-person meeting of what is a diplomatic partnership of four great democracies determined to shape a better future for our shared region. For the first time, we issued a vision statement, setting out our shared vision for the region and the future of the Quad, reiterating our shared commitment to an open, stable, secure and prosperous Indo-Pacific. Our four nations will continue working with ASEAN, the Pacific Islands Forum and the Indian Ocean Rim Association. Our joint statement set out the positive work we're doing together in the region, with clear and practical outcomes from this summit. A clean energy supply chain diversification program. A Quad healthy security partnership, building on the many vaccines that we've provided for the region through the Quad. A Quad partnership for cable connectivity and resilience. A Quad infrastructure fellowships program that will really assist particularly our Pacific island neighbours, and an open radio access network deployment that will mean they can access support for communications in a much more effective way.

It is always in Australia's national interest to engage in these meetings, and I thank President Biden, Prime Minister Kishida and Prime Minister Modi for the cooperative way in which they engaged and continue to engage on a day-to-day basis. Australia is determined to invest in our capabilities but also to invest in our relationships and to make Australia more stable and secure at home and more influential in the world, because building and strengthening these ties, nation to nation and in regional groupings, is a key part of how my government is building a stronger foundation for that better future.