Sally Sitou (Reid, Australian Labor Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

As Australians tune in to the FIFA World Cup, we are reminded of something simple but powerful: no team succeeds alone. You need a strong defence. You need discipline. You need trust between teammates. And, when the pressure is on, you need to know who is standing beside you. That is true on the football pitch, but it is even truer in our region and on the global stage. Australia is living through one of the most challenging strategic circumstances in decades. The rules and norms that have underpinned peace, security and prosperity are coming under pressure. The world is more uncertain, threats are more complex, and many of the challenges we face do not stop at borders. That is why Australia cannot afford to sit on the sidelines. Under our prime minister and Foreign minister, our government is getting Australia match-fit for the challenges ahead. In March this year, the Prime Minister and the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, announced the Australia-European Union Security and Defence Partnership. This is an important step forward in a strategic partnership with the EU. Australia and the EU have a longstanding relationship built on shared values of peace, security, democracy and prosperity. Under this Albanese Labor government, that relationship is going from strength to strength.

This security and defence partnership builds on other important areas of cooperation, including the Australia-EU free trade agreement and negotiations for Australia's association with the Horizon Europe research fund. Together, these efforts show strong momentum in one of Australia's most important international relationships, and, as a middle power, Australia needs as many strong and reliable partners as possible. We need to work with like-minded partners, we need to build common ground, and we need to make sure Australia has more options, more resilience and more capability in an uncertain world. This is about strengthening global responses to the volatility, hostility and conflict we are seeing across the world. We see it in Europe, where the Ukrainian people continue to show extraordinary courage in the face of Russia's illegal and immoral invasion. We see it in the Middle East, where the people of Iran continue to face a brutal and oppressive regime. And we see it in the growing use of cyberattacks, disinformation, foreign interference and economic pressure as tools of modern conflict. That is why this partnership matters. It will boost cooperation across defence industry, cybersecurity, economic security, counterterrorism, combating hatred and countering hybrid threats. It will support increased information sharing to respond to global threats. It will help build the capacity and resilience of Australia and the European Union to withstand complex security challenges in our respective regions. It will deepen cooperation to combat online radicalisation and terrorism financing, and it will establish a new space security dialogue.

These are practical steps that make Australia more secure in a less predictable world. They are about protecting our national interests, and they are about ensuring Australia is not isolated but connected to partners who share our commitment to peace, security and stability. Just like at the World Cup, the countries that succeed are the ones that prepare, build strong teams, understand the conditions and know how to respond when the game changes. That is what the Albanese Labor government is doing. We are acting with intention and purpose. We are deepening existing relationships. We are working with partners in our region and around the world, and we are practising what the Foreign minister has described as 'amplified middle-power diplomacy'.

Australia cannot approach the shifts in global power passively. We must be active, engaged and prepared. This partnership with the EU is another example of our government doing the serious work of defending Australia's interests and contributing to a safer and more stable world.

Michael McCormack (Riverina, National Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

On the member for Reid's contribution about the European Union and trade, to her analogy with the World Cup football being played at the moment, there are also referees. When it comes to trade, we need good, strong referees; in the instance of trade, it's the World Trade Organization. When countries want to go and slap tariffs on you, and, also, when there are examples of countries not playing by the trade rules by which they are bound, then we need a good strong referee, an arbiter, to make sure that fairness is prevailing. What we also need, and what any football team needs, is common sense.

With the European Union, Australia's two-way trade is valued at $110.7 billion annually. I'll just give you four examples of this. With Germany, our two-way trade is about $29 billion annually; Australia exports coal, canola and copper ore. With the United Kingdom, our two-way trade is approximately $31.2 billion annually; our exports are metals, lead, coal and meat. With France, our two-way trade is about $14.4 billion; our exports are coal, canola, aircraft parts and seeds. With Italy, our two-way trade is about $12.37 billion, and Australia's exports to Italy are predominantly hot-rolled iron steel, wool—very valuable at the moment—gold and agricultural products. Services such as education and recreational travel also make up a significant portion.

With the EU, at least with Germany, France and Italy—and of course the UK, but we're talking about the EU here—in each of the two-way trade references I gave, I referred to agriculture. You can't have agriculture if you don't have good water policy. Whilst Labor might crow about trade and making sure that trade is what it should be, you're not going to have continued and expanding trade opportunities if you don't provide the water policy that is going to enable our irrigators to grow the food and the fibre to ensure that we have balance of trade and balance of payments. We just need to be using more common sense in this regard.

I've just come from a meeting with a group of southern connected irrigators. The theme of the meeting was 'Food for thought: can Australia protect both its environment and its food security?' When it comes to trade, food security equals trade security equals national security. At the moment, we don't have balance in the Murray-Darling Basin and with the plan. The plan, this group that I just met say, is 'destroying our nation's important economic staple food production capabilities and failing to protect our rural communities'.

What the EU trade arrangements do is build on the work of the coalition. The partnership builds on the framework agreement signed in 2017 under the coalition government. The coalition has long championed deeper Australian-EU cooperation on security and defence. I appreciate we've had some important visits lately—not just political heads. There are also, obviously, always those negotiations between key stakeholders, between government and those captains of industry, that are going to enhance these arrangements and ensure that they are put in place. But we have to be sensible when it comes to making sure that we can grow the amount of food available to such partnerships as this.

Australia and the EU, we know, share values. We share heritage and history. There's a common commitment to democracy and to human rights. The member for Reid mentioned Ukraine. I support her 100 per cent in that regard. The EU, along with the UK, has been a leader in supporting Ukraine in its defence against Russian aggression.

But we have to be sensible. We have to make sure that we've got better water policy. Not only will I always talk this up; I will make a plea to the government to ensure that more money is put into infrastructure as far as water is concerned and not water buybacks—$340 million again last week. Buying water out of productive use doesn't make sense.

Luke Gosling (Solomon, Australian Labor Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak in support of the motion moved by the member for Sturt and express my support for the Australia-European Union Security and Defence Partnership. This partnership reflects a simple reality in an increasingly contested, uncertain and hard world: Australia is more secure when we work alongside trusted partners who share our commitment to peace, stability and the global rules-based order.

As a regional power, Australia has a profound interest in shaping the strategic environment around us. We cannot afford to be passive observers of global events; nor can we assume that our security will be guaranteed by geography alone. The challenges we face today are increasingly transnational. Cyberattacks do not stop at national borders. Foreign interference campaigns operate across continents. Terrorist-financing networks span jurisdictions. Emerging technologies present opportunities and risks that no country can effectively manage in isolation. Partnerships like this one are important to counter these emerging transnational security risks.

The Australia-European Union Security and Defence Partnership will deepen cooperation across defence industry, cybersecurity, counterterrorism, economic security, maritime security and emerging technologies. It will strengthen information sharing, build resilience against complex threats and create new opportunities for collaboration between Australian and European industries.

Importantly, this partnership demonstrates an understanding that security in the 21st century is not a zero sum game. When Australia and the European Union cooperate to strengthen cyber-resilience, both become more secure. When we collaborate on defence innovation, similarly, both benefit. When we work together to counter terrorism, foreign interference and online radicalisation, we strengthen the security of our respective regions and contribute to global stability. This is a positive sum partnership that advances our shared interests while respecting our respective sovereignty.

It also reflects the broader approach to statecraft pursued by our Albanese Labor government. The American scholar Joseph Nye described successful foreign policy as the effective combination of hard power and soft power—a concept that he called 'smart power'. And that's what our government is doing. On one hand, Labor is investing in Australia's hard power. We are delivering the most significant uplift in Australia's defence capability in generations through AUKUS, through long-range strike capabilities, through guided weapons manufacturing and through implementation of the National Defence Strategy and the Integrated Investment Program. On the other hand, we are investing in the relationships, partnerships and diplomatic engagement that amplify Australia's influence and expand our strategic options. We have rebuilt relationships across the Pacific, after years of the coalition neglecting and, at times, openly disparaging key regional partners. We have deepened engagement with South-East Asia, we have strengthened our relationships with partners across Europe and we have pursued what Foreign Minister Penny Wong has described as 'amplified middle-power diplomacy'. Together, these efforts represent smart power in action.

Every day, up in Darwin, I see the strategic importance of northern Australia in this endeavour. Darwin hosts the US Marines in the Marine Rotational Force-Darwin, bringing together Australian and United States personnel in support of regional stability. Darwin is also home to Exercise Pitch Black, which is kicking off very soon—one of the world's premier air-combat exercises, bringing together air forces from across the Indo-Pacific and beyond. In previous years we've even had the Luftwaffe from Germany come and contribute to those exercises, and it was great to meet them.

These activities demonstrate that Australia's security is built not only through the capabilities we possess, but through the partnerships that we cultivate. The Australia-European Union Security and Defence Partnership is another important step in that direction. It strengthens Australia's security, expands opportunities for Australian industry, reinforces our commitment to working with like-minded nations and demonstrates that, in a world of growing complexity, cooperation remains one of the most powerful tools available to enhance our nation's interests.

Zoe McKenzie (Flinders, Liberal Party, Shadow Cabinet Secretary) | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to support the principles which underpin this motion by the member for Sturt in regard to the Australia-European Union Security and Defence Partnership. Together with the member for Sturt, I serve on the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties, which will explore our relationship with Europe through our examination of the Australia-European Union Free Trade Agreement. Since being elected to this place, I have co-chaired the Parliamentary Friends of the European Parliament. I have lived, worked and studied in the EU. I speak three of the union's languages—or four, I suppose, given that English still counts as one. Without trying to do the government's publicity, it does need to be said that the Australian and European relationship has reached a high-water mark in recent years, with Australia having concluded the free trade agreement and the security and defence partnership, with our participation in Horizon Europe and with the strategic partnership on sustainable critical minerals value chains signed back in 2024.

Our relationship with Europe as a trade, investment and strategic partner is essential. As a bloc, the EU is our third-largest trading partner and second-largest source of foreign investment. The free trade agreement provides a starting point in terms of building a bigger market with Europe's 450 million consumers. While more could and should have been achieved for red meat, the deal will prove beneficial for our fruit and vegetable exporters, as well as those who produce our high-quality seafood, nuts, wine, critical minerals and advanced manufacturing goods. Horizon Europe will shepherd collaboration between Australia's top researchers and those from Europe across new technologies, advanced computing, clean energy, health, and critical minerals, bringing our research institutions and shared curiosity closer together.

The security and defence partnership with Europe is timely. The world is becoming a more dangerous and less predictable place. Russia's brutal invasion of Ukraine continues; it is now into its fifth year. Conflict rages in the Middle East and its social and economic effects spill over into our supply chains and domestic politics. In such an enduring and destabilised environment, Australia needs like-minded friends—reliable, constant, predictable, like-minded friends.

In February, I was able to visit Australia's mission to the European Union, and I spent time with Australia's ambassador to the EU, Belgium, Luxembourg and NATO, His Excellency General Angus Campbell, AO, DSC, and his deputy head of mission, David Brightling. It's hard to imagine better mentors in the matters of EU-Australia strategic and trade partnership, and I take this opportunity to thank Angus and David and their teams for the impact that they are having in building an already strong relationship into one which is even deeper and enhances our shared commitment to the rules based international order.

This partnership establishes cooperation across a broad range of areas, including cybersecurity, maritime security, defence-industry collaboration, counterterrorism, space and emerging technologies. These are the front lines of modern conflict. Today's strategic competition is not fought solely by armies; it is fought through critical minerals, satellite networks, artificial intelligence, supply chains, cybersystems and economic coercion.

One of the most encouraging aspects of this partnership is the opportunity it creates for Australian businesses developing cutting-edge defence technologies and sovereign capability. Australian innovators are already producing world-class solutions in advanced manufacturing, autonomous systems, cybersecurity and aerospace technology. The challenge is ensuring that those businesses can access markets, investment and partnerships that allow them to continue to grow. This agreement can help achieve exactly that. But, to do so, our capability must match the aspirations in this document.

In a few weeks, I will have the opportunity to participate in the ADF's Exercise Pitch Black in the Northern Territory. Pitch Black is the Royal Australian Air Force's premier international air combat exercise. This year, it will bring together more than 100 aircraft and personnel from 19 allied and partner nations to train in complex, realistic scenarios. But what makes Pitch Black so important is not simply the aircraft involved but the relationships built, including with our NATO allies, who typically participate in this biannual event in Darwin. This is exactly what the Australia-European Union partnership seeks to strengthen.

Deterrence works best when potential adversaries understand that democratic nations are coordinated, capable and united. Australia's prosperity and security depend upon a stable international environment and strong partnerships with like-minded nations. This agreement is another step in that direction, and I support stronger cooperation with our European partners and the accompanying efforts to combat terrorism, foreign interference and online radicalisation. In a world becoming more contested, more competitive and more dangerous, Australia cannot stand alone.

Helen Haines (Indi, Independent) | 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.