Matt Burnell (Spence, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Recently, I had the pleasure as co-chair of the Parliamentary Friends of AUKUS to welcome members of the UK House of Commons Defence Select Committee to Parliament House. It was a powerful reminder that the AUKUS partnership is not just a policy or a simple handshake agreement. It is a relationship between people, parliaments and communities that share values, trust and ideas. The conversations I had reaffirmed what the Geelong treaty embodies: a 50-year commitment to industrial cooperation, technological exchange and mutual security.

That is why today I speak in strong support of the Customs Tariff Amendment (Geelong Treaty Implementation) Bill 2025, legislation that brings to life one of the most significant defence partnerships in our nation's history. This bill gives domestic effect to the Geelong treaty, signed on 26 July 2025 by the Deputy Prime Minister, Richard Marles, and the UK Secretary of State for Defence, John Healey. It marks a moment of deep renewal between two nations whose friendship pre-dates Federation but now finds new expression in shared capability, shared technology and shared purpose under AUKUS.

Our relationship with the United Kingdom is among our oldest. We have fought together across Europe, Africa and Asia and built together and grown together as nations. Now, through AUKUS, that historic bond carries a contemporary, strategic weight deep into the 21st century.

The Geelong treaty represents the most significant bilateral agreement between Australia and the UK since 1901. It sets the foundation for the design, construction, operation, sustainment and eventual deployment of a new class of conventionally armed nuclear-powered submarines, the SSN-AUKUS, and ensures both our nations' navies will sail side by side for generations to come, protecting both of our island homes. The treaty is a cornerstone of AUKUS Pillar I, the submarine program that will create over 20,000 high-skill jobs in Australia through the design and construction of these vessels. Those jobs will not just be in shipyards; they will span engineering, science, cyber, welding, nuclear stewardship, logistics and advanced manufacturing. Across our TAFEs, universities and research institutes, new education pathways are opening that will link directly into these AUKUS jobs. Students in high school today will graduate into apprenticeships and degrees tailored to AUKUS industries: nuclear engineering streams, maritime systems training and defence technology courses developed through partnership between government and education providers. These pathways mean that a student in my electorate of Spence, Geelong or Osborne can see a clear line from the classroom to a career in sovereign shipbuilding and defence innovation.

The Geelong treaty cements that pipeline. It supports the growth of the workforce, infrastructure and regulatory systems required to build and sustain our submarines here in Australia. It also enables the rotational presence of a UK Astute-class submarine as part of the Submarine Rotational Force - West in Perth. This will be a training ground for our sailors and technicians and a living classroom for the transfer of skills and knowledge. Beyond the strategic benefits, the treaty delivers real economic and commercial benefits through trade, information sharing and joint procurement arrangements. It will allow both countries to share materials and equipment freely under the treaty framework without additional tariffs adding cost to the trade exchange. That is why this bill is so important. It provides the legislative mechanism to apply a free rate of duty for goods imported for use under the Geelong treaty. It amends the Customs Tariff Act 1995 by inserting a new item, item 58A, ensuring that the movement of materials under AUKUS is swift, efficient and cost neutral. There are no revenue implications from this change. It delivers clarity and readiness and is a necessary step before Australia can declare it has completed its domestic obligations for the treaty to enter into force later this year.

When I welcomed the UK Defence Select Committee to Parliament House as co-chair of Parliamentary Friends of AUKUS, I was struck by how aligned we are on the fundamentals: safety, sovereignty, transparency and the long game required to do this right. Doing it right means maintaining the highest safeguards and non-proliferation standards, a culture of safety in every workshop and laboratory and an unwavering commitment to the communities that will host these capabilities. Doing it right means building partnerships with industry and education providers and aligning curricula, equipment and placements so that graduates are job ready on day one. Doing it right means ensuring small- and medium-sized Australian businesses can access the opportunities that come with AUKUS, with capability uplift, quality accreditation and payment terms that let small firms scale into global supply chains. Extensive consultation has been undertaken across the Commonwealth with the Department of Defence, Foreign Affairs and Trade, Prime Minister and Cabinet, Treasury, Finance, the Attorney-General's Department, the Australian Submarine Agency, Border Force and nuclear safety bodies. All agencies support the implementation of this treaty and the amendments contained in this bill.

The Joint Standing Committee on Treaties has already held public hearings, receiving a range of submissions from industry and the public. That consultation shows a healthy engagement with his national endeavour—an endeavour that belongs not to one government or party but to the nation itself. This is a 50-year undertaking. It is a project that will span decades of policy, decades of people and decades of progress. The AUKUS program is already building momentum across our regions. From Perth to Adelaide to Geelong, in TAFE campuses—

A division having been called in the House of Representatives—

Sitting suspended from 12:34 to 12:45

As I was saying, the AUKUS program is already building momentum across our regions. From Perth to Adelaide to Geelong, in TAFE campuses and university hubs across the nation, young Australians are preparing for a new era of opportunity. Every course, every apprenticeship and every partnership that flows from AUKUS builds a pipeline of skills and careers for decades to come. These aren't just defence jobs; they are jobs that will strengthen advanced manufacturing, robotics, AI and engineering industries across Australia.

That is why the Geelong treaty is so vital. It ties our education system, our workforce and our industrial base together in service of a shared national mission. The treaty also deepens our people-to-people connections. As we welcome UK sailors, engineers and scientists to our shores, Australian workers and students will train and work in the UK, creating knowledge, sharing and cooperation that will stand the test of time. As its name suggests, this treaty was signed in Geelong, and fittingly so—it is a city with a heritage of industry and innovation. The treaty represents the same spirit that built our manufacturing base and our naval tradition. It reminds us that nation building is never a thing of the past; it is an ongoing responsibility.

The Geelong treaty is how we continue to carry that responsibility forward into the 21st century. It is how we equip our nation to defend our interests, strengthen our alliances and grow our economy through technological excellence and people power. It's how we ensure that the next generation of Australians, from our classrooms to our shipyards, inherits a country that is secure, prosperous and respected. That is why this parliament should support the passage of this bill without delay. The Geelong treaty will shape our strategic landscape for the next half-century. It is not merely about submarines; it is about sovereignty, skills and shared security. I commend this bill to the House.

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