Tim Wilson (Goldstein, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Small Business) Share this | Hansard source

This legislation is, on one level, not necessarily legislation that will change the universe. The flip side is that it's still an important part of the implementation regime associated with the AUKUS submarines project, and it remains an important part of that architecture, because Australia needs to be a trusted partner when working with other nations, particularly when we're sharing different pieces of technology, to ensure that we're a partner trusted to be able to build the sorts of technology we need to defend the future of this country.

Of course, the Geelong treaty implementation simply provides a pathway for the governments of the United Kingdom, Great Britain and Northern Ireland to be able to cooperate as part of the nuclear-powered submarine partnership collaboration with the Commonwealth of Australia. But, when it comes down to it, this bill is about something far bigger. It's about the enabling legislation for what is going to be required if we're going to defend ourselves in the 21st century.

In the period after the Cold War, this nation has progressively relaxed its security premium and taken a false sense of complacency about the challenges it faces. We're a nation that is facing the most challenging environment since the Second World War—that is the view of the white paper of the Department of Defence—and we're acutely aware of the fact that we're exposed to many fronts as a consequence of relaxing our approach to security.

It doesn't matter what government is in office, we never, as part of a trade-off of the priorities of the Commonwealth, want to overspend on security, because every dollar has to come from taxpayers, but we do need to make sure that we achieve the first objective of the Commonwealth, which is to defend the Australian homeland, this continent and our territories so that we can be safe and secure and, more importantly, help and support other countries in our region and, in particular, with our beneficence and our standing, be able to support and secure their sovereignty as well.

That's why having different technologies is going to be so important in meeting the challenges of the 21st century and the potential for kinetic war. Of course, we never want that to happen. But we know, from the actions of foreign governments and nonstate actors that we are seeing an increasing level of grey zone activity, often through things like cybersecurity threats and attacks on other essential infrastructure, that the era of complacency we have enjoyed must come to an end. Part of that is understanding how we are going to work with our allies to project our capacity if required in the event of conflict and, more importantly, making sure we have the security of the technology we are going to need to do so. That obviously is where the AUKUS regime comes in, not just around the role of submarines but also the potential for partnerships and foreign technologies we can build into the capacity of the ADF.

We should not be complacent about this issue. There should be a very active interest from this parliament because it goes to the core of the role of this nation, its government and how it will be a partner with foreign nations. Additionally, it is a pathway to support and grow industries in different parts of our nation, with Geelong being one of them, South Australia being another, and other parts of the country, particularly Western Australia, being part beneficiaries of them too. We have to harness that potential so we are building up our capacity, not just our defence capacity but our skills capacity, and take that through to improving overall capacity to build that industrial development. It reminds me of only the other day when I was at Monash University, my alma mater. Monash University is looking at companies like Rolls Royce, who, of course, provide things like nuclear technology and propulsion technology to be part of submarines that could also be used for other purposes, including civil nuclear power as well. But one of the frustrations is they are not getting the clear signals from this government or at a state level to deliver the technology that Australians desperately need.

This legislation does provide a very clear signal to the marketplace and to companies like Rolls Royce about how they can be part of the solution and build up the technology to build out Australia's defence capacity. They also have a place to build out our civilian capacity as well. Off the back of things like the AUKUS submarine project, there is a natural, logical conclusion that we should be investing in a civilian nuclear program to build out the capacity for Australia's clean industrial growth. Unfortunately, that falls on deaf ears from the ideologues in the Labor Party who simply oppose nuclear at all costs. But we will all pay a very heavy price through the government's mad pursuit of looking only ever through the lens of renewables rather than taking a rational, informed energy mix approach which recognises the critical role of existing technologies and the decommissioning of them over time.

The state governments say one thing and do the complete opposite. They talk renewables then they underwrite secret contracts between the New South Wales and Victorian governments and coal generators. For the extraction of gas, you need to build a baseload potential for the future with renewables as part of that conversation both at a household level and sometimes an industrial level as well, because our interest must be how are we're going to build the strength of our great country and its future. We can then go on and create the well-paying jobs so Australians can get the incomes they need to then buy the homes they need to support themselves and their families, and put them in a financial position to retire with security.

Some of us will never stop fighting for the future of this country. Deputy Speaker Boyce, I know you are one and I know there are other members in this chamber who will always fight for the future of the country. Sometimes we have a difference of opinion about what that is, but, if it is to be a nation that is secure, a nation that has the capacity to stand up for itself and its confidence, a nation that can help support other countries and secure their sovereignty and rights to maintain free and independent in our region, and one that is able to provide the economic opportunity for future generations of Australia, that is something we should be immensely proud to fight for.

Question agreed to.

Bill read a second time.

Ordered that this bill be reported to the House without amendment.

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