Raff Ciccone (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to take note of the ministerial statement of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence given earlier today in the other place. In that statement, Deputy Prime Minister Marles outlined Australia's sovereignty principles and explained how cooperation with our friends and partners enables us to pursue our national interest and enhance that sovereignty.

The strategic circumstances that we find ourselves in are the most complex and challenging since the Second World War. It's hard to pick up a newspaper without reading about escalating tensions in our region or active conflict on the European continent. This is the backdrop against which the Deputy Prime Minister, the Minister for Defence, delivered this statement on sovereignty today and in the context of much discussion about the AUKUS agreement.

There has been some suggestion that the acquisition of nuclear propelled submarines through AUKUS would serve to undermine Australia's sovereignty—and we have just heard Senator Steele-John's contribution—because the development of this new capability for the Royal Australian Navy will come through cooperation with our strongest and closest allies, the United States of America and the United Kingdom. This suggestion that's been put, particularly by the Greens, is wrong. Those who make it fundamentally misunderstand sovereignty and the strategic environment in which we are living.

In these challenging times, it is more important than ever that Australia works closely with our friends, with other like-minded states, to secure our collective security. This is why we have the AUKUS arrangements. This cooperation is managed through robust policy frameworks and principles that maintain and protect our sovereignty, here in Australia, sovereignty that is at the heart of national security and Australia's way of life. Protecting this will always be the Albanese government's first priority.

Australia's front line will always be diplomacy. To quote the Deputy Prime Minister: 'Our primary effort is to use our diplomacy to reduce tensions and create pathways for peace.' But it is also prudent, in our uncertain strategic environment, to strengthen our defence capabilities, which are a key factor in maintaining our sovereignty. As the Deputy Prime Minister highlighted, while defence capability does not define sovereignty, having high-end capability ready to deploy at our complete discretion allows us to determine our own circumstances without coercion.

The geopolitical challenges that we face, we do not face alone. We stand shoulder to shoulder with our allies and like-minded states. Indeed, cooperation with others is integral to protecting our sovereignty—not detrimental to it, as some have wrongly suggested. This suggestion by some that Australia should be isolationist in our development of defence capability ignores the very fact that our relationships with other states, in and of themselves, are an essential part of our capability. Measuring our ability to defend our nation is not as simple as adding up all the equipment and Defence Force personnel. We must also consider how our allies can assist us, should the worst ever happen, both in the development and the procurement of defence material and through direct cooperation in military operations.

You only need to look at Ukraine at the moment to see this principle in action. Australia is one of the largest non-NATO contributors to defence against Russia's unprovoked illegal invasion of Ukraine. Therefore, Ukraine's relationship with Australia makes a direct contribution to the defence of Ukrainian sovereignty.

When I was on board HMAS Canberra last year—a vessel whose hull was made in Spain, whose combat system was developed in the United States and whose fit-out was completed here in Australia—I really appreciated how, along with all our allies, we can work together to improve each of our individual capabilities and therefore make significant contribution to our own national sovereignty.

To return to AUKUS specifically, the argument that nuclear propelled submarines acquired for the pact cannot contribute to sovereign capability, because we require support from our allies, ignores the fact that we are currently working in a collaborative manner on several defence and intelligence operations. Australia jointly operates three facilities with the United States: the Joint Defence Facility Pine Gap, the Joint Geological and Geophysical Research Station and the Learmonth Solar Observatory. Not only do these very important facilities provide critical functions that directly support our national security but, importantly, they also help to operate other facilities right around the world because they're all interconnected and help our allies and friends when they need assistance. Importantly, we could not operate these facilities in isolation. I think that is the point that some in this place seem to forget.

These collaborations with the United States facilitate intelligence cooperation and communications that help ensure that Australia and our Five Eyes partners maintain an intelligence advantage. The insights and intelligence gained through the Five Eyes partnership play a vital role in informing decisions that protect and strengthen our sovereignty, demonstrating once again that our strong international relationships are a vital asset. The Albanese government will continue to work with the US and our key partners to advance our interests because, as the Deputy Prime Minister stated, 'Our sovereignty is stronger when we work with others towards shared goals in ways that respect each other's national interests.'

As I mentioned earlier, these shared goals are not just about improving our defence capabilities. We must also work together in efforts to reduce tensions and to maintain the peace and security that have underpinned our economic prosperity and way of life. As we saw recently, foreign minister, Penny Wong, and defence minister, Richard Marles, and many other ministers have gone abroad to re-establish and reconnect with some of our closest friends—not just in our region of the Pacific but in Asia, Europe and the United States. It is so important to have very strong friendships when it comes to those who we have been shoulder to shoulder with in times of war and times of real need. As we have done with our friends in Ukraine, the solidarity and support that we have given them is so vitally important.

By recognising that we have shared goals with our allies and collaborate in an effort to achieve those goals, we achieve more in our own interests than we ever could if we acted in isolation. It is entirely appropriate that the Australian public and the parliament have confidence that when we enhance our defence capability that we never trade away our sovereignty. The Deputy Prime Minister was very much on point today when stating that we will not trade sovereignty for capability, because the only point of increased capability is to strengthen our sovereignty.

Question agreed to.