Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) | Hansard source

Thank you, Senator Green, for the question. I acknowledge your deep commitment to advancing Australia's interest in the world. I also acknowledge, as a Senator Watt interjected, that we did hold the AUSMIN talks in Brisbane. Queensland showed us and our American friends a wonderful welcome. We are very grateful to the governor and to Premier Palaszczuk for assisting us in hosting AUSMIN in Brisbane. As people would be aware, Mr Marles, the Deputy Prime Minister, and I welcomed the Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, and the US Secretary of Defence, Lloyd Austin, for the 33rd Australia-US ministerial consultations, known as AUSMIN. It's the second AUSMIN since we've taken office, and we were, as I said, very pleased to have this in Brisbane for the first time. Of course, terrible news preceded the meeting when an Australian Army helicopter with four aircrew went down in waters off Hamilton Island. The meeting was held with heavy hearts and a clear reminder of the sacrifices of those who serve our nation. The fact that these AUSMIN consultations are held each year signifies the mutual respect and partnership between Australia and our vital ally and closest strategic partner. Under this government, we are working with the United States to modernise the alliance for a changing and contested world. As Deputy Prime Minister Marles said following the consultations, we will be seeing an increased tempo of visits from American nuclear powered submarines to our waters as we look towards the establishment of a US submarine rotation at HMAS Stirling later this decade. We also agreed various force posture initiatives to expand our cooperation, including in space. In a major step forward in our relationship, we are establishing a guided weapons and explosive ordinance enterprise in this country to see manufacture of missiles commence in Australia. (Time expired)