Richard Marles (Corio, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Defence) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for her question. Last night, on behalf of the Prime Minister, I attended a virtual meeting of the coalition of the willing in support of Ukraine, which is a group of 35 countries—largely NATO but including both New Zealand and Australia. Present were President Zelensky and US Secretary of State Rubio, both of whom briefed the meeting about the recent peace talks in Geneva over the course of the weekend.

All of us want to see peace, and we are deeply grateful for the efforts of the Trump administration in seeking to bring about peace. This is obviously really difficult work. Any peace must respect the sovereignty of Ukraine. They are the innocent party and the victim of Russian aggression. Central to this are the security guarantees, which will deter future Russian aggression, which have been at the heart of much of the discussion of the coalition of the willing. From the very outset, our Prime Minister has made clear that, wherever this lands, Australia will play its part because the Albanese government's support for Ukraine has been steadfast and it has been consistent. Fundamental to that has been support for the coalition of the willing, which is about ensuring the long-term security of Ukraine. For us, this has been a matter of principle. It can never be about politics.

In the meantime, in the last 48 hours, we have seen a deadly and despicable Russian attack on civilian apartments and infrastructure in Ukraine, and last night's meeting condemned that attack, but it is a reminder that, in the prosecution of this war right now, we must stay the course with Ukraine. In the coming weeks, the final tranche of the 49 Australian-gifted Abrams tanks will arrive in Ukraine. During the course of this year, more than 200 Australian personnel have been involved in the deployment of our E-7 Wedgetail and the training of the Ukrainian armed forces. Since the beginning of this conflict we have provided $1.5 billion of support to Ukraine, and I can announce that very shortly we will be announcing our next package of support for Ukraine.

What is at stake here is the global rules based order. There are not many orders; there is one, and it is as relevant to us here in the Indo-Pacific as it is to those who are in Eastern Europe. Over the course of the last four years, the people of Ukraine have been absolutely inspirational, and the Albanese Labor government and the Australian people will stand by their side for as long as it takes.

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