Marise Payne (NSW, Liberal Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Faruqi very much for her question. In fact, I was in Fiji at the end of last week for the Pacific Islands Forum's ministerial meetings. The week before that, I was in the Cook Islands to underscore our efforts to deepen the bilateral relationship there. In the previous weeks, I was in Papua New Guinea, in New Caledonia and in New Zealand and meeting with a range of my counterparts across the region.

We have made it very clear that we are making a record contribution to Pacific development this year of $1.4 billion, which is all about addressing the issues that are of greatest concern to the Pacific. When we signed on to the Boe declaration in Nauru at the Pacific Islands Forum leaders' meeting last year, we acknowledged the fundamental nature of the challenge that climate change presents to this region. So we are working very closely on a range of initiatives with their counterparts across the region. We are working very hard to demonstrate our commitment through a number of initiatives.

The conversation last Friday in Suva illustrated the cooperative and collaborative way in which ministers around that table are working towards the Pacific Islands Forum leaders' meeting in Tuvalu in August. Of course Australia continues to support that process of the development of the Tuvalu meeting, which they are very much looking forward to hosting. They will be holding a roundtable with key leaders and ministers on climate issues on the Monday of the Pacific Island Forum, absolutely acknowledging our commitment in the region to make that contribution.

Of our commitment, we have expended hundreds of millions of dollars with our partners bilaterally and in a regional sense to address the things that concern them the most. The introduction of the Australian Infrastructure Financing Facility for the Pacific is predicated on addressing climate change, adaptation and resilience for all of the investments that will be made under that facility. (Time expired)