I thank all the members who've contributed to the debate on this bill, the Defence Legislation Amendment (Accelerating Capability and Protecting Bases) Bill 2026. The bill responds to the very real and very immediate threats that Australia faces now, particularly from malicious actors utilising drone technologies. These are very significant and urgent reforms that are critical to implementing the National Defence Strategy and ensuring progress on pillars I and II of AUKUS. Importantly, as we've heard, they help protect our defence bases, our significant sites, our defence personnel, our people, our capability and our assets.

They also support defence capability development and preparedness by allowing Defence to test advanced capabilities here in Australia. This is critical to ensuring we can provide Defence with the capabilities that it needs. Schedule 1 enables capability declarations to support the development, testing, evaluation and sustainment of defence capabilities. It also establishes a specialised framework for certain electronic capability activities. Schedule 2 modernises and consolidates existing security arrangements, improving Defence's ability to respond to emerging threats, including those posed by uncrewed systems such as drones and other evolving technologies.

These powers have clear statutory limits, conditions, privacy protections and other additional safeguards. Schedule 3 provides robust and independent scrutiny, oversight and review mechanisms for these powers through enhanced roles for the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Defence and the Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force. Schedules 4, 5 and 6 make the consequential regulatory and contingent amendments necessary to support the effective implementation and operation of the measures contained in the bill. Importantly, these reforms are appropriate, they're proportional and they are necessary to keep Australians safe, to keep our defence personnel safe and to keep our defence bases safe in what is a very challenging strategic environment. I commend the bill.

Question agreed to.

Bill read a second time.

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