Marise Payne (NSW, Liberal Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

This is a very important question from Senator McGrath because, of course, the first duty of any government is to keep Australia and Australians safe. As senators on this side know only too well, in 2018 that task is becoming increasingly complex. Whether it is in cyberdomains, space or terrorism, advances in technology are having far-reaching impacts on national, regional and global security.

On cyber, we are particularly working to ensure that countries act in accordance with accepted norms. At home, we're working with the private sector to deter and respond to cyberincidents, and we're building regional capacity with our neighbours to improve cyber-resilience, as we did through our $38 million program in the Indo-Pacific. I will note that I opened Papua New Guinea's National Cyber Security Centre in advance of APEC in Port Moresby recently.

Technology is also bringing access to space within the reach of more countries and businesses, including in Australia. Space, particularly the openness that satellites give us, is now more integral to our day-to-day lives and more crowded. There's a growing risk associated with so-called dual-use technologies, where a satellite might also be used as perhaps a weapon to deliberately collide with a peaceful-use satellite. These are very complex circumstances. So this government continues to work very hard with our international partners on processes that can deliver better trust and transparency in space.

Unfortunately, Mr Terrorist—Mr President!—we also know that terrorists are proving very agile and innovative. It's a significant part of our work in this area to promote strong regional and international counterterrorism frameworks to ensure that would-be terrorists can't plan, communicate or operate with impunity. We are absolutely focused on ensuring that we keep Australians safe and that we keep us together in the face of 21st century challenges. (Time expired)