Alison Byrnes (Cunningham, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. What were the outcomes from the Prime Minister's recent visit to Indonesia, and why are our relationships in the region and the world so important for Australians at home? How has the Albanese Labor government improved our relationships since coming to government?

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Cunningham for her question. Indeed, no country is more important to Australia or to the prosperity, security and stability of our region and the Indo-Pacific than Indonesia. Our bond of trust runs deep. We're neighbours, but we're also trusted partners and friends. We share a commitment to sovereignty, security and the pursuit of prosperity, and last Friday, along with President Prabowo, we took yet another step in furthering those goals, signing the treaty of Jakarta 2026. It is a historic moment. The treaty looks to our shared future, but it's been shaped by three decades of shared history in defence cooperation, dating back to the Keating and Suharto governments.

Australia and Indonesia know that, in 2026, just like in 1995, the way that we secure peace and stability in our region is by acting together. That's why on Friday, further to signing the treaty, I announced a range of new defence cooperation measures between Australia and Indonesia, offering to establish a new position to embed a senior Indonesian defence officer in the Australian Defence Force; supporting the development of joint defence training facilities to increase Indonesia's ability to conduct joint exercises, including with Australia; and expanding military education exchanges to build relationships and increase understanding between our next generation of military leaders.

There's no doubt that President Prabowo's affection for Australia is in part due to the time he spent not far from here, in Duntroon. That's why these person-to-person relations really matter and really count. All of these measures strengthen our partnership based on trust, mutual respect and a commitment to sovereignty, but they also build on our broader engagement with our partners in the region. We've struck agreements with PNG—and I spoke with Prime Minister Marape just last night, who very much welcomed the agreement between Australia and Indonesia—but also with Timor-Leste, Nauru and Tuvalu and with ASEAN. Those relationships are so important for Australia because the more that we work together and the more we fulfil our role as a middle power to drive consensus and respect for sovereignty, the more peaceful, secure and prosperous our nation and indeed our region will be.