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

I have received a letter from the honourable Manager of Opposition Business proposing that a definite matter of public importance be submitted to the House for discussion, namely:

The importance of Australia's relationships with our key allies.

I call upon those honourable members who approve of the proposed discussion to rise in their places.

More than the number of members required by the standing orders having risen in their places—

Paul Fletcher (Bradfield, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Government Services and the Digital Economy) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is vital that Australia maintains strong working relationships with our key allies, and there is no more important ally than the United States, our most important security partner, a critical economic partner. Our security relationships go back for more than 100 years. Our troops have fought together since 1918. We have been bound together by the ANZUS treaty since shortly after World War II. More recently, we went into the AUKUS arrangements, under which Australia will receive access to some of the most sensitive nuclear technology that the United States possesses. We're forming new arrangements, such as the Quad—the United States, Japan, India and Australia.

The United States is a major source of inbound investment. It's a major export market for Australian businesses. So it is very important that the governments of these two nations work together closely and effectively. That is uncontestably in the interests of the Australian people. It is very important that there is mutual respect and trust between political leaders in both systems. What that means—I think it's an uncontentious proposition—is that there's a requirement on the Australian government of the day to be professional and to be disciplined in the way that it approaches our relationship with the United States, as there is in the way it approaches our relationship with other key allies around the world.

Let's be very clear on what our responsibilities are as political leaders in Australia. It's the job of the Australian government to deal with the government of the United States, the government that is chosen by the people of the United States. It is the right of the American people to choose their President. It is the obligation of the Australian government and of Australian political leaders to deal in a professional and respectful way with the government of the United States. Indeed, we saw that behaviour being modelled and demonstrated by the previous coalition government under the first Trump administration. We saw that administration apply tariffs to steel and aluminium imports from around the world, as is the perfect entitlement of the democratically elected government of the United States. But then Liberal Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull successfully had Australia exempted from those arrangements. That was an example of a coalition government working constructively, professionally engaging with the President and the administration in the United States.

You would have thought all of these are uncontentious propositions, so trite as to hardly be worth making. But, sadly, the evidence is clear that there are too many Labor politicians who do not accept or understand these statements, these principles, that I've just articulated. Instead, time after time, they fall prey to the temptation to engage in performative virtue-signalling directed at their Lefty echo chamber to try and get more likes on Twitter or X. There's example after example, I'm very sorry to say, of senior figures in the Albanese Labor government indulging themselves by doing just this and going for that short-term sugar hit of approbation and approval from within their Lefty echo chambers. But that is very much not in the interests of Australia and the Australian people. For example, the minister for climate, emissions reduction and energy published a book in February 2021 titled On Charlatans. It hasn't been widely read, but I suspect it has been widely remaindered. But it does contain a description of the man who has just been elected as the President of the United States. It contains a description of him as 'narcissistic', 'a liar' and 'the worst President in United States history'. This is a current senior Labor politician engaging in remarkably irresponsible conduct which is not in the interests of the Australian people, not in the interests of Australia and not in the interests of a prudent and mutually respectful relationship.

What about Wayne Swan—Swannie—the current Treasurer's mentor? Surely we could have expected him to be more responsible in his approach? I'm sorry to say not. In a podcast on the ABC's Radio National—of course, he was naturally tempted to go for that virtue signalling and approval from the leftie echo chamber—he had this to say:

The rise of Donald Trump is what happens when rampant wealth and income inequality, which causes immense despair across working classes across the world, leads to such disillusionment with the political system that it pushes it in a neo-fascist direction.

I don't think that could be regarded as a responsible or prudent thing to say or a thing which is in the interests of the Australian people, a thing which is in the national interest.

What is it that we've heard from other senior ministers in this government? The Minister for the Environment and Water had this to say in 2016 about then presidential candidate and just elected President Donald Trump:

He's broken so many conventions I think it's fair enough for us as Australians to say we are deeply concerned about the security concerns his candidacy raises.

Again, she's falling prey to the temptation to appeal to the leftie echo chamber, rather than thinking in a sober and responsible way, 'What is the thing that I should be saying, as a senior Australian politician, in our national interest?'

What about the Prime Minister's senior press secretary, formerly the Guardian journalist 'Murpharoo'—what did she have to say about President Trump? She said:

It was fascinating to be with Trump in the Oval Office … He had a simple objective: stonewall, redirect and destabilised the room.

Again, you could not say that the now source of senior advice to the Prime Minister was carefully calibrating her words in the interests of maintaining a mutually respectful relationship with the United States.

What is it that the Assistant Treasurer had to say? In one of his many missteps in November 2016, he said:

… weve seen a lot of people hoping like hell that theres a massive disconnect between what Donald Trump campaigned as and what hes going to govern as …

Again, it's a self-indulgent piece of commentary appealing to the leftie echo chamber.

You would hope, of course, that our Prime Minister, the man who holds this august office, would take a more responsible position. You would hope that. Unfortunately, at Splendour in the Grass, again falling prey to the temptation to appeal to the crowd—he was probably wanting a t-shirt—

Michael Sukkar (Deakin, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Social Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

He must have had free tickets.

Paul Fletcher (Bradfield, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Government Services and the Digital Economy) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Probably—he was probably trying hard to convince the 18-year-olds that he was one of them. In a forum, he was very critical. In fact, he used the words—

Sharon Claydon (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Could the member for Petrie and the assistant minister please stop the interjections. I am really struggling to hear. I've been very gracious in allowing them to go on for this long, but I don't want to hear them anymore.

Paul Fletcher (Bradfield, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Government Services and the Digital Economy) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is disappointing to have to report that the current Prime Minister of Australia, in a public forum, said of the man who has just been elected President of the United States—and I'm going to use a euphemism here, because we are in the Parliament of Australia—'He scares the S out of me.' That is what our current Prime Minister said. This is the same Prime Minister who, just before question time today, said that he'd made it a priority to build trust and respect with other leaders. That's what he said.

But surely we can rely upon our Ambassador to the United States, KRudd, to sort it all out, because he knows everything! The unfortunate truth is that, in an interview, the man who has just been elected President of the United States said of KRudd that he is 'not the brightest bulb' and, 'If he's at all hostile, he will not be there long.'

The fact is that it is vital that we maintain a respectful and trust based relationship with our most important security partner. Sadly, senior politicians in this Albanese Labor government, from the Prime Minister down, have failed dismally.

Tim Watts (Gellibrand, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Members will appreciate that we serve in this place in historic times. Australia currently faces the most complex, most challenging and most consequential strategic circumstances in living memory, and the Australian public look to us for cool heads and calm leadership in this time. Our region, the Indo-Pacific, is currently being reshaped by a series of fundamental dynamics of change: climate change, demographic change, technological disruption and intensifying strategic competition. They're all reshaping our region. Military power is expanding, but the means to constrain conflict are not. The rules and norms that have underwritten our regional security are coming under increasing pressure. The way that all of these changes will unfold will have vital implications for Australia's prosperity, for our security and for our very way of life.

In these circumstances of change, Australia cannot afford to be a mere spectator. We know that we need to influence these dynamics of change in Australia's national interests. We want to build a region that's peaceful, prosperous and secure; a region that's governed by rules, norms and international law; and a region where there's a strategic balance that ensures that countries are free to make their own choices, where no country dominates and no country is dominated. We've said that we'll use all the tools of statecraft to pursue these objectives: diplomatic, defence, development, soft power—every source of national power at our disposal. But we can't do it alone. We need to work with our key allies to pursue these goals. For a country like Australia, isolation is impotence.

So our relationships with our key allies matter now more than ever before, and, since the last election, the Albanese government has worked tirelessly to strengthen our relationships with our allies, to deepen our engagement with our partners and to repair our relationships and restore trust in the Pacific. We've done this because we know that, in complex, challenging and consequential times, our relationships matter. Our relationship with the United States is our most important in this respect

Overnight, the United States resoundingly elected President Donald Trump as their President, and the Australian government congratulates President Trump on his election. Prime Minister Albanese has already spoken to President Trump and reiterated that Australia will work closely with the new Trump administration to realise the benefits of our strong economic partnership. We look forward to working with President Trump in the interests of both of our nations. The United States has long played a leadership role in the stability and security of the Indo-Pacific, and Australia will strive to strengthen cooperation between our two nations in the region.

As the foreign minister said in Senate estimates today, the Australian government has been working to ensure that we were ready for whatever the American people decided in this election. Our preparations included engagement with many key Republicans by the Prime Minister, the defence minister, the foreign minister and our embassy in Washington.

I might just add, on the back of the contribution from the Manager of Opposition Business, that former prime minister Rudd, our ambassador to the United States, is a highly effective ambassador. He's recognised across the Australian parliament as doing an excellent job advancing Australia's interests in the United States. Indeed, he has already met with two-thirds of all senators. As a former prime minister, he's an experienced statesman. He's a China expert. Leaders around the world seek out his advice, and that's true in Washington too.

I just want to share a couple of quotes in this respect. Joe Hockey, another former ambassador, has said with respect to Mr Rudd's work:

… it doesn't matter whether you are Liberal, Labor, Green, whatever. Australia first.

Dennis Richardson, another former ambassador, has said previously:

Those who pursue this matter will be doing so for political reasons, divorced from the national interest.

That's what we've just seen here today.

The Labor Party is proud of our legacy in our relationship with the United States, the legacy of our great wartime leader John Curtin turning to America and laying the foundations for our most important security relationship, the ANZUS alliance. It's a relationship that has endured across generations and across changes of government in both countries. It's a relationship that is being strengthened through the AUKUS agreement. Through AUKUS, Australia is playing its part in working to maintain the conditions for peace in our region. Through AUKUS and other significant and transparent investments in our defence industry and military capabilities, Australia is building our capability as a reliable security partner for the region and contributing to the collective deterrence of aggression and coercion in the Indo-Pacific. This is in the strategic interests of Australia, the US and the UK.

Partnership is at the heart of AUKUS. Members on both sides of the House know well that AUKUS is structurally embedded across both sides of politics in the US. As the Deputy Prime Minister has said, we have a voting record that we can look to in this regard. Democrats and Republicans, including Trump Republicans, voted in support of AUKUS-enabling legislation in the US Congress at the end of last year, and support for AUKUS is embedded in the US. It stretches across the political spectrum. The AUKUS caucus in the US Congress is vibrant and full of advocates for the agreement and friends of Australia. The US election has no more changed support for AUKUS in the US than the Australian election changed support for AUKUS in Australia. Our relationship with the US goes far beyond AUKUS, though, of course. In the Quad, Australia works closely with the United States alongside two other key partners for Australia who have also had elections this year—India and Japan.

The government was pleased to welcome India's external affairs minister, Dr Jaishankar, back to Australia and our parliament house just this week. Australia is one of Dr Jaishankar's most visited countries, a reflection of a relationship that has gone from strength to strength under our government. Australia and India are close economic partners with strong and growing economic and community ties. Under our government, India has become a top-tier security partner, and we are progressing the interoperability of our air and naval assets in an unprecedented manner. We now are a regular participant with India, Japan and the United States in Exercise Malabar. Prime Minister Albanese was even invited onto the INS Vikrant, India's new locally built aircraft carrier. DPM Marles was invited to fly with the Indian Navy from Goa to Delhi on a P-8I flight. Our comprehensive strategic partnership is supporting an extraordinary tempo of engagement between our countries.

Our relationship with another Quad partner, Japan, has never been closer and never been more important. Our special strategic partnership is underpinned by our significant trade, investment, defence and security ties and a deep affinity between our peoples. Japan is an indispensable partner in shaping a region that's peaceful, stable and prosperous. Our joint declaration on security cooperation, the entry into force of the reciprocal access agreement and announcements around further cooperation with NATO and the United States at the 11th Australia-Japan 2+2 all send clear messages to the region about our close alignment and contribution to security and stability.

In South-East Asia, we have built on the extraordinarily successful ASEAN-Australia Special Summit in Melbourne of this year by continuing to implement the South-East Asia economic strategy by establishing the ASEAN-Australia Centre, with an investment financing facility up and running and the development of a pipeline of projects to boost Australian investment into South-East Asia.

Earlier this year, Indonesia held the largest single-day election anywhere in the world, and the people of Indonesia chose President Prabowo as their leader, a good friend of Australia. We've taken that relationship to a new level, signing the groundbreaking Australia-Indonesia Defence Cooperation Agreement earlier this year.

In the Pacific, we've been repairing relationships and restoring trust. Unfortunately, the opportunity to be the only partner in the Pacific was lost to us over the previous decade, but we're now working to become the partner of choice again. We're investing more than ever in the Pacific. We're working hard to be the partner of choice on security and economic matters in the region.

The Australia-Tuvalu Falepili Union treaty has now entered into force, and it represents a momentous step in the elevated partnership between our two countries. The Falepili union puts into place transformational arrangements to safeguard the future of Tuvalu and advance our shared interests in a peaceful, safe and prosperous Pacific. Tuvalu and Australia recognise that our interests and futures are intertwined and that our security and sovereignty are best assured by acting together.

The Prime Minister and the Minister for Foreign Affairs were in Samoa last month for CHOGM. It was the Prime Minister's seventh visit to the Pacific as Prime Minister and his first visit to Samoa. We saw then the Pacific Policing Initiative on display at CHOGM with an 11-country police deployment—a Pacific led, Australia backed initiative endorsed by Pacific leaders in Tonga in August.

We have come a very long way in our relationships with key partners in the Pacific, vital relationships for the future prosperity and security of both Australia and the Pacific family. We've worked on rebuilding trust and rebuilding these relationships. That all happened after the last election and the election of the Albanese government. Since the election of the Albanese government, we've seen elections in most of our ally and key partner countries around the world. Some have seen changes in government; some haven't. What hasn't changed is this government's commitment to working with our allies and key partners in challenging and consequential times—working together to shape a region that we want to live in. That is a region that's peaceful, prosperous and secure, a region governed by rules, norms and international law, a region where no country dominates and no country is dominated. It's in our national interests to do so, and we'll continue to do it.

Michael McCormack (Riverina, National Party, Shadow Minister for International Development and the Pacific) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There could be no more important subject to be discussing in today's matter of public importance debate than the importance of Australia's relationships with our key allies. It's appropriate. It's timely.

In politics, as in life, sincerity is everything. Say what you mean and mean what you say; don't say it if you don't mean it. If you post it, stand by it. If you say it, stick by it. Whilst I appreciate that views may change over years, sudden changes of heart for whatever convenient or inconvenient circumstance are a little less believable, which brings me to the interesting scenario that Australia's ambassador to the United States of America, former prime minister Kevin Rudd, finds himself in—quite a predicament all of his own making.

You see, Mr Rudd has only just now removed negative comments that he posted about President-elect Donald Trump from his social media. Some might say, 'Well, at least he's done it.' Some might say, 'It's better late than never.' But it has only happened in the hours just gone. Why has it taken Mr Rudd until today to delete posts about Mr Trump? Oops! Mr Rudd was appointed as our envoy to the US in December 2022. That's almost two long years ago, and a lot has happened since that time. In June 2020 Mr Rudd described Mr Trump as 'the most destructive president in history'. He said:

He drags America and democracy through the mud. He thrives on fomenting, not healing, division.

And he went on and on.

Wouldn't you think, given Mr Trump has long been a Republican candidate and their nominee for the election just decided, that Mr Rudd might have considered those posts and thought, 'Perhaps I should take them down'? Maybe he thought about it months ago, weeks ago or days ago, but, no, he's left it until today to do it. Do you know why? I reckon it's because he has hung on to those beliefs. I reckon he's still of that view. Now, as the dust settles on the Trump versus Kamala Harris presidential election, we have this anti-Trump government scrambling to somehow, in some way, make amends, to supposedly make things right and pretend as though commentary in years past or in recent times didn't happen. But it did.

The Prime Minister has also been backtracking after his 2017 strongly held and strongly expressed views on Mr Trump. Embarrassingly, they emerged on the eve of the US poll. Oops! A big oops! Even then the now PM was—let's face it—a senior parliamentarian. He'd been around for more than 20 years when he made those comments. He was a shadow minister in an opposition with a credible—or, at least, they thought so—chance of forming the next government.

What happened next? Just recently, the Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister for Foreign Affairs were hurriedly dispatched to go and smooth things over, as it were, with Mike Pompeo, who is tipped to be the US Secretary of State in a future Trump administration. You can imagine the briefing: 'Quick! Go and patch things up. Tidy it up for us. Be nice. Do nice. Pretend as though we care!'

I rather prefer the diplomatic attitude of former prime minister Tony Abbott, who offered a very, very good description in his very well written op-ed in today's Australian. He said:

In today's even more fraught and perilous world, with aggressive dictatorships united in their hatred of the West and determined to overthrow the Pax Americana, which until recently had made the world more free, more fair, more safe, and more rich for more people than at any time before in human history, it's more important than ever that Australia stand with America and do whatever we reasonably can to help like-minded countries under deadly threat.

He is right, of course, and I do worry, given the leader of the Greens question, what will happen to our relationship without our key ally, the US, if we have a minority Labor-Greens government— (Time expired)

Luke Gosling (Solomon, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As the Prime Minister has clearly said, we congratulate President-elect Trump on his election victory. The United States, of course, is one of the world's great democracies and Donald Trump supports the alliance we have with the United States. In both Australia and the United States, our security and economic relationship will only go from strength to strength. Personally, I am very proud to be the co-chair of both the Parliamentary Friends of the United States and the Parliamentary Friends of AUKUS. In fact, I caught up with Rear Admiral Richard Seif, Commander of the US Pacific Fleet Submarine Force, at the US Embassy this week. I've seen first-hand the interoperability of our AUKUS partners, both with the Marines, with the air force, with the navy—with all elements of our alliance. I visited HMAS Stirling last month in Perth and saw AUKUS partners working side by side to deliver the historic submarine tendered maintenance period of the Virginia class USS Hawaii.

Our government will work closely with the new Trump administration to realise the benefits of our strong security and economic partnership and of course that includes AUKUS. Our Prime Minister has spoken with President-elect Trump this morning, as we heard earlier. As the PM said today:

Our Government will work closely with the new Trump Administration to realise the benefits of our strong economic partnership. The United States has long played a leadership role in the stability and security of the Indo-Pacific. Australia will strive to strengthen the co-operation between our two nations in the region. Australia and America are old allies and we are true friends. … I look forward to working with President Trump and working with him in the best interests of both our nations.

Australia and America of course are old allies and we are true friends. The alliance between Australia and the US has endured for generations, since the darkest days of World War II.

My electorate—Darwin and Palmerston in the Northern Territory—is a focal point of this history, and still today Australia's north is at the heart of our relationship with United States. We have the United States Marines in Darwin every year and we have US force posture initiatives at RAAF Base Tindal in the member for Lingiari's electorate. The Territory has a proven history of hosting and supporting large multinational activities and exercises with our US friends. The US Marine Corps loves Darwin and has been there for more than a decade now. The strategic importance of Australia's north to Australia's defence has long been recognised by government and policymakers but most importantly our US allies. Since World War II, northern Australia has been a critical contributor to Australia's security as part of our Australia-US alliance. Geographically, Darwin sits at the centre of the Indo Pacific, and AUKUS is in both the strategic benefit and in the national interests of Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom. That is as much the case today as it was at the start of this week. That has not changed. We welcome the broad bipartisan support that has been demonstrated in the United States for both the alliance and for AUKUS and we can be confident of their support because, as the Deputy Prime Minister has said, we have the voting record. When you look at the way the US Congress voted at the end of last year in support of AUKUS, it was strong across the political spectrum. So we do have a sense of confidence that, going forward, this is a program that will be supported in the United States, as it is in the UK and as it will be here.

Our government, the Albanese government, has restored Australia's international reputation and continues to rebuild our relationships with our key partners. Our government's approach has always been about investing in our capabilities and investing in those relationships. I echo the words of the assistant foreign minister regarding our ambassador to the US, Kevin Rudd. He knows the US very well indeed, and we're very lucky to have him there representing us.

James Stevens (Sturt, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Government Waste Reduction) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The relationship between Australia and the United States is vitally important to both nations. Australia is the only nation that has fought in all the major conflicts that the US has been involved in since the First World War, so the Second World War, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan. No other nation has been in all those conflicts alongside the United States. Indeed, we were so vitally grateful to have the United States with us in some of the darkest days of this nation in the Second World War, when there was a very real prospect and chance that mainland Australia would be invaded by the Imperial Japanese Army.

That was, in many ways, an epochal moment for this nation, and it was the great Labor leader John Curtin who was really the father of that close relationship with the US that we've had ever since that point. So it is important that, as the people of the United States have chosen a new administration, we reconfirm and recognise in this place the important relationship between the elected government of the United States and this government, remember why the relationship is so important and make sure that we do all we can for it to endure into the future. In many ways, the future of our relationship with the United States is something to be greatly excited about.

The AUKUS agreement that will lead to the construction of nuclear submarines in my home city of Adelaide is particularly exciting, not only because of the capability that will be acquired for our Royal Australian Navy but because of the industrial and economic outcome for the city of Adelaide. We've heard, as recently as in question time today, the Greens political party attack that alliance and attack that great opportunity for my city of Adelaide. The Greens leader wants us to pull out of AUKUS and to scrap the nuclear submarine program for South Australia. Not to be outdone at just scrapping one program, I'll reconfirm, on the record, that the Greens want to scrap the Hunter class frigate program as well. So, if the Greens have their way and get their balance of power in some kind of power-sharing agreement with the Labor Party after the next election, there'll be no naval shipbuilding in Australia. That's the position of the Greens.

They want to scrap the AUKUS agreement. They don't want to work with the Americans on acquiring that transformative technology that would give our Royal Australian Navy the absolute best capability that they absolutely deserve and that we should all be working together to give to them. They want to get rid of all naval shipbuilding, which means losing more than 10,000 jobs in my home state of South Australia. So, at the upcoming election, when the people of my seat of Sturt and the member for Adelaide's seat are holding the pen or the pencil over the ballot paper, if they are thinking about putting a high number in the box for the Greens, then they're voting to get rid of 10,000 jobs from the South Australian economy, and that will be absolutely devastating for the people of Sturt, the people of Adelaide and the people of South Australia.

We in the coalition have a very consistent and proud record of engagement with the United States. Some of us have taken it to an extreme level—the member for Banks married an American, so he really doubled down on ties between our two great nations, and I thank you for that! But, with the incoming Trump administration, there are great opportunities for us to do so many things to deepen the relationship between Australia and the United States. The defence and national security one is vital, obviously. The economic one is extremely exciting, and the cultural one as well. Being from an electorate that has very significant film and screen industry infrastructure, I'd love to see greater ties between some of those big American content creators and the South Australian Film Corporation, located in my electorate of Sturt. And there are so many other opportunities for us to leverage the great history of our relationship with the United States for great prosperity for both of us into the future.

Thank you to the member for Bradfield for bringing this matter of public importance before us today. I very much appreciate the chance to reconfirm, as a member of this great chamber, how important it is for all of us to recognise, remember and continue to invest in the relationship between Australia and the United States.

Andrew Charlton (Parramatta, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I acknowledge that Australia has no greater ally than the United States, and I congratulate President-elect Donald Trump on his election. This government, like every Australian government, will work with the US President of the day.

I was quite interested to hear the Manager of Opposition Business give a speech that was long on sanctimony but short on reflection. Let's not pretend that the Liberal Party were masters of tact in international diplomacy during their decade in power. They were walking around the world offending, abusing and lecturing countries that are Australia's allies and friends. Time after time they damaged Australia's relationships with their sanctimony on the world stage, so I thought I'd go through some of the greatest hits of the Liberals in power and their foreign policy.

No. 1—we have to start with this one—was their charm offensive on the Pacific. The now Leader of the Opposition endeared himself to everyone in the Pacific by talking about rising sea levels into an open mic—

Sharon Claydon (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Just a moment. I've got a point of order from the member for Wright.

Scott Buchholz (Wright, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Could I just draw the member's attention back to what the actual MPI is today? We were speaking about the relationship with America, and we are a substantial way—

Sharon Claydon (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is your point of order a question of relevance?

Scott Buchholz (Wright, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Yes; absolutely.

Sharon Claydon (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am listening carefully. I was thinking of that, although we've had a few people deviating today. But the discussion talks about the relationship with our key allies, plural. The Pacific is certainly part of that relationship. The member is not out of order, but I am listening carefully.

Andrew Charlton (Parramatta, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'm horrified to hear they don't think the Pacific are our key allies! Certainly the current Leader of the Opposition didn't think the Pacific was one of our key allies when he said into an open mic, 'Time doesn't mean anything when you're about to have water lapping at your door.' Could you think of anything more offensive? Could you think of anything more calculated to damage the relationship we have with these important partners?

The president of Kiribati criticised the remark as 'vulgar'. He said it was 'unbecoming of leadership'. But to be honest, he was being polite—much more polite than the Leader of the Opposition. The Leader of the Opposition's remark was boorish, it was vulgar and, importantly, it wasn't very funny. The serious consequence of this was that Australia lost a lot of support in the Pacific at a crucial time.

No. 2, the second of the greatest hits of the Liberals in power traipsing around the world offending everyone they met. In September 2021, the now Leader of the Opposition, during a visit to India, made some remarks about China. He referred to them as being 'increasingly coercive' and talked about a 'zero-sum mentality'—as if he would know—which earned him a sharp rebuke from China's foreign ministry, which labelled his comments 'extremely dangerous and irresponsible'. Let's remember that we're talking about Australia's No. 1 trading partner. With reckless comments and shooting from the hip, the current Leader of the Opposition caused great offence. And who paid the price for this? It wasn't the now Leader of the Opposition. It was our farmers, our lobster producers, our wine producers, our barley producers. Importantly, the Special Minister of State, Don Farrell, now has to travel around the world fixing up all these relationships, and credit to him for reopening all of those markets.

No. 3, who could forget our friends, the French? Maybe they're not an ally of ours either. Scott Morrison, who decided to cancel a $90 billion contract with France for 12 conventional submarines, did it with great tact, deft diplomacy, by not telling the French and letting them find out in the media! Of course they were appalled. The French foreign minister called it 'a stab in the back'. To make the situation even worse, Morrison lied about it and released text messages from President Macron. President Macron did use great tact. When asked whether Morrison had lied to him, Macron responded, 'I don't think he lied; I know.' Again, this had serious consequences for Australia in the world.

The final one is India. They talk so much about the importance of India, but, when push came to shove and when India was in its moment of need in COVID, what did they do? They implemented a country-specific travel ban. They have never respected Australia's relationships in the world. They did them great damage. (Time expired)

Keith Pitt (Hinkler, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I would say to the member that if you are seriously saying that China is our ally, then there is a real issue in terms of Australia and who its allies are. I congratulate President-elect Trump on winning the election in recent days. Like all oppositions and governments, I will continue to support and work with what is one of Australia's greatest allies, whom we have worked with, whether it is on defence and security or trade, since World War 2 and all the way through any number of conflicts.

Whether it is a Trump administration or others, whether it is a coalition or Labor government, right across the decades we have maintained that relationship and strengthened that relationship. One of the results of those decades of work is the AUKUS security pact and AUKUS agreement. It is critical to our nation's security. That is why it is a bipartisan approach. But I also welcome the comments of Assistant Minister Watts—that the Labor government will do whatever it takes, will take all paths through soft diplomacy and will pull whatever lever is necessary to strengthen the relationship with the United States.

I've got a couple of suggestions, which I'll come to. Firstly, there have been a lot of comments about Ambassador Rudd. Like many in this place, I've met Ambassador Rudd a couple of times. I don't know him well. We clearly have different politics. But when you put the green-and-gold tracksuit on and you have Australia's crest, you are Australia's guy. This country, regardless of where you sit in this parliament, expects you to do your utmost for our nation, and I expect the same from Ambassador Rudd. Of course, if that doesn't work out, the Prime Minister will have to deal with that issue. I expect Ambassador Rudd to work hard for our country, as anyone does around the world, whether they are consular-generals, ambassadors or any of the other diplomatic relations that we have with many of our nations, particularly our allies.

Here's one out of the box that they probably should consider on the other side. There is one Australian who is incredibly close to the Trump administration. There is one Australian who was actually there when the announcement was made in the last 24 or 48 hours about President-elect Trump. There is one Australian who happens to be Australia's biggest individual taxpayer. Gina Rinehart is very, very close to the Trump administration. If Assistant Minister Watts is going to be true to his word, the government should also reach out to those individuals who have direct contact with the camp, because it is in Australia's interest. The good thing about Gina Rinehart is she actually loves this country. She's incredibly patriotic, and I think she would be very helpful in terms of any government that is an Australian government in working with one of our strongest and closest allies. I thank Assistant Minister Watts for his suggestion. I think that it's one that should be taken up.

Regardless of whether it is AUKUS or ANZUS, regardless of whether it is trade or defence, we have always worked closely with our security partners, in particular the United States. That is why it is so disappointing that I've just had a message that there is breaking news on Sky News right now—whilst we're in the chamber—that the WA Labor Premier has said, 'The Trump victory is a dark road.' I have to say that that sort of commentary from a premier of a state in Australia is incredibly unhelpful. We need to ensure that we are all moving in the same direction. It is why we have bipartisanship on our defence agreements such as AUKUS. The idea that the WA Premier would be out there saying things like this is a mistake. We need to continue to work with the administration, as we always have.

Some of the things President-elect Trump said during his campaign I think are actually quite positive, because what he has said to the American people is that he wants to bring down interest rates and lower the cost of energy. I think that's a great approach. It's one that we want to take here in Australia. The way he intends to do that is, 'Drill, baby, drill.' He intends to have more oil and gas. If we look at the reality and the facts around energy production, Australia actually produced around 455 million tonnes of coal. The US domestic consumption in a year is about 425 million tonnes. So they actually consume almost as much as Australia produces as a whole.

We've got to be factual around the energy debate because people are hurting and they can't pay. They simply can't pay. There will be an increase in the domestic production of oil and gas in America. The danger for us is that more manufacturing from this country will leave to go somewhere where energy is affordable and will make their businesses profitable, rather than being here where energy costs continue to go up because we have decisions from governments like the Victorian government not to explore and produce more gas. As a result, they have now run out and the price is through the roof. It is an incredibly important arrangement with the Americans, and we should take every opportunity to strengthen it.

David Smith (Bean, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

At the beginning of this week at the National Prayer Breakfast, Max Jeganathan from the Centre for Public Christianity gave a powerful and personal address about the importance of finding grace and bringing fractured communities together in a world full of many challenging conflicts. He equally emphasised the eroding nature of anger. These are lessons that we can still learn more here—a little more grace and a little less anger would not go astray.

I agree that Australia's role in the world and our own national security relies heavily on nurturing and sustaining strong relationships with allies, particularly those that share our democratic values. I have devoted much of my time here to developing and strengthening those ties at a parliamentary level as the chair of the country groups of the United Kingdom, Bhutan, Croatia, Paraguay, Chile and Egypt and as an active member of other groups, including the US country group.

Australia is a great nation and we have enviable capacity on a number of scores, but the reality is that we are a middle-power nation. Australia will always want to make a positive contribution to world affairs and maximise peace and stability across all nations. We want to work to address the global challenges of climate change and economic stability with our global allies. We are blessed with our own enormous landmass and lengthy sea lanes to protect. On that basis, Australia needs to have relationships with like-minded nations that ensure that these tasks are achievable. Working with our allies, Australia will continue to contribute positively to world affairs and to be a free and prosperous nation that can support freedom and prosperity across our region.

Of central importance to meeting this challenge is sustaining strong links with the United States, links that have been strong across our shared histories. Maintaining these links falls on a host of participants, but, in particular, it is incumbent on all of us parliamentarians to contribute. Noting the events of the last 24 hours and the outcome of the United States election, I believe these links and efforts must continue regardless of the twists and turns of political life in both nations, and I have confidence that they will do so. I endorse the strong statements by the Prime Minister on this matter yesterday during question time when he said that our government will seek to build a strong partnership with whoever the American people choose as their president. The alliance between Australia and the United States has always been bigger than individuals. It has stood tall through generations of governments from both sides of the aisle. The Prime Minister followed through on these comments with his phone call to President-elect Trump today.

I was pleased yesterday that the opposition leader endorsed the Prime Minister's words on this score. I also endorse the foreign minister's comments today that underpin that Australia's desire to maintain strong links with United States will not chop and change but will continue as it has done so over many decades through successive governments.

So let us with good grace continue to work together for the common good, regardless of the outcomes of elections which we might not all be satisfied with but which were conducted in a civil and peaceful manner.

Keith Wolahan (Menzies, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The title of an MPI is quite important, and often, as the member for Parramatta did, we stray from the actual title. The title here is 'The importance of Australia's relationship with our key allies'. The day after the United States election, we really are referring to the United States, but I would like to refer to the word 'importance' because, when it comes to our relationship with the United States, its importance is everything. That's how important it is, and I want to illustrate that through one example.

I want to take the chamber back to a time before anyone here was born: 1942, 4 to 7 June. It was six months after the attack on Pearl Harbor and one month after the Battle of the Coral Sea. Japan had taken Hong Kong, the Philippines, British Malaya, Singapore and the Dutch East Indies. Japan sought to eliminate the US as a strategic power in the Pacific. They correctly assessed that the source of that power was their carrier forces—each carrier being a floating 'death star', for those more familiar with Star Wars. Midway is a small atoll 2,000 kilometres north-west of Hawaii. The Japanese felt that, by attacking it, they would compel the Americans to defend it, and it would shift the trajectory of the war.

Assumptions were made on intelligence and, thanks to the ingenuity of young US officers, the Japanese naval code was broken, and they were able to guess not only where but when and how the attack would occur. The battle was immense. The Japanese lost 3,000 men and four carriers. The US lost 300 and one carrier, and it struck a fatal blow to the Japanese military machine. This was the Allies' first victory, and, had the US not won, the war would have taken a different course, including for Australia.

There are two points to note about that one battle that shaped the course of that war and why it is known as one of the most consequential battles in military history. The first was industry. The US had an inferior capability in terms of equipment, they had lower numbers and they had been wounded by previous battles, yet they still prevailed because US industry in Hawaii repaired the Yorktown and put it back into operation within 48 hours. Very few countries on earth would have been able to do that at that time, and that is why US industry is so important to our national interests.

The second was human will. We don't just have alliances with random countries because of their ranking in power and status; we have alliances because of what they believe in, who they are and what drives them to bet everything on fighting for their country. Young men flew into hell at Midway, and, in doing so, they helped keep Australia safe. The War Memorial just down the road, which has 103,000 names, would be maybe five times as large if not for the bravery of young United States men who fought in battles like that. But they didn't just fight for a flag, an oath or a constitution; they fought for a country worth fighting for. They fought for a country that believes in values that are very similar to ours and that are their true north: democracy, the rule of law and freedom.

There has been a lot of hyperbole in the last 24 hours, and that's all it is: hyperbole. The United States isn't its president, and it isn't the political party that is in power there. It is a nation of people who believe in things, as we are. With all due respect to the Prime Minister, Australia isn't Anthony Albanese, and Australia isn't the Labor Party. Australia is the people and the people who will come next. The same applies to the United States.

One of the issues we have to deal with in keeping Australia secure is the security dilemma. The security dilemma goes like this: if our adversaries feel insecure, we will be insecure; if we act, they will counteract. The source of that insecurity is not that democracies, which we are and the United States is, will destroy nations. That's not the fear; the fear is that we exist, that we set an alternative example. And the counteraction is to throw sand in the gears of democratic institutions. We've seen a lot of that in the last 24 hours—a lot of that sand thrown by people in this country. It feeds off mistrust, and it's deliberately designed to undermine democracies. The way we practise democracy matters, and the way the United States practises it matters, and it is a great credit to them that they had a peaceful transfer of power.

Steve Georganas (Adelaide, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This Albanese Labor government has given extreme significance and importance to our relationships with our international partners, especially with the United States. We have rebuilt—we have spent nearly the last two years rebuilding—our relationships that needed to be restored and Australia's international reputation by recognising and acting on climate change. We've rebuilt our diplomatic capability and demonstrated leadership in the multilateral system and on global issues. This Albanese government has restored our relationships with France—as we heard from the member for Parramatta earlier—and concluded a roadmap to an enduring and positive partnership with them.

Australia is a trusted partner of Europe, and nothing underscores this more than being one of NATO's partners. We are valued for our insights in the Indo-Pacific. In fact, as one of NATO's partners in the Indo-Pacific, we were able to attend as observers the 75th NATO Summit. This underscores our importance, and it does so because we're valued for our knowledge and our work in the Indo-Pacific. We know that developments in the Indo-Pacific could quite easily affect Euro-Atlantic security. So the strong relationships this government is building and has built around the globe help us to address the world's challenges and the challenging strategic circumstances of our time.

When it comes to the US alliances, we know that there is nothing more important on the international sphere. We heard this morning that Prime Minister Albanese rang Mr Trump and congratulated him. We look forward to working with the Trump administration, as we've worked with the Biden administration, as we've worked with the Obama administration, as we've worked with the Bush administration. Regardless of who was in government here and regardless of who the presidential players were in the United States, our relationship and friendship and our alliance are far stronger than individuals, and it will continue to get stronger. Australians and Americans are great friends, and we all heard in different speeches on both sides of the House here today of those dark times in World War II, where Darwin was bombed and we had foreign submarines on our shores. Australia was under real threat at that time, and it was the Americans that came to our rescue. Therefore, in that particular moment, there was a friendship and a bond that was secured between the United States and Australia. It has continued, it is growing strong and it will grow stronger.

Our nations are bound by a history of shared sacrifice and commitment to common values and, above all, that respect and affection between our people. Recently, AUKUS is a huge, huge issue in my electorate—a huge issue of importance—because it is a partnership that's focused on enhancing regional stability and safeguarding a secure and stable Indo-Pacific while setting the highest standards of nuclear nonproliferation. Through AUKUS, Australia seeks to replace the existing capability with a new capability of nuclear-powered submarines. But, also, it is so important to South Australia, my own home state, and to my own city of Adelaide because of the high-tech technology and jobs that it will create, and it is already doing that. So, as a South Australian, I know the importance of the alliance, and I know the importance of the partnership, but, more so, I know the importance of the future—creating jobs and creating a great economy for our nation and specifically for South Australia. Already we're seeing companies and businesses set up in South Australia, businesses. I have Lot 14 in my electorate. Cutting-edge research is being done there, and this is due to the capabilities that Australia will be able to get in the future. We're talking about approximately 30,000 jobs being created.

It gives me great pleasure to know that last year both sides of the United States Congress—both Democrats and Republicans—voted for the AUKUS legislation. That shows great support from the US for the AUKUS partnership, which also has great support here in Australia. (Time expired)

Sharon Claydon (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The discussion has concluded.