Claire Clutterham (Sturt, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) acknowledges the significance of the recent signing of the Australia-European Union Security and Defence Partnership;

(2) notes that this broad-ranging partnership reflects the:

(a) meaningful cooperation between Australia and the European Union across the defence and space industries;

(b) collaborative motivation to build capacity to manage and resilience to meet complex security threats in the Indo-Pacific and European regions; and

(c) joint determination to combat online radicalisation and terrorism financing; and

(3) affirms the Government's commitment to continue to provide new international opportunities for Australian businesses at the cutting edge of defence technology and innovation, in parallel with a Future Made in Australia.

This motion speaks to a changing world, where it's more important than ever to cement relationships with our traditional allies—to build, grow and nurture them through the lens of shared values, a desire for peace, stability and security, and an understanding of how the scales of global power are shifting. The Albanese Labor government entered into the defence and security partnership with the European Union in March this year with that framework firmly in mind.

The partnership is a demonstration of Australia's growing strategic partnership with the European Union. Building from already existing friendships, taking those friendships and deepening them, has become urgent. It is something the government will continue to do, because the government's first order of the day is keeping Australians safe and safeguarding our national interests.

As recognised in the preface to the partnership document, both Australia and the European Union recognise and respect democratic principles, human rights, gender equality, fundamental freedoms and the rule of law. The partnership recognises the urgent need to protect and double down on these principles in the face of significant global pressure and disruption being put on them. The benefits of this defence and security partnership with the European Union are many. They can be categorised under three key themes: national security, economic opportunity and peace.

With regard to national security, the wide-ranging partnership will boost cooperation across defence industry, cyber, economic security, counterterrorism, combating all forms of hatred, which is growing in breadth and complexity, and countering hybrid threats. There is also a focus on emerging technologies, maritime security, economic security, through critical minerals, and defence industry cooperation. As an island continent, maritime security, which includes border protection and protection of seaborne supply, is critical. The partnership recognises the importance of a rules-based regional maritime security architecture, including secure and resilient sea lines of communication and freedom of navigation in accordance with international law—first and foremost, the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. The partnership will also allow Australia and the European Union to increase information sharing and capacity building in order to partner to combat the curse that is online radicalisation, to join forces to combat terrorist financing, to establish a new space security dialogue and to identify, manage and withstand the increasingly complex security risks in each other's respective regions. As rightly recognised by the partnership, the Indo-Pacific and the Euro-Atlantic are interconnected and interdependent.

With regard to the second theme, economic security, the partnership will also create new defence procurement opportunities for Australian and European businesses. The partnership also specifically calls for Australia and the European Union to build secure and sustainable critical and strategic minerals value chains between them, with a specific goal being to support the defence industry plus other key industrial sectors.

Finally, the third theme of the partnership is stability and peace. The partnership quite rightly commits to the women, peace and security agenda and calls on Australia and the European Union to ensure that gender equality is integrated in all facets and all levels of cooperation with regard to defence and security. Gender equality must remain a political, economic and national security priority. We know that countries where gender equality is further progressed and reasonably well functioning are more peaceful and stable. There is less conflict. We know that, when women's peacemaking skills are harnessed and women have a seat at the peace agreement negotiating table, peace is more sustainable and longer lasting. We also know that women and girls are more deeply and catastrophically affected by conflict and instability. So the importance of the acknowledgement of gender equality in this partnership and the importance of the acknowledgement of the role gender equality plays when it comes to conflict avoidance and sustainable peace in this partnership cannot be underestimated.

Andrew Wilkie (Clark, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is the motion seconded?

Tony Zappia (Makin, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I second the motion and reserve my right to speak.

Tom Venning (Grey, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to address the recently signed Australia-European Union Security and Defence Partnership. While the government boasts about our strategic alignment and international cooperation, this agreement raises some serious flags. It threatens to impose heavy European energy and compliance standards on local operations. Local industry should not carry the costs of global deals without guaranteed local benefits. This deal creates uncertainty for key industries during an already tense industrial transition. If we adopt European green targets, we risk lifting overhead costs for places like Whyalla steelworks and the Nyrstar smelter in Port Pirie. This directly risks local jobs and threatens our economic future—and why? Constituents in my electorate might also reasonably ask the government why the government is spending time on EU defence alignment instead of investing in regional roads, health and jobs. This lack of regional focus is a clear pattern for this government.

While we are on defence, I'd like to address the cuts to Invictus Australia. This government has cut all funding from this program. This is a program that provides vital support for injured and mentally ill veterans who gave everything for our nation. It is a shameful decision, and the government must reconsider its cruel funding cuts to Invictus Australia immediately.

But a lack of care for our people and our economy is nothing new for this Labor government. We have only to look at the total failure of their new EU free trade deal. I mean, who are we kidding? There is nothing free in this free trade deal. Our hardworking farmers, our wine growers, were completely sold out by negotiators who did not understand their needs. The trade minister gave up and stayed at the table when he should have walked away. No deal would have been better than this bad deal.

The numbers show how badly we were beaten. On beef, this agreement allows just over 30,000 tonnes of access over a decade. Our industry experts said 50,000 tonnes was the bare minimum to stay competitive. On sheepmeat, the result was insulting. We got 25,000 tonnes, while New Zealand sits on over 160,000 tonnes. Did our negotiators forget to get a calculator? Every major red meat group in this country is devastated by this subpar deal, and our primary producers will pay the price for decades.

This government also cut the Wine Tourism and Cellar Door Grants Program. It's a vital lifeline for regional wine businesses. Then they flooded our market with cheap European wine, directly harming our local premium producers. They seem more focused on pleasing their friends in Brussels and Bordeaux than supporting local regions like Clare and the Barossa Valley. Minister Gallagher publicly posted how this would allow her to get cheaper wine from France. Again, this Labor government is putting Australia second.

First, the regions got a terrible deal with the EU and this wonky defence deal. Then came the budget, and things get better: $4.7 billion cut from infrastructure spending—two per cent of that is for regional Australia; $21.4 million cut from regional communications; $103 million cut from the National Water Grid; and $191 million cut from the pest and diseases fund, regional trade and drought funding for farmers, with $52 million cut from the Future Drought Fund. The Prime Minister gave his word to regional Australia, but, as we know, his word is his bond, and that bond is pretty damn flimsy.

I want to finish by speaking directly for the workers of regional South Australia. The hardworking men and women in the smelter, in the steelworks, in the vines, in the fishing boats, in the fields and, of course, in our towns do not want deals with Europe or heavy green tape costs handed down from Canberra or, indeed, Brussels. They want a government that fights for their jobs, protects their local industries and backs their local communities completely. I will always stand up for regional South Australia, and I call on this government to do the same and stop abandoning our regions and start delivering the real support our industries need to survive.

Tania Lawrence (Hasluck, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Sturt for the chance to celebrate the Australia-European Union Security and Defence Partnership. This agreement is important because it reflects a simple reality—that, in today's world, our security is interconnected and our response must be coordinated. This is a partnership that is not symbolic; it is practical and it is deliberately structured so. It establishes a framework to increase information sharing to counter global threats, to build the capacity to manage complex risks, and to strengthen resilience across both the Indo-Pacific and European regions. It commits Australia and the European Union to working together to combat online radicalisation and terrorism financing, recognising that security threats increasingly emerge in the digital domain just as much as in the physical one. It creates a new space security dialogue, acknowledging that the technologies we rely on, from communications to navigation, are now fundamental to both economic and national security. And, importantly, it opens up new defence procurement opportunities, strengthening cooperation between Australian and European industries and creating the pathways for shared capability development.

This is what modern security looks like, not just defence capability in isolation but collaboration across industries, across technologies and across regions. That is reinforced by the broader Australia-EU relationship, including the recently concluded free trade agreement, because economic security and defence cooperation go hand in hand. Together, these agreements recognise that supply chains, technologies and industrial capacity are central to both our prosperity and our national security.

I also want to talk about what it means at a local level. In communities like mine in Hasluck, these international partnerships translate into real opportunity. In Hasluck and across Western Australia, we have a strong and growing base of advanced manufacturing, engineering and defence related capability. When I visit local businesses, I see the kind of precision engineering and innovation that this partnership is designed to support.

At Hofmann Engineering in Ashfield, the Minister for Defence and I have seen firsthand a multigenerational Western Australian company delivering world-class manufacturing capability, supporting defence, transport and industry sectors with highly specialised engineering skills. Firms such as Aerospace NDI in Bassendean specialise in highly technical inspection and testing services using non-destructive techniques to ensure the safety and reliability of critical aerospace and defence components. Together, these kinds of businesses represent exactly the capability that this partnership is designed to support: local expertise, connected to global collaboration.

We also see the broader ecosystem across Western Australia, where more than 200 defence industry businesses contribute to our national capability, supported by world-class infrastructure and innovation. Companies like Composite Components are designing and manufacturing advanced carbon fibre and composite structure for high performance applications; companies like VEEM are producing advanced maritime components that not only strengthening Australia's sovereign defence capability but export expertise into our global supply chains; and organisations like the Australian Industry and Defence Network are helping connect small and medium-sized businesses into those supply chains, ensuring that that local capability can scale and collaborate.

We have capacity in interesting places. There is a role for companies that operate outside of the defence industry to play in supporting local manufacturing. For example, in Bayswater, we see this capability in action with businesses like Cyclowest, a radiopharmaceutical manufacturing facility producing specialised medical isotopes for advanced diagnostic imaging and treatment. They are experts in handling radioactive materials safely and can assist with training and protocols for handling radioactive isotopes.

There are many kinds of organisations that stand to benefit from this deeper engagement with European partners. When we talk about defence procurement cooperation, we're also talking about building resilience to complex threats, we're talking about opening new markets and new partnerships and we're talking about strengthening our industries that underpin our national capabilities. This is exactly what this opportunity presents. I commend the bill to the House as well.

Andrew Wallace (Fisher, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

At a time when the world is becoming more unstable, more contested and more dangerous, strong partnerships between democratic nations matter. Australia and Europe may sit on opposite sides of the globe, but increasingly we face the same threats of the growing instability we're witnessing across the globe, in the Indo-Pacific, in Europe and in the Middle East. The old assumption that distance alone protects Australia no longer holds true. National security today extends far beyond traditional borders and battlefronts. Modern warfare is fought across cyber networks, communication systems, critical infrastructure, supply chains, satellites and digital platforms. That's why cooperation with trusted democratic partners is so important.

This agreement reflects a growing understanding that the security of Europe and the security of the Indo-Pacific are deeply interconnected. We've seen through the war in Ukraine, tensions in the Indo-Pacific, instability in the Middle East and the escalating cyberthreats that events on the other side of the world can directly impact Australians here. That impact can be felt through energy prices, supply chain disruptions, cyberattacks, trade instability or threats to critical infrastructure.

As someone who has spent significant time working in the defence, national security and intelligence space through the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security and the defence subcommittee, now the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Defence, I understand just how rapidly these threats are evolving—and Australia cannot afford complacency. The coalition has always understood the importance of strong alliances and strategic partnerships. From ANZUS to the Five Eyes partnership to AUKUS, coalition governments have consistently led on Australia's security, depending not only on capability but also on trusted relationships with like-minded nations. Importantly, this partnership also creates opportunities for Australian businesses operating at the cutting edge of defence, technology and innovation, and that matters greatly for regions like mine on the Sunshine Coast.

Many people would be surprised to learn that the Sunshine Coast is home to a growing and highly capable defence, aerospace and advanced manufacturing sector. We have innovative businesses contributing to sovereign capability, aviation technology, cyber-resilience and advanced manufacturing right here in our Sunshine Coast region. Australian businesses are innovative, they are agile, and they're ready to contribute more to Australia's national resilience and defence capability. But partnerships and announcements alone are not enough. Capability matters. Delivery matters. Preparedness matters. As I often say, Australians expect outcomes on defence and intelligence, not just announcements, because announcements are easy, but delivery is hard, and capability delayed is capability denied. The real test of agreements like this is whether they deliver meaningful capability, stronger industrial resilience and improved strategic preparedness.

We are already seeing how modern warfare is changing. Lessons from Ukraine and the Middle East demonstrate the growing importance of drones, autonomous systems, integrated strike capability and cyber-resilience. Australia must not fall behind again. That means backing sovereign capability, backing local defence industry, backing Australian manufacturing and ensuring our nation has resilient supply chains and industrial capacity in times of crises. National security and economic security are now inseparable.

More than 103,000 Australians have paid the ultimate sacrifice with the Australian flag on their left shoulder. We honour that sacrifice not simply with words but by ensuring Australia is prepared for the strategic challenges of the future. That requires seriousness, urgency, long-term thinking and a genuine whole-of-nation approach to national security. I, along with the coalition, support stronger cooperation between Australia and our democratic partners. We support building resilience against cyber threats, terrorism and foreign interference, and we support creating opportunities for Australian defence businesses and innovators to connect into the supply chain of like-minded democratic nations. But these partnerships must be backed by real capability and real investment.

While I support stronger cooperation between Australia and Europe, partnerships alone are no substitute for a comprehensive national security strategy. We must get our own house in order first by strengthening sovereign capability, rebuilding industrial resilience, securing our supply chains and ensuring Australia is appropriately prepared for the challenges ahead. (Time expired)

Zhi Soon (Banks, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to 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)

Aaron Violi (Casey, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for the Digital Economy) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It's important to rise on this motion because the reality is that we have to meet the world as it is, not as we'd like it to be. At the moment there is conflict all through the world. The rules based order is not stacking up; it's not providing the roles that it has previously. Australia needs to step up, and we need to work with our partners all across the globe. Middle powers have a crucial role to play to make sure that they are at the table and looking after Australia's best interests first, democracy's best interests and fellow allies.

Australia has had a long partnership with the European Union and with Europe; there's a strong connection. Many Australians, my family included, have a family connection. My family came from Italy in 1953 and established a farm in Silvan in my community of Casey. My family proudly became Australians and joined the Australian story but still kept a bit of their heart at home. Every migrant does that journey of loving their new country while always remembering their homeland, and the European Union partnership is so important when it comes to that.

While this is an important signing, action speaks louder than words. Unfortunately, like so many of the government's announcements, the words sound good but the actions don't deliver. Let's look at point 3: 'affirms the government's commitment to continue to provide new international opportunities for Australian businesses at the cutting edge of defence technology and innovation, in parallel with a Future Made in Australia.' While this motion talks about backing international opportunities, this government made a decision to no longer fund our partnership with the European Southern Observatory, an agreement signed in 2017 by the coalition. Australian astronomers use this observatory to make new technological discoveries. It's helping when it comes to defence. Defence applications include things like directed energy and laser weapons, antimissile warning systems, improved laser communication—so many technologies that are crucial in the modern world. So we have a government that moves a motion about how they're going to do something, but, at the same time, their actions take away one of the crucial pillars of our science, technology, research and innovation communities. The community lobbied the government, explained to them the importance of this funding but, like with so many things, this government didn't listen. Australian defence industry, Australian technology, and Australian research and development will be worse off because of this decision by the Albanese Labor government.

Again, the government talk a big word. They talk about AI and the importance of artificial intelligence yet there are no follow-up actions from this government to strengthen AI partnerships with the European Union, with any business at all. You get a press release, you get a statement with some warm fuzzy words, but you get no certainty for business to invest in AI, in cybersecurity, in quantum. In fact, when it comes to quantum, this government under the Future Made in Australia strategy spent $1 billion of taxpayer money to back a US Silicon Valley company—PsiQuantum—and that project is behind, delayed. It was supposed to be at the Brisbane Airport. But just last week quietly, conveniently at the same time as the budget and all those conversations, it was announced that the Brisbane site is no longer viable; they're now moving to another site. There is no accountability from this government about the billion dollars that goes to an American company.

Again, this government is big on talk. They like to put a lot of motions forward that have merit in the sense that we do need to work together with our partners. We do need to continue to back defence industry, and technology research and development. But their actions don't match their words, and that's before we even talk about the disgraceful broken promise on the capital gains tax, which will punish tech companies in defence industry and every tech company that wants to invest and get ahead in Australia. (Time expired)

Tony Zappia (Makin, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I commend the member for Sturt for bringing this motion before the House, because right now, more than ever before, the world needs to act together if we are to address the challenges that we all face on this planet. We live in times when rising population and diminishing resources are leading to ever-increasing human conflict and all of its consequences to insecurity, food shortages, increased military spending and less confidence into the future.

Simultaneously, greed and power—human traits that have existed throughout history—add to global injustices and civilian unrest right across the world. These are now global problems, which no single nation acting alone can rectify. And we have seen that over the last two or three decades, where there have been plenty of efforts made by countries around the world to try and resolve some of these matters. But the truth is we have to work in unity with other countries. It is indeed only through the collective efforts of like-minded nations that we can deal with the global problems facing humanity, which is why the security and defence partnership between Australia and the European Union is so important.

The majority of early settlers who came to Australia from overseas were from Great Britain and Europe. Similarly, in the post-World-War-II years of mass migration to Australia, they came from Europe and Great Britain. Much of our laws and Australian characteristics arise from connections with those very homelands. When added to the strong people-to-people bonds Australia has with Europe and our commitment to the rule of law, democracy and peace, as other speakers have quite rightly alluded to, it makes for natural allies and trusted friends. That is what this partnership is all about—natural allies and trusted friends on opposite sides of the globe working together. It is for those very reasons that this partnership is not only important but one that we can have confidence in.

The Australia and EU security partnership covers several key areas, and time will not permit me to go into them in detail. But, broadly speaking, they are defence and industry cooperation, economic security, cyber and hybrid threats, maritime and space security, crisis management and capacity building. These are all things that we could spend hours talking about individually in terms of how we address those very matters, but this partnership embraces them all.

As a middle power. Australia would not only benefit from this partnership but be able to make a real contribution to addressing the global threats facing people around the world. We've already seen that with the work that has been done between not only Australia and some of the European countries but also Australia and countries such as Canada. It's starting to emerge that like-minded countries who have shared values can have an impact on global affairs. I believe that that is a very good thing because, for too long, global affairs have been run by what I would consider the more powerful countries of the world.

In my own electorate, in Mawson Lakes, we have a number of defence and security companies now operating. It's pleasing to see that so many of those companies are actually headquartered overseas yet have come to Australia to set up bases here. Again, that reinforces the ability of Australia to work constructively with the very countries that this partnership is looking to include. Working closely with EU countries and sharing our knowledge and resources not only makes us more secure but means that, together, we can better influence and respond to emerging risks, such as online radicalisation, terrorism, foreign interference, military development and procurement, supply chain resilience and critical mineral supply. All of these are things that we talk about in this place on a regular basis—but, again, we need to work together.

So I commend everyone—all the ministers involved but also everyone who in some way has contributed to the development of the partnership—because it is to the benefit of our country and the world.

Leon Rebello (McPherson, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak on this motion in relation to the signing of the Australia-European Union Security and Defence Partnership. The world is changing. Across the world, we are seeing some quite significant shifts. Australia finds itself facing the most consequential shift in our international circumstances since the First Fleet arrived in 1788. As such, we as a country need to be capable of finding our feet in a new and shifting world order, and that looks like a multi-polar world order. We need to accept that our relationships with various allies have shifted and changed and will evolve in the future. As such, our security response must shift, change and evolve as well. We will always benefit from having more trusted friends. That's why the coalition supports stronger cooperation between Australia and the European Union. We will support such cooperation with democratic partners because, as I've said, the strategic environment we're finding ourselves in is shifting and it's deteriorating rapidly. Like-minded democracies must work together.

The point I'd make is that partnerships are not enough. We need to make sure that we have the domestic preparedness to stand on our own two feet as well. Whilst we should be working towards partnerships, whether of an economic or of a political nature, we should also make sure that our investment in our local defence capabilities is second to none.

This motion speaks to 'the government's commitment to continue to provide new international opportunities for Australian businesses at the cutting edge of defence technology and innovation'. As has been pointed out by some of the previous speakers on this side of the chamber, we need to actually see what the government is saying here turned into action. The reality of what we've seen over the last couple of years and in particular over the last week or so since the budget is that the small businesses in Australia who are working and operating in the defence space—let alone those who may want to innovate and enter that space—are not getting the support that they need. In actual fact, they're being disadvantaged and deterred from continuing to do well in that space. We've seen that most notably with the recent changes to the CGT. That is driving businesses in my electorate and across the southern Gold Coast, many of which do operate in the defence space, away from further innovating and building on their capabilities—capabilities that we very much need in order to be comfortable in the new strategic and security environment that Australia is facing now.

I've said that the coalition supports alliances and partnerships with our democratic friends, and we have a strong history of that. We've seen it through ANZUS, through the Five Eyes, through AUKUS. Those trusted democratic relationships will be important for our own resilience. I hope that the government not only continues to talk about this but starts to act in relation to making sure that our businesses are given the best opportunity to excel in this space. But it's not just our businesses; it's also making sure we put our money where our mouth is when it comes to our veterans, when it comes to our Defence Force, when it comes to instilling a culture in this country that young Australians can be proud of and be prepared and proud to defend and to engage in the businesses that do so. Without that, partnerships will only mean so much.

I say to the government take this as an opportunity to seize on the partnership and what it means. Take it as an opportunity to get that next generation interested and engaged, but also take it as an opportunity to make sure we are not just in word but in action supporting those across the country who are building the next generation of defence capability for Australia. That, ultimately, is going to determine whether or not we fail or succeed in this new multipolar, complex strategic environment.

Andrew Wilkie (Clark, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The time allotted for this debate has expired. The debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting.