Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

by leave—I move:

That the Senate records its deep sorrow at the death, on 8 July 2022, of Abe Shinzo, the longest-serving Prime Minister of Japan, places on record its acknowledgement of his role in the development of his nation and tenders its profound sympathy to his family and the people of Japan in their bereavement.

On the night of 9 July, landmarks in my home state of South Australia were lit in red and white, the colours of Japan. Adelaide Oval, the South Australian parliament and the Torrens footbridge, along with the Sydney Opera House, the MCG and the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, and many more around the country, were all lit in solemn tribute to one of our nation's truest friends. It was a sign of the esteem in which former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was held across Australia.

I believe I speak on behalf of all Australians in expressing shock and grief at his terrible loss. I express my deepest sympathies and those of the Australian people to Mrs Abe, Mr Abe's family and the people of Japan. I echo Prime Minister Albanese's reflection of the bleak paradox that someone of such courage and strength of character could be taken away with an act of such cowardice, and I affirm the Prime Minister's vow that this low act of violence must not be allowed to overshadow a life that was lived to such high purpose.

Mr Abe was the longest-serving Prime Minister in Japanese history, but his contribution far surpassed the time he served. He was a political leader of consequence who looked beyond election cycles and made a lasting difference. Transformative leaders are rare, but Mr Abe made Japan bigger in the world. He had a vision of a Japan that exercised a degree of influence in the world commensurate with its economic weight and cultural significance, and he helped Japan assume its proper place in the community of nations. Given our shared values and interests, this vision was also of great benefit to our country.

Through his signature 'Abenomics' agenda, Mr Abe sought to shape an enlightened activist role for government in stimulating economic growth. Tourism boomed, trade was liberalised and women were given greater incentives to enter into and stay in the workforce. Mr Abe also reformed Japan's security posture in ways that enabled Japan to play a greater role in upholding regional stability. While these measures did not pass without some controversy in Japan, they were grounded in his conviction that Japan should be able to exercise the same rights as all other countries, such as the UN Charter's right to collective self-defence. His security and defence reforms enabled greater engagement and cooperation between the ADF and the Japan Self-Defense Forces. Japan is now Australia's closest defence partner in Asia.

When he addressed the Australian parliament in 2014, he spoke of his ambition for the relationship between Australia and Japan and how our two countries could work together to uphold peace and the rule of law in our region and beyond. He understood our partnership had been founded on trade and investment, later complemented by our growing strategic and security cooperation, by growth in tourism and student exchanges, and by cooperation in the arts, culture, sport and research. It is a relationship between our two countries that is above politics, and I acknowledge the roles of both parties of government in fostering that relationship. The deep affinity between our peoples has been a constant, and I believe we all felt that affinity strongly in the presence of Mr Abe. His vision helped elevate our bilateral relationship to a special strategic partnership in 2014. He oversaw the signing of the Japan-Australia Economic Partnership Agreement the same year, and he gave impetus to negotiations towards our Reciprocal Access Agreement, signed in January of this year.

Shinzo Abe was also a global leader, and he will be remembered as one of this century's most eminent political figures. It was during his first term that he revealed himself as a regional visionary, sowing the seeds of what would later become the concept of the Indo-Pacific in his speech on the confluence of the two seas at the Indian parliament in 2007. Australia became the first country to formally adopt the Indo-Pacific as a regional frame of reference in the Gillard government's 2013 defence white paper. The concept came to define Japan's foreign policy under Mr Abe's second term, to shape the mission of the Quad and to frame the regional outlooks of the United States, ASEAN, European partners and others. The elevation of the Quad in recent years owes so much to his energy and his statesmanship, as does the conclusion of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership. Shinzo Abe was a leader in the G7, the G20 and the United Nations, championing a vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific and an international order governed by rules rather than by power alone.

Despite regretting how much he had left to accomplish, by the time he retired due to ill health in September 2020, Mr Abe had left a profound imprint on Japan and on the world. When he last visited the Australian embassy in Tokyo in April this year, Mr Abe was as energetic and determined as ever to strengthen cooperation between Australia and Japan in the region, to see the free world combat Russia's aggression in Ukraine and to foster global peace and prosperity. These common values help explain why Australians have united in solidarity with Japan to express our grief at Mr Abe's passing. Many have described him as one of Australia's closest friends on the world stage. He visited our country five times as Prime Minister.

Shinzo Abe was a statesman, a stabilising force in Japan, a giant on the world stage and a true friend to Australia. On behalf of the Australian government and the Australian people, I again convey our sincere condolences to Mr Abe's family and to all of the people of Japan for this most terrible loss. Australia has lost a true friend, and we mourn with you.