Richard Marles
Corio · Australian Labor Party · Australia
“We've attended all the meetings of the state parties since 2022. There are three concerns that we have in relation to it, but we continue to observe it. We obviously support the underlying desire to have a world free of nuclear weapons.”
“At the Montebello Islands, off the coast of Western Australia; Emu plain, in South Australia; and, of course, Maralinga, we were a place of nuclear testing ourselves, and we know the impact that that has had in relation to our own First Nations peoples.”
“If you'll indulge me, Mr Speaker, I add my acknowledgement to my good friend Dato' Khaled bin Nordin, the Malaysian defence minister. It's great to see him in the House today. I thank the honourable member for her question.”
“You are right in saying that both of those events characterise a deep sense of feeling within the Pacific around the role and place of nuclear weapons, such that the Treaty of Rarotonga has characterised the Pacific by being a treaty which seeks to have the Pacific as a nuclear weapons free part of the world.”
“We are building very large industrial sites, like the Osborne Naval Shipyard and Henderson, where thousands of people are employed. But so much of Australia's defence industry now is small and medium businesses which have incredible capability that are supporting our Defence Force.”
“I thank the member for his question and acknowledge the incredible and proud way that he represents the beautiful suburbs of Tangney in this parliament. I got a bit of a taste of that last week when I went with the honourable member to visit a company in his electorate—Australian Safety Engineers, in Canning Vale.”
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“We have a proud history and tradition in this country of working with countries around the world to seek to remove nuclear weapons from this world, and we will continue to pursue that tradition under the Albanese— (Time expired)”
“We've attended all the meetings of the state parties since 2022. There are three concerns that we have in relation to it, but we continue to observe it. We obviously support the underlying desire to have a world free of nuclear weapons. The first concern goes to the question of the enforcement architecture around the ban treaty, the second is its interaction with the non-proliferation treaty and wanting to make sure that it doesn't undermine it, and the third goes to the universality of the signatories to the ban treaty. Right now, there is no nuclear weapons state which is participating in it. Ultimately, we need to have a regime in the world which actually does seek to change behaviour in relation to those who hold nuclear weapons. But we will continue to observe the progress of the ban treaty.”
“At the Montebello Islands, off the coast of Western Australia; Emu plain, in South Australia; and, of course, Maralinga, we were a place of nuclear testing ourselves, and we know the impact that that has had in relation to our own First Nations peoples. We are, as a result of all of this, proud signatories of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty. We have been, from the outset, signatories of the non-proliferation treaty, which has been the cornerstone of our support for trying to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons. It is worth noting that, today, there are less than 20 per cent of the nuclear warheads in the world than there were at their peak in the 1980s, and the NPT has played its part. In terms of the ban treaty to which you refer, we are observing this very closely.”
“You are right in saying that both of those events characterise a deep sense of feeling within the Pacific around the role and place of nuclear weapons, such that the Treaty of Rarotonga has characterised the Pacific by being a treaty which seeks to have the Pacific as a nuclear weapons free part of the world. We of course are a proud signatory to the Rarotonga treaty. We have been, throughout the history of the Pacific Islands Forum, a supporter of the Marshall Islands in terms of all the impacts—the ongoing impacts—that have been felt by them of the nuclear weapons tests there. Australia, too, understands this.”
“If you'll indulge me, Mr Speaker, I add my acknowledgement to my good friend Dato' Khaled bin Nordin, the Malaysian defence minister. It's great to see him in the House today. I thank the honourable member for her question. Today is the 80th anniversary of the first detonation by the United States of a nuclear weapon in the Pacific at Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands. Over the decade or so which ensured from 1946, they detonated around 67 nuclear weapons, including the first detonation by the United States of a hydrogen bomb. Tomorrow will be the 60th anniversary of the first detonation of a nuclear weapon at the Mururoa Atoll in French Polynesia.”
“That could not be more different from the way in which the Liberals ran Defence during their wasteful decade. They presided over $42 billion of unfunded Defence commitments, and that meant that, for a full quarter of what Defence was expected to procure, they had no money for them—an absolute disgrace. The Liberals were really big on Defence press releases, but they went completely missing when it came to following that through with action. As it turns out, press releases don't employ people, defence industry does. Australia's defence industry well knows that, under this Prime Minister, they have a government which is backing them in supporting the Australian Defence Force in keeping Australians safe.”
“We are building very large industrial sites, like the Osborne Naval Shipyard and Henderson, where thousands of people are employed. But so much of Australia's defence industry now is small and medium businesses which have incredible capability that are supporting our Defence Force. They are benefiting from the fact that, in the last two financial years, we have had the two biggest spends on record in defence procurement, and in the financial year that we are in right now, which will finish next week, that spend will be even bigger again. Since coming to office, we've seen employment in defence manufacturing increase by 11 per cent, and that's because we now have a clear strategic direction. We are building a defence force in accordance with that and we're putting real dollars behind that bill.”
“I thank the member for his question and acknowledge the incredible and proud way that he represents the beautiful suburbs of Tangney in this parliament. I got a bit of a taste of that last week when I went with the honourable member to visit a company in his electorate—Australian Safety Engineers, in Canning Vale. ASE make breathing apparatus and air compressors they supply to our special forces. They built an incredible unit which was used at the docking of HMS Anson , the UK Astute class submarine, which visited HMAS Stirling in February and March this year for its successful maintenance period. ASE mainly supplies to the Defence Force. It's not a large company; it has about 30 employees, but in the field in which it operates it is absolutely world class.”
“We've known for some time that the Liberals are defence dilettantes, but last week we also learnt that One Nation is no better. They did promise to cut health and education to fund defence, but, when it came to defence, there was again just a focus on a single number, leaning into the vibe of the thing and then hoping for the best. The Liberals and One Nation are the Dennis Denutos of defence policy. This government is very different. We are getting on with business. The two biggest defence exports in our country's history have happened under us, and the latest deal with Canada will support 1,000 direct and indirect jobs across South Australia and Victoria. These are deals which are building high-tech industry in Australia. They are deals which are increasing our national security.”
“As the best long-range radar in the world, it is the envy of the world, and that is why Canada has agreed to partner with Australia in its future use by building its own radar to surveil the vast areas of Canada's Arctic north. This is a $2.5 billion deal. It is the biggest defence export in Australia's history, and it's an example of successful defence policy—focusing on the detail, meticulously building our relationships and having a clear sense of the strategic objectives of our partners so that we can properly engage. That stands in stark contrast to how we know the Liberals do defence. For the Liberals, defence policy is just about a single figure—a percentage of GDP—but at the same time not having an ability to articulate a single military platform upon which the defence budget would be spent.”
“I thank the member for her question and acknowledge her service in the Australian Army. The Jindalee Operational Radar Network is an incredible technology. It relies on bouncing a signal off the ionosphere, the ceiling of our atmosphere, to detect objects beyond the curvature of the Earth's surface—a radar which can literally see over the horizon. It's a technology which was developed back in the 1980s by defence science in combination with BAE, at a time when there was not the same system of satellites as exists today. But, in a world where those same satellites can now be targeted, this is a technology which is coming back into its own.”
“While Canada will definitely benefit from the decades of investment that we have made in the radar, Australia will also benefit from the hundreds of millions of dollars that Canada will spend on R&D in furthering this technology. Canada and Australia have always been the very best of friends, but as of today we have a significant strategic dimension to the relationship. It builds on the visit from Prime Minister Carney here in March, which significantly elevated our defence and security partnership. This is a really big day in the Australia-Canada relationship, but it is a historic day for Australia's defence industry because this is quite literally the Albanese government delivering a future made in Australia.”
“In working with our friends and partners on shared defence platforms, that is not only good for our national security—it supports Australian industry and it supports Australian jobs. The Canadian deal is supporting 1,000 direct and indirect jobs, principally in South Australia and Victoria. The Boxer deal supported 600 direct jobs in Brisbane. The over-the-horizon radar began its life back in 1986 under the Hawke government in a partnership with BAE Systems Australia, and since then it has been the cornerstone of our long-range northern surveillance. It is far and away the best long-range radar in the world. Like Australia, Canada has vast areas to surveil, and they will use this technology to look north over the Arctic. What it really means is that Canada and Australia will now be partners in the future development of this technology.”
“I thank the member for his question and acknowledge his service in wearing our nation's uniform. This morning I did sign an agreement with Canada's Secretary of State for Defence Procurement, Stephen Fuhr, to enable Canada's acquisition of Australia's over-the-horizon radar. This is the biggest defence export in our country's history. It's a $2.5 billion deal and it surpasses the most recent largest defence export, which was the 2024 sale of Boxers to Germany—that was a $1 billion deal. It is no coincidence that the two largest defence exports in our country's history have happened under the Albanese government, because we have given a real focus to defence exports. In this regard I acknowledge the Minister for Defence Industry.”
“Again, that is an idea which is repeated in the National Defence Strategy that we released a month ago. We continue to work with all the departments and all the agencies around our government to look at the way in which they contribute to national defence, and that includes the departments responsible for water security.”
“The point that the honourable member is making is a good one in the sense that, in any given scenario or contingency—water security, food security—how our civil economy works in the context of that contingency is completely fundamental to whether or not we are able to make our way through that contingency. To go back to the Second World War, this was an idea which was deeply understood, but the Defence Strategic Review made it clear that we really need to be exercising those national muscles again in terms of thinking about the future. That does go to the question of thinking about water security in the context of our national security, as it does in relation to food security. It is about, in a sense, thinking about defence as a whole-of-government effort.”
“I thank the member for his inaugural question, and it is a very good question in terms of looking at those aspects of our nation which go to our national resilience, such as water security, seen through the lens of our national defence. The Defence Strategic Review that was released by the government in 2023 made clear that what we must do, in a way that we have really not done since the end of the Second World War, is look at the connection between our civil economy and our national security and look at ways in which those elements which go to our national resilience contribute to our national security.”
“We hear guffawing from those opposite, and we hear it because in their nine years in government they rotated defence ministers through the portfolio so quickly that they could never get around to the business of actually managing defence, and they left this as an untouched—”
“I thank the member for her question. Order the member for Mitchell. For too long, the question of Defence as a state has been ignored. It was certainly ignored by those opposite when they were in government. As a result, when we look through the Defence Strategic Review about the bases that we need, the focus is on creating much more capable northern bases which can project our Air Force further, but in the same breath it highlights the fact that, as the largest landowner in the country, Defence today is operating many properties which are costing, if not hundreds of thousands then hundreds of millions of dollars to maintain, yet those properties do nothing in terms of Australia's capability.”
“That one of those—just one—is shifting from being a new Virginia to an in-service Virginia is a good deal. It provides consistency against a backdrop of complexity. This makes it just a little easier, and it is a good financial deal. To be frank, this is what we wanted from the start, and that this is now what is going to happen is a great outcome for Australia. We are a three-ocean nation, and so building our submarine capability fundamentally builds our national sovereignty. Were we to lose that submarine capability, we would become more reliant, not less, on our alliance with the United States. The Albanese government is utterly committed to Australia being a submarine nation, and we are utterly committed to AUKUS and, through that, building a submarine capability which will keep Australians safe.”
“There are 100 workers building the Skills and Training Academy at the Osborne Naval Shipyard in Adelaide, another 900 working on the submarine construction yard at Osborne and another 250 building facilities at HMAS Stirling in preparation for the Submarine Rotational Force-West, which begins next year. In total, this is more than a thousand high-skilled, high-paid jobs right now—union jobs—providing income and livelihoods and supporting families, and we are not about to do anything which disrupts that. In just a few years, we will see 10,000 workers at Osborne and thousands more at Henderson, and these will be the largest and highest tech industrial facilities in our country. Through AUKUS, the Royal Australian Navy will operate eight nuclear-powered submarines.”
“I thank the member for his question and acknowledge his service but also the contribution that his state is making to this great national endeavour. AUKUS is happening. In 2021, AUKUS was first announced by the Morrison government, and I acknowledge the contribution of that government to bringing these three countries together. What was then an idea and a concept is today a great national project in full flight. On this day, there are 220 submariners working on Virginia class submarines serving in the US Navy. There are another 220 ASC workers at Pearl Harbor gaining invaluable experience in getting those same submarines out to sea.”
“They're getting themselves lost in accounting rabbit holes and, ultimately, what their defence policy amounts to is the assertion of a single number. But, just as in the election campaign, when they are asked to identify what they're spending money on, they are utterly unable to nominate a single defence capability. It is completely hopeless, because, given the difficulty that our nation faces at the moment, the sad truth is that, when it comes to defence policy, the Liberals are not even on the park. As such, they are most definitely selling Australians short. The Albanese government is going to continue to build our nation's defences. We are going to continue to be focused on defence policy detail, because it actually matters. In the process, we are greatly increasing the capability of our defence force to keep Australians safe.”
“We're investing in counter unmanned aerial systems for the Australian Army, which in turn forms part of a broader $12 billion to $15 billion allocation for drone and counter drone technology over the coming decade. We're increasing the capability of our airfields, which was identified as a priority by the Defence Strategic Review, and we are immediately uplifting the capability of the Defence Intelligence Organisation and the Australian Geospatial-Intelligence Organisation. All of this is a reflection of the strategic urgency of the moment. This is historic levels of real money being spent on real capability as we speak. All we're hearing in response from the coalition are tired, old, recycled lines—thought bubbles about new capabilities which go absolutely nowhere.”
“I thank the member for her question and acknowledge her service in the Australian Army. Last month the National defence s trategy , which was part of the budget, provided for an increase in defence spending of $53 billion over the decade and $14 billion over the forward estimates. We are spending more on defence in the medium term, more over the forward estimates and more right now. Indeed, in this financial year, 2025-26, we've increased defence spending by $4.3 billion this year alone. That represents the biggest acceleration of defence spending in a single year in our country's history. That means that, right now, we are increasing the capability of our P-8 aircraft, our most important anti-submarine warfare capability.”
“The plan will make Collins a pathway to operating our future nuclear-powered submarine, and in the meantime it will see an increased availability of the Collins class in the here and now. The Collins LOTE will underpin around 1,400 jobs at the Osborne Naval Shipyard, in Adelaide. Along with the work to construct our future submarines and our future frigates, this will see 10,000 well-paid, secure jobs at Osborne, making it easily the largest industrial facility in the country. This has been a difficult set of decisions because we have had to clean up a monumental Liberal mess, but the result is that the Collins class submarine will continue to be a potent capability and to serve all Australians for decades to come.”
“That is to say that the Collins class sustainment planning team literally did not get the AUKUS memo. This was breathtaking incompetence on the part of the former government. When we came to government, we knew that this plan was in trouble. We commissioned Gloria Valdez to have a look at it. She found that it was horribly misguided. We also knew that it was chronically underfunded. The Liberals had set aside just $6 billion to do the entire job. By contrast, in the budget and the defence strategy that we announced a month ago, we have put aside $11 billion to do the life-of-type extension of Collins over just the next 10 years, and the work goes beyond that.”
“I thank the member for his question and acknowledge his advocacy on behalf of Australia's defence industry and his home state of South Australia. Later this month, life-of-type extension work will begin on our Collins class submarines, which, in the journey of the most capable submarine that our nation has ever operated, is a very significant moment. But we get to this moment via a litany of Defence failures on the part of the Liberals when they were in government. Back in 2021, on the very day that the Morrison government announced a change of plans for our future submarine capability, the Liberals also announced a life-of-type extension of the Collins class, which would have seen it become interoperable with the Attack class submarines, which they had just cancelled.”
“Together, they are part of the $12 billion to $15 billion which we provided to autonomous systems and drones for the Defence Force in the budget on Tuesday night. A decade ago, it was really clear that drones would become increasingly important, yet when the Liberals were in government the most significant step that they took in respect of autonomous platforms was to cut the $1.3 billion SkyGuardian program. They took us backwards, not forwards, because, when they were in government, they definitely did not have their hands on the defence wheel. But how could they have when they cycled six—really seven—different defence ministers through the portfolio in just nine years? And, in the last four years, they've cycled another three.”
“I thank the member for his question. He is such a fantastic advocate for defence industry within his region. Ghost Bat is the world's leading collaborative combat aircraft, which is being developed by the Air Force and Boeing Australia. Last year, in testing at Woomera, a Ghost Bat successfully fired an air-to-air missile, hitting its target. That gained global attention because it is literally years ahead of any comparable platform which is being developed by our friends and allies. Ghost Shark, which is being developed by the Navy and Anduril, is the world's longest-range large underwater-capable autonomous platform, and there are Ghost Sharks which are in the hands of the Navy right now. Ghost Bat is a $1.4 billion program, and Ghost Shark is a $1.7 billion program.”
“Since 2023, we have increased defence spending each and every year. What we did last night was the biggest step, and the result is to provide a much more capable Defence Force, which, in a challenging world, can keep Australians safe.”
“To try and put that in some kind of context, during the entire period of the former coalition government, they increased defence spending by just $10 billion over the planning decade, which is to say that, in the last four years, we have done 12 times as much in respect to increasing defence spending as what the Liberals did in their entire nine years in office. They were very big about awarding the defence ministry as a trophy to those on the frontbench. Six different people won that prize, and, since going into opposition, another three have won the prize, including the Leader of the Opposition. But, while they've been completely focused on the defence trophy, they have utterly ignored defence policy and, with that, the nation. Now, the Albanese government is changing all of that.”
“The conflict in the Middle East has highlighted the volatile nature of the world in which we live, the acute pressure which is being placed upon the global rules based order and the impact on Australia, our region and the world of disrupted sea lines of communication. Looking forward, this is really our most consequential strategic risk—that a future adversary would seek to coerce Australia by disrupting those sea lines. So, in last night's budget, we had a significant increase to defence spending: $14½ billion over the forward estimates and $53 billion over the decade. So, since coming to government, we have increased defence spending over the next four years by $30 billion, relative to what we inherited, and $117 billion over the decade.”
“I thank the member for her question and acknowledge her extensive experience in Australia's defence industry. Last night, along with 40 defence ministers from around the world, I participated in a meeting of the multinational military mission in respect of the Strait of Hormuz, and we were all resolute that the Strait of Hormuz be open and that freedom of navigation apply. When conditions allow, a defensive military mission will underpin this. Australia has made a commitment to this mission—indeed, we've committed an E-7 Wedgetail—and we will have further talks with the UK, with France and with our other partners about how else we can contribute.”
“Two years ago we reprioritised $70 billion of Defence spending. This time we reprioritised just $10 billion. And I think that reflects a continuity since 2023 in the type of defence force which we are seeking to build, one that can fundamentally project. But what has changed over the last two years is the rise of autonomous systems, the rise of drones. So NDS has a provision of $12 billion to $15 billion over the next decade to ensure that we are investing in this critical capability, such that it is, at the heart of our modern defence force. NDS '26 is another step that the Albanese government has taken in building up a much more capable defence force which, in a troubled world, can keep Australia safe.”
“NDS '26 observed that over the last two years the world has become a much more difficult place, and I think we can all see that—not just in the war in the Middle East and in ongoing conflict in Ukraine and other parts of the world but in continued great power contests, China's continued massive military build-up and the global rules based order being placed under acute pressure. As a result, NDS '26 provided for yet another significant major increase in the Defence spend—$14½ billion over the forward estimates, $53 billion over the decade—and this will be reflected in tonight's budget. What that means is that, since coming to office, the Albanese government has increased Defence spending over the next four years by $30 billion relative to what we inherited and $117 billion over the decade.”
“I thank the member for his question and acknowledge his service in the Australian Army. Four weeks ago, the government released the National d efence s trategy 2026 and the accompanying update of the Integrated investment program , Defence's 10-year procurement plan. In 2023 the Defence Strategic Review recommended doing away with the old system of intermittent, haphazard defence white papers, replacing it with a consistent two-yearly drumbeat of updated strategy and procurement. NDS '26 is the second iteration of this. As a result, the Defence Force now operates against contemporary strategy and refreshed procurement plans.”
“He was an expert sniper. He was a seriously experienced special forces soldier. He's remembered for his sense of humour and for his commitment to service. As a result of last night's accident, a series of investigations will now take place, both within the Defence Force and beyond. It's really important that they are as thorough as possible so that every necessary lesson is learnt here. Let me say that the Defence Force trains as it fights, and, necessarily, there is risk in Defence Force training, and so Lachlan Muddle's sacrifice is every bit as meaningful and significant as that of those we have lost on the battlefield. This afternoon, our thoughts are very much with Lachlan Muddle's family and with his defence family, the SAS, who I know will be feeling his loss acutely.”
“on indulgence—Yesterday evening, the ADF lost one of its finest. Warrant Officer Lachlan Muddle died in a parachuting accident at the ADF's parachute school at Jervis Bay. Warrant Officer Muddle was involved in a midair collision with another parachutist, which resulted in his death. The other parachutist received minor injuries. Both of them were deeply experienced parachutists. They had both done in excess of thousands of jumps, and they were participating in a six-week-long advanced parachuting training block. As a result of last night's accident, for the moment, parachuting in the ADF has been paused. Lachlan Muddle joined the Australian Army in 1994. He was a member of the Special Air Service Regiment, the SAS, and he qualified for the SAS in 2007. He was deployed on five separate occasions, including to Afghanistan.”
“I'd remind everyone that, just this year, Iran has killed thousands of its own citizens. It has been the sponsor of terrorism around the world, including here in Australia. That said, this conflict is now in its fifth week. It's been going a long time. It has been a major disruption on the global economy. And, while we continue to support the strategic objective, which is clearly important, in every respect we seek to support the reduction of hostilities— (Time expired)”
“On 10 March we responded to a request from the UAE to supply an E-7 Wedgetail to help in the support of the UAE, and, later that week, that plane and its 85 support crew were in the region, and since then it has conducted multiple missions which have helped in the security of the UAE. We have also supplied a number of advanced medium-range air-to-air missiles to the UAE. Now, obviously, the war has had a significant impact on the global oil price, which has been felt through increased fuel prices here in Australia and around the world, and, with the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the global fuel supply chain has also been disrupted. At the outset of this conflict, there was a very clear strategic objective to deny Iran ever having the acquisition of a deployable nuclear weapon, and we support this.”
“Over the last 4½ weeks, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has dispatched crisis response teams to the region, and they have facilitated the return of more than 10,000 Australians back home. For the Australians who continue to live in the region, we continue to provide our travel advisories. There is a 'no travel' advice in place for 11 countries in the region. Immediately prior to this conflict starting, there were more than 100 Defence Force personnel engaged in seven missions across the region, most of whom were at our operational headquarters at Al Minhad Air Base near Dubai.”
“I thank the member for her question and very much acknowledge her leadership in this government. The war in the Middle East is now entering its 32nd day. The commencement of this conflict occurred across a region which is home to some of the largest Australian expat communities in the world. Indeed, 115,000 Australians live across the Middle East. From almost the moment that hostilities started, the skies above Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha were closed. Immediately prior to the conflict, on any given day, about 11,000 Australians transited these airports, which meant that, when hostilities started, there were thousands of Australians who were stranded.”
“This is the largest maritime exercise that our Defence Force undertakes every two years. It involves five Navy ships, 700 personnel and 18 other partner nations. I can assure you that this exercise is absolutely in full swing. The National Fuel Security Plan is absolutely vital to meet the challenge of this time. And because of the decisions of our government, we've been able to secure strategic fuel reserves for our Defence Force so that the men and the women of the ADF remain absolutely prepared to keep Australians safe.”
“I would like to assure you that this is absolutely not true, and obviously now is not the time to be scaring people for partisan objectives. The Australian Defence Force is training, as it always has, and in part because of the decisions that our government has taken. When we came to office, back in 2022, we inherited from the coalition a plan to invest $1 billion in our strategic fuel reserves for the Defence Force over the next 30 years—a plan that was wholly inadequate. Well before the events of the last month, very early on, we tripled this investment; we brought the spending into the decade. This means that as of today the strategic fuel reserves for the Defence Force are double what they were when we came to office back in 2022. As a result, right now Exercise Kakadu is underway.”
“I thank the member for his question, and I acknowledge the incredible work he is doing on behalf of his community on the Central Coast. The National Fuel Security Plan, which the Prime Minister has just announced, is a critical step in meeting this moment. Australians are rightly anxious about the war in the Middle East, the impact that it is already having on fuel prices and supply, and what it might mean for the future. This is a challenge for Australia, as it is for the world. This plan addresses both price and supply. Last week the opposition was suggesting that, because of a lack of fuel, the Australian Defence Force was not able to train, to exercise and to hone its war-fighting skills in the way it normally would.”
“Rheinmetall, a German company, has established a facility in Brisbane, which is providing high-skill, high-wage jobs in your electorate, Mr Speaker, where it is building combat reconnaissance vehicles, the Boxers, for both the German and the Australian armies. When Minister Pistorius visits Brisbane tomorrow, we will sign a letter of cooperation with TDW, a German company which will be involved in the manufacture of missiles here in Australia. We are on opposite sides of the globe, but, in an increasingly connected world, the Germany-Australia defence relationship is becoming more and more important, and that is fantastic because Germany is a reliable and trusted friend of Australia.”
“Precisely because the order is under pressure, it is an order which must be defended and spoken for right now, which is why we are so appreciative of the comments that Minister Pistorius and, for that matter, President von der Leyen have made in Canberra this week. Our relationship has an operational dimension. In 2023, when we sent our first E-7 to Europe in support of Ukraine, it operated out of the Ramstein Air Base in Germany, and, in turn, Germany participated in Exercise Talisman Sabre here last year and will do so again with its Eurofighters in Exercise Pitch Black in Darwin in July. Today we signed a letter of intent to cooperate in respect of space because space-domain awareness is a critical part of modern military capability. There is also a very significant defence industry dimension to the relationship.”
“I thank the member for his question and acknowledge his great contribution as the government's special envoy for defence. This morning, I had the very real pleasure of meeting with my good friend Boris Pistorius, the German Minister for Defence. Germany is the third-largest economy in the world, with a growing defence budget. It is already far and away the largest contributor in support of Ukraine, and it is becoming one of the major defence players in the world. Given we share values and we have deep trust, the Germany-Australia defence relationship is profoundly important. And, as Minister Pistorius has said, Germany is also a country which supports the global rules-based order—an order which gives agency to middle powers like Australia, an order which is very much, therefore, in our national interest.”
“Rheinmetall, a German company, is building more than 200 combat reconnaissance vehicles, the Boxers, in Brisbane for the Australian Army. In addition, they are building another 100 more, which are being sent back to Europe, for the German army. It's against this existing strong backdrop that the partnership will help provide for a seamless defence industrial base between Australia and Europe. Australia and Europe are both democratic. We enjoy freedom of speech. We share values, and we have complete trust. In difficult times, the Australia-EU Security and Defence Partnership will be the basis upon which Australia and Europe will navigate a challenging world together.”