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

I am pleased to inform the House that present in the gallery today, on the floor of the parliament, is the Hon. Jeremiah Manele MP, the Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands, and an accompanying delegation of ministers from the Solomon Islands. On behalf of the House, I extend a very warm welcome to you, sir.

Honourable members: Hear, hear!

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

on indulgence—I also want to warmly welcome my friend the newly elected Solomon Islands Prime Minister, Jeremiah Manele, and his delegation to the Australian parliament today. Prime Minister, we're honoured that you have chosen Australia for your first official visit.

We also very warmly welcome the fact that, on your election, you recently said Australia remains Solomon Islands' partner of choice and that you want to see our relationship grow to new heights. Australia is with you on both counts, and I know that I speak on behalf of everyone in this chamber to say that that is the case. I note that this morning you also met with our senior cabinet ministers, as well as the Leader of the Opposition and will meet with other people while you are here in Australia.

Australia and the Solomon Islands are close friends with connected futures. We share not only a vision for the Pacific that is peaceful, safe and prosperous but a common determination to act on climate change. We also share a commitment to the democratic values on which this House of Representatives stands and which, recently, with your historic joint elections that were held in April, Australia was pleased to play a role in supporting that important electoral process.

Thousands of Solomon Islanders have participated in the PALM scheme, benefitting families and Australian employers and linking our communities on a deeply personal level. We continue to work together on policing and defence, including through the enduring partnership with the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force. Today, in the meeting that we had in our cabinet room, the AFP Commissioner indicated that the two boats about to be delivered to the Solomon Islands are purpose built and they will also be able to be maintained there in the Solomon Islands, making sure that they are the most effective way of delivering support for you.

We take pride in our community connections too, on an individual basis but also as members of the Pacific family. Australia firmly believes that the Pacific family must look after its own security needs. We believe very firmly that the Pacific Islands Forum is the pre-eminent body in which we come together and discuss our common interests, our common future and our common security needs. The discussions that we had today were very constructive.

Since your election, the Deputy Prime Minister has visited you, as has the foreign minister and Minister Conroy, who will be travelling with you tonight. Unfortunately, I think you have a Blues supporter here and a Maroons supporter over there. We won't be able to go with you this evening, but we wish you well at the MCG tonight in what will be an important Australian cultural event known as State of Origin. I note, Prime Minister, your diplomatic skills were on show when you indicated that you will be neutral this evening. That is a wise thing.

Prime Minister, our nations are so close. We share the Pacific Ocean as our home—certainly on this side of the great big continent that we have. We also share a future agenda. I look forward to working with you on that and, on behalf of the Australian parliament, welcome.

Honourable members: Hear, hear!

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

on indulgence—I want to thank the Prime Minister for his fine words and extend a very warm welcome to our most honoured guests here in the chamber today. Prime Minister Manele, to you and to the foreign minister, as well as the delegation, it was an honour to meet with you earlier today. Thank you very much for prioritising your visit here to Australia. It means an enormous amount to us, and it's a continuation, of course, over many decades, of the relationship between the Solomon Islands and Australia. You are family to us, and we very much appreciate the engagement that you have undertaken with us.

There is an opportunity, regardless of any change of politics on either side of the relationship, for a continuation of an abiding friendship that must always continue between our two nations. I want to say thank you very much for the advice that you gave us in relation to the mobility scheme and the way in which that benefits your economy and the way in which we can work together to make sure that there's not a brain drain but is, nonetheless, a transfer of skills, a remittance and an engagement on a people-to-people link. That is very important for our economy, it's important for yours and we hope that that can be a strengthened and deepened part of the relationship.

I want to endorse the words of the Prime Minister and—as I conveyed during the course of our bilateral meeting, Prime Minister—we very much believe in the Pacific Island Forum, the pre-eminent body. We also very much believe in the way in which the Pacific family can come together and can work out differences, can provide that security and the economic underpinning of the continued growth of both of our nations, as well as many of our dear friends and partners within the region. I know that the work of the Australian Federal Police continues and that is important. It was when we were in government and it is under this government. It will be an enduring feature of the relationship into the future as well. That is important because the Solomon Islands is a peaceful nation. It very much has a focus on domestic stability, and we want to be a partner with you in that regard, and in many other ways as well.

I know that, in your first speech as Prime Minister, you said:

I will discharge my duties diligently and with integrity. I will at all times put the interest of our people and country above all other interests.

They are commendable words, and I want to say thank you very much for your commitment. It demonstrates the foundation of successful leadership, when you make that commitment in your opening remarks. I want you to please go away from this place knowing that, on a bipartisan basis, we speak as one. I hope you can convey the message back to your cabinet that when you meet in Australia there is no difference between government and opposition, in terms of the strength of the messages that we've conveyed to you and the conversations that we've had with you, in a most respectful way, and that we appreciate that very much.

Can I say that tonight, as the Prime Minister rightly pointed out, is one of the cultural highlights in the Australian calendar—the State of Origin game. There's a large part of this parliament, the gallery and the Australian public watching who have no idea what we're talking about, because they're from states who don't follow rugby league as closely as we do. But it is not too late. You were, truly, diplomatic in your presentation, but it is not too late to change allegiance. If that's important to you, I can bring my tie up and we can exchange ties as part of a cultural exchange to further deepen the relationship!

You are a great friend. You are a great supporter of this relationship. You are a most honoured guest and welcome friend here in this parliament.

Honourable members: Hear, hear!