I am pleased to inform the House that on the floor of the parliament today is His Excellency Surangel Whipps Jr, President of the Republic of Palau, as well as First Lady Mrs Valerie Whipps. I also acknowledge His Excellency Roland Merar, the Ambassador of the Republic of Palau to Australia, and His Excellency Toby Sharpe, the Ambassador of Australia to the Republic of Palau. On behalf of all members, Your Excellency, I wish you a very warm welcome with your delegation to Australia and, in particular, to the House of Representatives.

Honourable members: Hear, hear!

on indulgence—Mr Speaker, I join you in acknowledging my friend, President Whipps. He appears not only as the President of Palau but is wearing a second hat as well as Chair of the Pacific Islands Forum. President Whipps hosted a very successful forum that played a critical role in our region—critical for our national peace and security, critical for our economic growth, critical for dealing with issues such as transnational crime and, of course, critical for dealing with the challenge but also the opportunity of climate change, the issue that is front and centre in the Pacific.

When I was in Palau we had the opportunity to open a solar farm that was funded through the Australian process and with Australian support. That solar farm with battery will power up to a quarter of Palau's power, meaning less concentration on diesel as it goes forward. We all know from the Middle East conflict that that will build national resilience as well as improve economic efficiency and make a difference in reducing emissions in what is an extraordinarily beautiful country that the President represents. Can I also welcome Valerie, his lovely wife, who is here as well. They are very welcome guests here in Australia, and I look forward to, along with Jodie, welcoming Mr and Mrs Whipps to the Lodge in a couple of days time.

on indulgence—On behalf of the coalition I, too, would like to acknowledge His Excellency the President of Palau and welcome him to Australia and to our chamber. I congratulate him on his appointment as Chair of the Pacific Islands Forum. We welcome our two countries' renewal of a development cooperation agreement and we look forward to continuing to work with you in the future for the future of our two nations. Our futures are inevitably intertwined, and we need to work together. Together we must not just combat transnational crime, as we heard from the Prime Minister, but also resist coercion in our region. Welcome.