Zhi Soon (Banks, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

It is a pleasure to rise in support of my good friend the member for Sturt's motion. She is a great advocate for her constituents and also for South Australia's defence industry and understands deeply the importance of partnerships like this one with the European Union. As a former diplomat who worked on international agreements prior to coming to this place, I was pleased to have the opportunity to speak in the House about the European Union free trade agreement and how the deepening of trade relationships between our country and Europe will create opportunities, jobs, economic growth and many, many other benefits for Australia.

In a similar fashion, the Australia-European Union security and defence partnership represents a significant step forward in supporting our defence industry and strengthening our national security in a time where these have never been more important. The security and defence partnership is a landmark deal. It is not just a deepening of our relationship with a trusted international partner. In the rapidly changing international geopolitical environment, partnerships like this one and the others we are building across our region and across the world are essential.

We live in a time where security is paramount and where uncertain and complex security threats continue to present challenges both in our regions and beyond. The rules and norms that have underpinned security and prosperity are coming under intense pressure, and many of the challenges that we face today require joint efforts to overcome them.

Our longstanding partnership with the European Union has always been built on the foundation of a shared commitment to peace, security and prosperity. Under this government, this relationship is only getting stronger. The security and defence partnership, along with the free trade agreement and the commencement of the negotiations for association to the Horizon Europe research fund, demonstrates strong momentum in our bilateral relations.

This agreement boosts cooperation across a whole range of issues including the space industry, cyber and economic security, counterterrorism and hatred. Through information sharing and new space security dialogue, working together to combat online radicalisation and terrorism financing, we are delivering tangible benefits for our regional defence and security. Further, this government is committed to strengthening our own defence industry capability. This partnership is a reflection of that commitment, enabling meaningful cooperation between Australia and the European Union across the defence and space industries.

Australia and the EU already have strong industrial ties, with many of Europe's major defence manufacturers operating in Australia, working with our own businesses and the Australian Defence Force to develop innovative technologies. Australian manufactured equipment, like the Bushmaster, is already providing critical support to Europe's own security. The partnership will allow us to build from the strong base and explore even more opportunities with like-minded partners.

Australia approaches the challenges we face with more resilience and more choices in how we respond as a result of this government doing the hard work and building meaningful and diversified relationships. We welcome the opportunity to step up our cooperation with the European Union. This partnership is a strong statement of our shared values, a signal of support for international rules and a commitment to peace and security.

This government recognises that we cannot approach these fundamental shifts in geopolitics passively. This government has acted with purpose and intent to pursue new alignments and deepen existing ones. We've announced investments in our defence force, fuel security and sovereign capability in this budget, and we're working closely with our friends and partners to ensure we are better prepared to face the future. (Time expired)

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