Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On behalf of the House, I welcome as guests the President of the Senate and honourable senators to this sitting of the House of Representatives to hear an address by His Excellency Ferdinand R Marcos Jr, President of the Republic of the Philippines.

His Excellency Ferdinand R Marcos Jr having been announced and escorted into the chamber—

Mr President, I welcome you to the House of Representatives chamber. Your address today is a significant occasion in the history of the House.

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

Your Excellency President Marcos, on behalf of the Australian government and indeed the Australian people, it is my very great pleasure to welcome you and the First Lady to our nation's parliament.

This is an historic occasion for both our democracies. It is also the natural next step in our nation's growing partnership. The bilateral relationship between Australia and the Philippines is now 78 years old. Our ties of trade and culture, friendship and family are, of course, centuries older. In East Arnhem Land, the art and stories of the Yolngu people tell of their ancestors boarding visiting trading ships and sailing to far-off islands. In every sense, Mr President, our peoples have been on a voyage together for a very long time.

Australia and the Philippines are in the same boat, and we share a vision for our destination: a peaceful, secure, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific. We know the course to follow: strengthening our economic partnership through trade and investment; building on our connections in education and skills; creating more opportunities for our young people through the new work and holiday visa that we have agreed together; continuing our shared efforts in agricultural research; and deepening our cooperation in defence to support regional security. This is the new level of engagement our government is seeking between our two nations and indeed across ASEAN as a whole.

I know the Philippines is rightly proud of its place as one of the five founding members of ASEAN. All of us in Australia are looking forward to next week's special summit in Melbourne, which will mark 50 years since Australia became ASEAN's first dialogue partner. For Australia, ASEAN is central, and it is essential, and we want to continue to work closely with the Philippines and all our friends and partners in ASEAN to promote the shared opportunity that drives our regional prosperity and to fulfil our collective responsibility to uphold regional security.

Mr President, our nations share a determination to navigate the challenges of our time: climate change, food security, cybersecurity, counterterrorism and regional security. The new strategic partnership that you and I signed together in Manila last year speaks to our mutual trust and our common resolve. I'm pleased we're building on this momentum today, signing a memorandum of understanding for enhanced maritime cooperation and agreeing to new initiatives in key areas of digital technology and cybersecurity.

As our nations work together in this decisive decade for the Indo-Pacific, we can draw inspiration from our shared history. In June 1943, when eight Australian servicemen escaped from their prisoner-of-war camp in Sandakan, they joined the Filipino resistance in their struggle against Japanese occupation. In Palo, on Leyte, a memorial stands in honour of the 92 Australians who lost their lives in the liberation of the Philippines in 1944. Our nations served and sacrificed together in Korea. In 1999 the Philippines joined Australia in supporting independence for East Timor, and in 2013 Australian defence personnel and medical mission teams returned to the Philippines to provide humanitarian assistance after Typhoon Yolanda. That's the spirit of Filipino bayanihan and Australian mateship: we work together and we care for each other.

Mr President, this connection and affection lives and thrives in the electorates of so many members of the parliament that you see here today. Members from all sides of politics have the privilege of representing the large and growing Filipino Australian community, many of whom have joined us in the parliament today. They are people famous for their generosity, hospitality and love of family, renowned for their hard work and aspiration and always looking to give back to the community.

That's just as true in my electorate in Sydney's inner west as it is in the regions, like in Port Wakefield in South Australia. Eighteen months ago, their local country fire service was staring down the barrel of closure. When the small band of volunteers put out a call for new recruits, they received only one response: Samson Bucol, who migrated to Australia from the Philippines in 2014. His dedication to duty won the respect and affection of his fellow volunteers, and he soon passed the word on to others. Today, a quarter of the members of that country fire service are of Filipino descent—and half of the cadets—characteristic of the spirit of the Filipino diaspora that proudly calls Australia home.

Mr President, you address us today as a leader in the region where, more than any other, Australia's destiny lies. And, as we look to shape the future together, I'm reminded of something you said to me at our last meeting: prosperity and progress depend on peace. This is what our strategic partnership recognises, and that is what is so significant about the maritime cooperation activities our two navies completed together for the first time in November last year.

We are both island nations, we are both trading nations, and for both of us the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea is not an abstract notion or a theoretical question. Freedom of navigation is fundamental to our sovereignty, our prosperity, our security and our territorial integrity. Our cooperation is an assertion of our national interest and a recognition of our regional responsibility. It reflects our shared understanding that peace depends on more than the presence of the great powers. All of us in the international community—middle powers like our two nations as well as small nations—have our part to play in building a more stable, peaceful and prosperous future.

President Marcos, to conclude on a personal note, I do want to say how touched Jodie and I were by the kindness extended to us during our time in your wonderful country last year. We were proud to host you at the Lodge last night. That was a very pleasant dinner: not so much work, just enjoyable; four people together, engaging in a spirit of respect and friendship. I think that was a great beginning to your important visit. What I know very sincerely is that you will be warmly welcomed wherever you go in our nation of Australia, because all of us in this place and, indeed, all Australians are united in our respect for the contribution that your nation and your people make to our region and to our communities. You honour us today, and we very much look forward to your address.

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

I commend the Prime Minister for his very fine words. On behalf of the coalition and federal opposition, I extend to you, President Marcos, a very warm and hearty welcome and greetings. Your Excellency, to you, to Her Excellency First Lady Marcos and to the entire Republic of the Philippines delegation: Australia welcomes you, our parliament welcomes you, and, of course, our people warmly welcome you. Millions of Australians will watch your address today, and, when they do, they will not only see the face of a foreign leader; they will hear the words of a dear friend of Australia. If words carry sentiments across land and sea, then, to you and through you, Mr President, I send my best wishes to the friendly, faith fortified and fearless people of the Philippines.

Seventy-eight years ago, in the main square of Manila, an American flag was lowered and the flag of the Philippines was raised. As a new republic was born, the newly inaugurated president addressed his countrymen and marked the forward thrust of the frontiers of freedom. It was on that day, 4 July 1946, when President Roxas joyfully declared the Filipino people had 'reached the summit' of the high 'mountain of independence'. It was indeed a long and arduous historic climb from ancient communities occupying a vast archipelago to colonial rule under the Spanish, from a revolt against the Spanish to becoming the subjects of the United States, from occupation under the imperial Japanese forces to American liberation and the final steps of stewardship towards sovereignty. When President Roxas delivered his speech, he knew the challenges of nation building that awaited his fellow Filipinos. Only weeks earlier, he'd outlined the hurdles ahead—a country in ruins from war, a people beset by unemployment, hunger, disease, inflation and housing inadequacy, yet the President at the time was optimistic. He said:

… if we conquer the obstacles which bar our way, our people will grow great in the eyes of men.

The Philippines aspires to greatness.

President Marcos, today you lead a nation and people who no longer need to aspire to greatness because the Philippines is a great country by any measure of the word. Your nation and your people are truly great in the eyes of Australians. Indeed, only 33 years after your country attained independence, our 22nd Prime Minister was on your soil attending a dinner hosted by your father, President Marcos Sr. Prime Minister Malcom Fraser spoke with admiration about the development of the Philippines and described Manila as one of the great cities of the world.

The bonds between our peoples were forged amidst the hell of the Second World War. Within the Australian national consciousness is an enduring admiration for both of our nations' forebears who served and sacrificed to liberate the Philippines. As the Prime Minister rightly pointed out, a handful of Australian prisoners of war escaped from Borneo to your islands and joined your guerillas. Thousands more of our sailors, airmen and signals intelligence officers supported General Douglas MacArthur's military operation. Indeed, at the MacArthur Landing Memorial National Park in Leyte the names of 92 Australians who gave their lives for liberation are recorded on a monument.

Ever so poignantly, only last year, the wreck of the prisoner ship SS Montevideo Maru was found on the northern coast of the Philippines. If there is any solace in that tragedy, it is that almost 1,000 Australian souls have their resting place in the waters which belong to our Filipino friends.

From our partnership in war has emerged a camaraderie between our two peoples. In the 1950s, under the Colombo Plan, Filipino students came to this country to further their education. The 1970s saw many Filipinos migrate to Australia for work. First generations beget subsequent generations, and today our nation is so proud to be home to more than 400,000 Australians of Filipino ancestry. Indeed, Filipino born migrants constitute one of our largest migrant groups. Just as Australia is home to many Filipinos, the Philippines is home, of course, to many Australians. And, importantly, the pipeline between our two countries flows seamlessly both ways—a pipeline which carries people, businesses and commerce.

The term 'friendshoring' might be new, but deepening trade and investment with longstanding and trusted partners who share the same values is not a new concept, and, in these uncertain times, there is much that Australia and the Philippines can continue to do to strengthen our supply chains.

As you correctly observed during your address at the Center for Strategic and International Studies last year, economic security is national security, and, of course, we find ourselves in times of emboldened autocrats and belligerent regimes who show utter contempt for sovereignty, law and liberty. Your country shows a resolve because your country knows that the threats are real. For many years, the Philippines has been on the front lines, subjected to grey zone activities, and I commend you for your personal resolve, Mr President—for your and your country's courage in calling out acts of coercion and for the Philippines' steadfast commitment to international law.

Last year you received much applause for your remark in your state of the nation address when you said:

We will protect our sovereign rights and preserve our territorial integrity, in defense of a rules-based international order.

Mr President, these words of yours encapsulate an imperative for all nations who cherish peace, prosperity and the preservation of civilisation itself. Together, then, with our many partners and friends in the region we must all continue to speak up with courage in calling out acts of intimidation and interference. We must all maintain our strenuous efforts in diplomacy, and we must all especially lift our individual efforts to support the collective goal of integrated deterrence.

I thank you most sincerely, Mr President, for your emphatic support for AUKUS. As you appreciate, the work of AUKUS seeks to complement the efforts of other nations in the region to uphold sovereignty, security and stability and, most importantly, to preserve peace. The centrality of ASEAN and the role it plays in regional affairs is often spoken about. In these precarious times, I hope that defence and deterrence will be at the very centre of discussions at next week's ASEAN summit.

Mr President, you are truly a great guest and friend of our country. You are honoured today by a very grateful friend in our nation. With our friendly words, we welcome the words of a friend most dear.

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, it gives me great pleasure to invite you to address the House of Representatives.

His Excellency Ferdinand R Marcos Jr (10:40): The honourable Prime Minister, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, the honourable President of the Senate, President Sue Lines, the honourable Speaker, Mr Milton Dick, the honourable Leader of the Opposition, Mr Peter Dutton, honourable senators and members of parliament—allow me to also greet the 48 honourable members of the Philippines-Australia parliamentary group that are present with us here today—ladies and gentlemen, good morning.

Allow me to begin, Mr Speaker, by acknowledging the Ngunnawal people, the traditional custodians of the land on which we meet today, and to pay my respects to their elders past and present. I also extend my respect to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples that are with us here today. The First Lady and I are delighted to be in Canberra. We are grateful to Governor-General David Hurley for his invitation to us as guests of government. As president of a proud and free country, few other honours surpass this opportunity to address one of democracy's most august institutions, the Parliament of Australia.

The longstanding friendship between our two great nations transcends the 78 years of our formal diplomatic relations. It is anchored on deep bonds of mutual respect and fond affection, which find concrete expression today in the rich contributions of more than 400,000 Filipinos to Australia, comprising the fifth-largest migrant community in your country today. These bonds trace their roots as far back as the 1860s, when Filipino pearl divers, known to you then as the Manilamen, found their way to your shores as early purveyors of globalisation. These Manilamen contributed to the Australian economy, they enriched Australian life, and, most importantly, they sparked meaningful connections that have endured through generations.

When our two nations faced common danger in 1942, Filipino soldiers fought valiantly in Bataan and Corregidor. They faced the impossible task of holding back the enemy's advance, and yet we did. These efforts helped keep Australia safe. In return, a grateful Australian people provided temporary refuge for the wartime Filipino leadership, and, at the most crucial moment, Australian airmen, sailors and soldiers fought side by side with Filipinos as we, together with our allies, turned the tide of war.

Just as Filipinos lost lives to keep Australians safe at the onset of war, so did Australians offer their lives to restore freedom in the Philippines at the dawn of peace. As allies, we engaged actively in shaping the free world's vision for the postwar order, and we worked to ensure that the new peace would respect the rights of all nations. As founding members of the United Nations, we turned that vision into reality.

From the very beginning, we knew that our interests were intertwined. The security of Australia is bound with the security of the Philippines. When my father accompanied Prime Minister Whitlam on a sentimental tour of Bataan and Corregidor in 1974, they reaffirmed that core principle. When I signed our strategic partnership with Prime Minister Albanese last September, we marked a milestone in our deliberate and steady effort to build opportunities for our peoples while contributing to regional peace. All of these further affirm what our two peoples have already forged through many centuries. I look back on our shared history to contextualise the role that our respective nations played and continued today to play at this watershed moment.

Geopolitical polarities and strategic competitions threaten our hard-won peace even as we remain beset by unresolved inequities and inequalities within and amongst nations. Powerful and transformative technologies can destabilise our political and social order. Climate change threatens our very existence. These tectonic shifts are acutely felt in the Indo-Pacific.

It has become crucial for us now to envision the shape, the breadth and the depth of our strategic partnership and how it must move forward as we weather the storms of global volatility. I see the way forward in building on the strong ties that have already been established between our citizens, between our economies, between our governments. Today we add a further dimension to that relationship as we address concerns on our security and defence. We are called upon once again to join forces, together with our partners, in the face of threats to the rule of law, to stability and to peace.

For the Philippines, Australia plays a crucial role as one of only two partners with which the Philippines has a visiting forces agreement. In August of last year I witnessed Exercise Alon, our bilateral amphibious activity involving 560 Filipino soldiers, 1,200 Australian servicemen and 120 US marines. Last November we welcomed the inaugural Maritime Cooperative Activity between the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Australian Defence Force in the Philippines exclusive economic zone. Let this just be the beginning.

Your leaders have always taken the position that the destiny of Australia is irrevocably linked to the destiny of Asia. Over the years you have held true to this tenet. You have become a valuable member of Asia and of the Indo-Pacific community. Our two countries have always understood that, without the predictability and stability of our rules based order, our region would not have emerged as the driver of the global economy it is today.

We have long known that our prosperity and development are anchored on the peace and stability of the Indo-Pacific. Today that peace, that stability and our continued success have come under threat. Once again, we must come together as partners to face the common challenges confronting the region. Not one single country can do this by itself. No single force can counter them by themselves. This is why our strategic partnership has grown more important than ever. We must reinforce each other's strengths. We must protect the peace that we fought for during the war and have jealously guarded in the decades since. We must oppose actions that clearly denigrate the rule of law.

As in 1942, the Philippines now finds itself on the front line against actions that undermine regional peace, erode regional stability and threaten regional success. Then as now we remain firm in defending our sovereignty, our sovereign rights, our jurisdiction. I shall never tire of repeating the declaration that I made from the first day that I took office: I will not allow any attempt by any foreign power to take even one square inch of our sovereign territory. The challenges that we face may be formidable, but equally formidable is our resolve. We will not yield. Then as now the security and continued prosperity of the region and countries like Australia rely upon that effort.

Just as we fought to build our rules-based international order, so are we now fighting to protect it. The protection of the South China Sea as a vital, critical global artery is crucial to the preservation of regional peace and, I dare say, of global peace. We have an abiding interest in keeping our seas free and open and in ensuring unimpeded passage and freedom of navigation. We must uphold, preserve and defend the unified and universal character of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea as the constitution of the oceans. We draw strength from the consistent and unequivocal support of Australia and the international community for the lawful exercise of our rights, which have been settled under international law. On behalf of the Filipino people, I thank you, Australia, for standing with the Republic of the Philippines.

Ladies and gentlemen, we demonstrate the depth and breadth of our security cooperation through regular exchanges between our armed forces and our coast guards, including in the areas of maritime security, counterterrorism, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief. We collaborate to strengthen and seek new business links, to bolster our economic security and to develop responses to economic coercion. We work together to promote and enhance the flow of environmentally sustainable investment and to explore cooperation on mineral resources development and climate and energy transition, amongst others. Indeed, we have made good progress since we signed our strategic partnership last year. Ultimately, our partnership finds its anchor in our common commitment to ensuring that this region keeps to the path of peace, builds resilience and remains focused on delivering dividends to our citizens and our communities.

Beyond our bilateral horizon, we project the commitment in our continued adherence to ASEAN centrality, which we will have the opportunity to reaffirm at the special summit between ASEAN and Australia in Melbourne next week. Beyond the region, we project this commitment, too, in our partnership and active leadership on the international stage. We collaborate closely with Australia to strengthen international security and universal adherence to international humanitarian law. I salute Prime Minister Albanese's personal commitment to our vision of a world free of nuclear weapons. It is a commitment that is shared by all peoples of South-East Asia, Australia and the Pacific island states. Through the treaties of Bangkok and Rarotonga, our two regions serve as pockets of freedom from these destructive weapons. Within the ambit of the ASEAN Regional Forum and the nuclear nonproliferation treaty, our two countries are champions of nuclear disarmament and advocates for nuclear risk reduction.

In the context of emerging technologies, such as autonomous weapons systems, and of new frontiers, such as outer space and cyberspace, there is much room for our two countries to work together. Our collaboration in the United Nations demonstrates the need to continue to build bridges and to forge consensus towards decisive multilateral solutions. We cannot allow geopolitics to paralyse global governance. Now more than ever we need multilateralism to work. This is particularly important given the scope of global cooperation needed to address our most pressing vulnerability, one that threatens the very survival of our peoples, one that threatens our very future. I speak, of course, of climate change.

My country accepts its part in our collective responsibility. My administration is committed to accelerating our just, affordable, sustainable and inclusive energy transition towards carbon neutrality. The Philippines has the potential to be a net carbon sink, absorbing more carbon dioxide than we emit, yet we are one of the most climate vulnerable countries in the world, ranking first in the 2023 WorldRiskIndex. This glaring disproportion between our share of responsibility and our vulnerability reflects an injustice that must be corrected. Developed countries must do more and they must do it now.

Our past successes should inspire us to forge ahead in building the future to which we aspire. For the Philippines, we continue to see that future in our identity as Asians and as members of the Pacific family. Together with our Asian neighbours—and in that group I include Australia—we continue to work for a regional community that empowers all of our citizens. As Asians, we are committed to fulfilling our region's promise as a global engine of growth and remaining true to our shared value of mutual respect and our shared desire to flourish through our diversity. As part of the Pacific, we carry in our very DNA the heritage of seafaring civilisations that span two oceans. This manifests in the high regard our cultures place on family, on community and on the environment.

In Australia, we see not only a strong democracy but an indispensable part of our Pacific community—a permanent stakeholder in the future of Asia and a reliable supporter of ASEAN centrality. In Australia, we see a natural partner in our efforts to defend, to preserve and to uphold our open, inclusive and rules-based international order to ensure that it remains governed by international law and informed by the principles of equity and justice. In Australia, we see a lifelong friend with whom we have endured joint sacrifices, revelled in shared victories and now pursue common aspirations.

All this inspires confidence in the future of our strategic partnership. This confidence is shared not only by our two governments but also by our two peoples. We see this in the face of the almost 35,000 Filipino students who choose Australian schools to pursue their respective endeavours—the fifth-largest foreign student population in Australia. We see this too in the nearly 30,000 Australians who work and live with us and have chosen to call the Philippines their home. We see this, more importantly, in the spirit of bayanihan and mateship that defines our relationship. Our mateship brought Australians to Tacloban, my mother's home town, to bring relief in the aftermath of super Typhoon Haiyan in 2013. Our bayanihan brought closure and peace to the families of the gallant Australians that perished in the sinking of the Montevideo Maru in 1942. This is the same spirit that now brings our sailors, airmen and soldiers together, shoulder to shoulder, in defending our rights and in securing our common future.

When the Southern Cross met the Pearl of the Orient, our friendship blossomed, withstood the test of war and flourished through the changes brought about by a world in flux. Looking ahead, I am confident that Filipinos and Australians will remain steadfast partners, unyielding and uncompromising in our shared values and energised as we gird ourselves to work together in the spirit of bayanihan and of mateship. Thank you and mabuhay!

Members and senators rising and applauding

Mr President, on behalf of the House of Representatives, I thank you for your address. I wish you and Her Excellency the First Lady a successful and enjoyable stay in Australia. I thank the President of the Senate and senators for their attendance, and I invite the Prime Minister to escort our guests to meet members and senators as they depart the chamber.

Members and senators rising and applauding, His Excellency Ferdinand R Marcos Jr left the chamber.

The chair will be resumed at the ringing of the bells.

Sitting suspended from 11:08 to 12:45