Nita Green (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Tourism) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to contribute to this debate, particularly given my new portfolio as Assistant Minister for Pacific Island Affairs and my most recent engagement in the Pacific around this issue. I begin by thanking the committee and the chair for the good work on the report and that engagement with stakeholders.

The Pacific Banking Guarantee Bill 2025 is an important bill for Australia and for the Pacific. Three years ago, when the Albanese Labor government was elected, we made a promise to our Pacific family that we would listen, that we would learn and that we would act to ensure that we work hand in hand. Together we are working to foster a safe and stable global financial system. We are doing this by supporting the services that underpin economic growth, whether that be critical infrastructure, aviation or the banking measures that we will discuss today.

The Albanese government is dedicated to revitalising our Pacific partnership after the decade of neglect that we saw from those opposite. We are ambitious in our support for the Pacific because that is what good neighbours do. We share an ocean. We are a region that shares a future. Together we have shared interests and priorities that make us collectively stronger when we work side by side. It's important for the prosperity of our region now more than ever that we are economically and financially connected. That is why I am so proud to support the Pacific Banking Guarantee Bill 2025.

Last week I had the honour of visiting Nauru. I was there with President David Adeang to launch the opening of operations of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia. During this visit, it was clear that the launch of the Commonwealth Bank agency in Nauru was so much more than the opening of a bank branch. The event marked an important milestone for the Nauru-Australia Treaty, a treaty which speaks to securing Nauru's long-term economic resilience and security. It was significant because it was a significant milestone towards our shared journey of partnership and regional cooperation.

Nauru, like many other nations in the Pacific, faces the possibility of being left without a bank and, with that, losing access to the global economy. Think about what that would mean for you or your community—to be cut off overnight, to sleep with cash under your pillow because there's nowhere else to store it. This was the reality for the nation of Nauru, and it should never be again.

This could have been the story going forward. The Pacific has been disproportionately affected by the global trend of financial institutions reducing and withdrawing banking services. This decline, occurring at twice the rate of the global average, impacts whole countries' access to, importantly, cross-border payment services, and their connection to the global financial system and the ability for Pacific communities—particularly Pacific workers in Australia—to send remittances home. These banking services are crucial for economic growth, inclusion and stability. Nationally, they ensure that government and businesses can engage with international trade, grow local infrastructure, protect essential services and grow their communities.

At a local level, banking services allow people to start and maintain businesses to ensure that workers can send money home to support their communities and their families. It was a real source of pride for every single person who had their new CommBank card issued. It's a real source of pride for the leadership of His Excellency and the cabinet in Nauru that we've reached this important step.

Australia and our Pacific partners want to avoid the situation where Pacific nations are debanked and lose access to crucial cross-border payments and banking services. We know that, right now, the Pacific's ability to engage with the world remains at stake if we do not enact legislation such as this. This bill will enable the Commonwealth to guarantee an Australian bank's business in the Pacific against the unlikely possibility of a default in the region which may force them to shut their operations. Though it is unlikely to be needed, Australian banks who are eligible will pay a fee to the Commonwealth for the guarantee.

The bill allows for a special appropriation from the Consolidated Revenue Fund for the purpose of meeting any liabilities that the Commonwealth may incur under the Pacific Banking Guarantee. This will aim to incentivise banks to continue their operation in the Pacific by reducing risk and guarantees. This legislation goes hand in hand with the Australian government's commitment to enable Pacific governments, businesses and communities to trade, invest and grow.

The Albanese government has proudly signed landmark treaties with countries such as Nauru and Vanuatu. These treaties create a safer region and advance our position as a security partner of choice in the Pacific. We've strengthened cooperation with Papua New Guinea through our bilateral security agreement and our landmark National Rugby League deal. These are both underpinned by strategic trust. We're also getting our relationship with the Solomon Islands on better footing by building its police force. We've committed to listening to and working together with our Pacific neighbours on issues that matter to both of us.

The Pacific and Australia have had more than 40 years of tariff-free access, to ensure the smooth flow of goods and services across the Pacific. Australia's trade with Pacific island countries in 2024 was 23 per cent higher than in 2019, with the rate of increase even higher in countries that are partners in the PACER Plus treaty. Families, businesses and tourists are connected thanks to new and upgraded airports, seaports and roads as well as more flight routes, including the Palau Paradise Express and the Australia-North Pacific Connector.

In 2023, over 600,000 Australians visited Pacific island countries. Pacific islanders have better pathways to live, work and study in Australia—and, across the region, through Australian scholarships and skills training, the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility scheme. These pathways have seen more than 20,000 Pacific people graduate with full Australian qualifications. They have seen 13,000 Pacific students with Australian award scholarships and more than 30,000 Pacific workers employed under the PALM scheme.

Under our government, digital services are also expanding in the Pacific, with every country being connected to undersea cables by the end of 2025 to ensure faster and more reliable access in the Pacific. And, of course, as we discussed today here in this chamber, essential banking services are available through the guaranteed presence of Australian banks in nine countries. These are services that people rely on every single day. They are services that the Albanese government want to protect within our Pacific region. As a Queensland senator who lives in Cairns and whose home is closer to Port Moresby than to Brisbane, I cannot express how important it is that we protect Pacific communities' access to the global financial system. Our region is stronger when we work together and when we face regional challenges as partners. The Pacific Banking Guarantee Bill 2025 ensures that we are fostering a stable and safe region with our Pacific family. I commend this work and the bill and wholeheartedly support it.