Pat Conroy (Shortland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Defence Industry) Share this | Hansard source

The Pacific is our home. It is in our interest to foster a resilient, connected region that enables all our economies to grow and our people to prosper. The Albanese government has brought new energy and ambition to revitalise our Pacific partnership after a decade of neglect. We're using all tools of statecraft, security cooperation, development cooperation and people-to-people links to do this. We're also supporting the services that underpin economic growth, such as banking, aviation and critical infrastructure.

The Pacific looks to us first for support. That is what good neighbours do. We're also facing a more uncertain international environment and we are in a permanent contest in the Pacific, both the Minister for Foreign Affairs and I have repeated that many times. That is why it's been so important that there has been such a transformational change in Australia's approach the Pacific since we were elected in 2022.

We've signed landmark treaties with Tuvalu and Nauru, creating a safer region and advancing our position as a security partner of choice. We've strengthened cooperation with Papua New Guinea through our bilateral security agreement and our landmark national rugby league deal. These are both underpinned by strategic trust. We're also getting our relationship with the Solomon Islands on a better footing by building its police force. This confirms our position as their security partner of choice.

We're also building a proud track record assisting one another after natural disasters. Most recently, we worked to support Vanuatu after its earthquake on 17 December last year, getting rescue and humanitarian teams on the ground within 24 hours of Vanuatu's request. And we shouldn't forget that, when Australia was hit by the terrible bushfires of 2019-20, Fiji sent 54 of its soldiers to help our emergency responses. I will always be grateful for that.

Our investments have helped ensure every Pacific Islands Forum country will have an undersea telecommunication cable by the end of 2025, to bolster economic growth. I met with Prime Minister Teo, of Tuvalu, yesterday to discuss their recent connection, and we're building people-to-people links.

A love of sport is a connection we share with the Pacific, and we're building sports cooperation, whether it's rugby league with PNG; soccer with Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands; netball throughout the Pacific; or rugby union with Fiji, Tonga and Samoa. Sport is bringing our countries closer together.

We're committed to growing and strengthening the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility Scheme so it delivers on the region's ambitions for more skills and opportunities. This includes expanding opportunities for the Pacific and Timor-Leste and embedding a skills dividend in the scheme by helping fill vital worker shortages in regional and rural Australia. And we've created the first ever Pacific permanent migration pathway through the Pacific engagement visa, responding to a longstanding request from our Pacific partners. The first ballot for that PEV had 56,000 applications for only 3,000 spots, demonstrating the strong support throughout the Pacific for this important scheme.

Our engagement with the Pacific is underpinned by this government's recognition that climate change is the No. 1 concern of the Pacific. All this has helped us to build transformational relationships—for example, our landmark Australia-Tuvalu Falepili Union responds to Tuvalu's position at the frontline of the climate crisis. I recognise this has enabled us to unlock greater security corporation.

The Pacific Banking Guarantee Bill 2025, which we're debating right now, is part of our commitment to our Pacific neighbours. The Albanese government places a high priority on ensuring that the Pacific and Timor-Leste remain connected to the global financial system. The Pacific, unfortunately, has experienced the fastest withdrawal of correspondent banking relationships anywhere in the world. Just as the Pacific suffers the worst consequences of climate change, its businesses, workers and people are being disproportionately affected by bearing the cost of debanking.

Secure access to the global financial system and banking services is critical for economic growth, financial inclusion and overall stability. That's a statement of the bleeding obvious, but it's very important. At a national level, banking services mean government and businesses can engage in international trade, progress projects for infrastructure and essential services, and maintain and grow their economies. At a local level, banking services allow people to start up a new business and to maintain and grow their existing businesses. They enable workers to send money home to support their families and communities. For example, we've seen for many years how significant remittances can be. Under the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility scheme, workers from the Pacific contribute to Australia by filling labour gaps in regional and rural areas and specific industries. Right now, over 30,000 PALM workers are filling those labour gaps, and, again, on behalf of the government, I want to say how grateful I am to them, their families and their countries for assisting the Australian economy.

At the same time, those workers are sending, on average, $1,500 per month to their families and communities back home. I've visited many communities in the Pacific and Timor-Leste, and I've seen firsthand how this income directly alleviates poverty in local communities. It helps pay for food and other essentials. It pays for education and medicine and is even used to start small businesses, contributing to economic growth and job creation. Importantly, it's also dealing with gender equality and the divide that we see in many nations around the Pacific. Banking services are essential in supporting remittances and funds transfers through people, organisations, businesses and nations. Australia and our Pacific partners want to avoid the situation where Pacific nations are debanked and lose access to timely and affordable cross-border payments and banking services.

This is not about any individual country; this is about enhancing our cooperation with our Pacific island neighbours. This is about listening to their needs and working together on solutions. We all want to live in a region that is peaceful, stable and prosperous—a region where our partnerships are grounded in respect, including respect for sovereignty. We're committed to doing our part to contribute to this vision. For over 140 years, Australian banks have been a partner to the Pacific region. Today, three Pacific nations use the Australian dollar as their national currency, underscoring our economic interdependence. In fact, the Foreign minister of Nauru reminded me about how generous they are to let us use their currency in Australia!

But banks are not just financial intermediaries; they are symbols of our commitment to the region. They are a key to stronger trading and investment relationships between us and our Pacific neighbours. Their presence in the Pacific ensures that our neighbours can stay connected to the global financial system and experience secure, reliable and high-quality services. I've directly engaged with Pacific leaders and Australian bank executives to find ways to ensure that we have an enduring banking presence in the region. Australian banks' Pacific operations are lauded for maintaining high standards of service quality and high rates of regulatory compliance, helping to thwart financial crime. The importance of this cannot be overstated. Economic instability creates vulnerabilities that can be exploited by transnational criminals and other bad actors. Ensuring that the Pacific has a robust financial system mitigates financial crime risks and supports economic resilience.

A financially stable Pacific benefits Australia, and I thank the Commonwealth Bank of Australia for providing banking services to Nauru in our national interest. This is a critical part of the Nauru-Australia Treaty. Under that treaty, Australia committed to ensuring that Nauru will not be left without a bank when the Bendigo and Adelaide Bank departs this year. The treaty also reflects our shared commitment to security that is led by the Pacific family, which is in our deep national interest.

I also acknowledge ANZ's commitment to remaining in eight Pacific markets and Timor-Leste. ANZ has been in the Pacific for 140 years, playing an incredibly important role. I remember meeting the regional ANZ manager in the Solomon Islands, where he briefed me about how they reduced their fees during the COVID period for admittances because they knew there were thousands of Solomon Islander workers stuck in Australia, trying to send money back to sustain their families, when the region was devastated by the economic impact of COVID.

The guarantee contained in this bill will support meaningful access to face-to-face banking services. It will also support enhancements to ANZ's banking services, including its digital banking services. ANZ will continue to support access to international money transfers and correspondent banking services, and will also support Pacific countries through infrastructure financing in line with the bank's credit risk policies. The guarantee is a responsible and low-risk way to secure ANZ's long-term commitment to the Pacific.

Supporting the Pacific Banking Guarantee Bill 2025 is how members in this House can advance our national interest. A secure, stable and inclusive financial system in the Pacific is not just beneficial to the region; it is in Australia's national interest. We're also doing our part to address the structural factors that are leading banks to exit the Pacific. This includes helping to build digital identity infrastructure in seven Pacific jurisdictions; building the capacity of financial intelligence units so Pacific governments can respond to money laundering and terrorism financing risks; trying to find ways to address the lack of scale in Pacific countries' financial markets—we're doing this in partnership with the World Bank; I met with the deputy head of the World Bank yesterday to discuss this important project—and supporting secure and affordable channels for Pacific workers to remit money, which is something we're doing with New Zealand and the European Union.

I'm pleased to be part of a government progressing this important piece of legislation. We must ensure that Australia remains the partner of choice for the Pacific. Let us be clear that safeguarding banking services and the financial system is all about underpinning greater economic resilience and security in our region. We're committed to listening to and working together with our Pacific neighbours on issues that matter to us both. This bill is a clear demonstration of our commitment to do this. I commend the bill to the House.

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