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

I thank Senator Paterson for his question. We know that Australia's future prosperity and security depend on an Indo-Pacific region that is stable, open and free but supported by cooperation between sovereign nations. We are working with allies and partners to maintain and expand a resilient region in which sovereign states make decisions which are free from coercion, interference or aggression.

Our inclusive and practical diplomatic approach is to work ever more closely with all countries that share this vision, reinforcing traditional alliances with the United States and the United Kingdom, for example, while expanding cooperation with regional groups, such as ASEAN and the Pacific Islands Forum; newer arrangements, such as the Quad; and innovative partnerships, such as the Australia-France-India trilateral partnership and the Australia-Indonesia-Timor-Leste trilateral.

We have five clear objectives in enhancing our national interests: supporting open societies, open economies and a rules based order; building our sovereign capability, capacity and resilience; cooperating on global challenges, including equitable COVID-19 vaccine distribution and climate change, for example; enabling renewed business led growth, including advocating strongly for reform of the World Trade Organization; and, fifthly, demonstrating that liberal democracies work.

Australians can be assured that the Morrison government will continue to promote their interests at home and abroad, whether that's in strengthening our defence, in protecting human rights or in opening opportunities for trade and business, as we've seen overnight in the meeting between Prime Ministers Johnson and Morrison. Our free trade agreement with the UK is aimed at creating jobs and expanding opportunities in a clear demonstration of what two liberal democracies and open economies can achieve. The two prime ministers will have more to say on this later today, our time.