Dan Tehan (Wannon, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Immigration and Citizenship) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today with a very sad heart following the death of Shinzo Abe. I must say I was absolutely shocked when I heard the news that he had been shot, and I was absolutely shocked and saddened when I heard the news that that shot ended up being fatal.

I say to the Japanese public: our hearts, our thoughts and our prayers are still with you following that awful, awful incident. I particularly say to the ambassador here in Australia from Japan, my good friend Shingo Yamagami: I offer my sincere condolences to you because, for you, your country has lost not only a great leader and warrior—in the best sense of the word—but also a dear, dear friend.

I think it is a call to all of us in every democracy that we have to always make sure that we're doing everything we can to safeguard democracy. That means we've also got to be doing everything we can to make sure we safeguard those who are prepared to put themselves forward as representatives of our countries, because, for those who do put themselves forward, if the price is going to be the price that Shinzo Abe paid, then that is too great a cost for anyone to bear—for any country to bear, for any family to bear. So we have to make sure we are doing everything we can to protect those who put themselves forward.

Shinzo Abe has left a remarkable legacy, not only for Japan but for the world. It is a legacy that I'm sure the Japanese people will seek to protect and to honour. But it is also one that Australia and all Australians must seek to protect and honour, because he had a vision for the type of region we want to live in, well ahead of its time. He had started to put important architecture in place to ensure that the Indo-Pacific would, as he said, be a region that was free and open—or, as I like to say, peaceful and prosperous. We have to ensure that that architecture that he was putting in place continues to grow so that the vision he had for a free and open Indo-Pacific will continue.

A lot's been spoken of the importance of the Quad in that architecture, and it is critically important architecture. All members of the Quad, particularly Australia, have to ensure that the Quad continues to grow and can continue to deliver on its raison d'etre, which is a free and open Indo-Pacific. Former Prime Minister Abe knew the importance of the Quad and in particular the importance of Japan and India developing, growing and enhancing their relationship. Australia can play its role in making sure that that crucial relationship continues to develop and continues to grow—and we must do so.

On the strategic front, in 2014 former Prime Minister Abe said this in our federal parliament:

In everything we say and do, we must follow the law and never fall back onto force or coercion.

That was 2014. Sadly, since then we have seen one particular country try to use force and coercion to dictate and determine what type of Indo-Pacific we should live in. Australia, with the strong support of Japan, has strongly fought back against that coercion and has shown the rest of the world that you don't have to be intimidated or cower when coercion is used against you. Now that we've done that and now that we've clearly demonstrated that coercion does not and will not work, we've got to make sure we continue to put the rules in place, that we send a clear message that coercion will not work into the future. To do that, it's incredibly important that we also recognise what Shinzo Abe had to say, not only on the security side but also on the trade side. That is equally as important as the Quad in making sure we've got the architecture right in the Indo-Pacific for that free and open, peaceful and prosperous Indo-Pacific that we're all looking for

It was incredibly touching and I think incredibly moving for Shinzo Abe that he was able to sign the Australia-Japan FTA with our then Prime Minister, Tony Abbott. It was incredibly important and moving, because his grandfather had signed the initial commerce agreement between Australia and Japan, which really was the first clear demonstration that both countries had, remarkably, in a very short period of time, forgiven and worked out and understood the importance of moving on. That was done under the leadership of the then Prime Minister of Australia, Robert Menzies. Shinzo Abe also quoted Menzies in that speech, who said, 'It is better to hope than always to remember.' Those were incredibly important words at that time, and it really sowed the seeds of the development of a relationship, which I think now is incredibly unique, between countries in the Indo-Pacific, Australia and Japan. All that then led to the commerce agreement, which led to the Japan-Australia FTA, which has been incredibly significant, especially for developing investment between Australia and Japan and important investment by Japanese companies into Australia. I say this very much in a non-partisan way: making sure that no state or territory and no Commonwealth government makes investment decisions without having the decency to consult, especially with Japanese companies, who invest heavily here and provide jobs here, is critically important to the ongoing nature of that investment relationship. But we have to make sure that everything that has come as a result of that commerce agreement, as a result of the FTA, continues, especially when it comes to the Indo-Pacific.

I now come to another piece of important architecture that Shinzo Abe identified in 2014, and that was the then TPP. He knew that that was critically important to the ongoing peace and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific region. Sadly, the United States decided not to proceed with being at the heart of what was then called the TPP, and Japan and Australia, following on from the commerce agreement and from our FTA, then got together and led the way in ensuring that CPTPP could come into force. It is now an incredibly important part of the architecture of the Indo-Pacific. But Shinzo Abe's vision for what that economic architecture might look like would be under threat if we were to make the wrong decisions about CPTPP membership. We have to ensure that anyone who wants to join CPTPP understands the importance of a free and open Indo-Pacific and, importantly, understands the rule of law and would never fall back into force or coercion to try and dictate their way in the Indo-Pacific.

We know what it's like to be on the receiving end of economic coercion, and it has hurt our industries for no good reason. But those industries have stood by the government to make sure that we didn't succumb to that coercion, because they understood how important sovereignty is to our nation. As we progress the CPTPP going forward, we have to make sure that we continue to listen to our key partners, in particular to Japan, as to what form and shape that CPTPP should take and who should be allowed to be a member and who shouldn't. And we both strongly agree that anyone who wants to use economic coercion should not be a member of CPTPP, and that should remain our position as a nation going forward. If not, the legacy that was put in place by Shinzo Abe will start to be eroded, and that is not in the interests of any of us.

Shinzo Abe lost his life far too early. He lost his life in the most tragic circumstances far too early. But, like any great leader, he has left a remarkable legacy. As we come together to remember a great life lived, we must all commit to ensuring that that legacy is not lost and that we continue to fight for it, because if we do we will live in the best region in the world, not the most dangerous region in the world.

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