Deborah O'Neill (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

As I was saying before, at the hard mark of 11.15 am, on the matter of the Defence Amendment (Parliamentary Joint Committee on Defence) Bill 2025, our geography matters and so does our capacity to deter. Central to our deterrence posture is the strategy of denial, ensuring that any adversary is deterred from attempting to reach our shores. The acquisition of nuclear powered submarines through the AUKUS partnership will be transformational. These platforms represent a step change in stealth, endurance and deterrent capability. They will also be a national endeavour that must deliver jobs, skills and economic opportunity across our regions and, indeed, across the entire nation. As we build capability, we must ensure communities share in the benefits and that local consultation and investment in community infrastructure proceed in parallel.

Colleagues, technology is moving at pace. The government's investments in advanced platforms and the Advanced Strategic Capabilities Accelerator are important starts. But the technology development cycle for many autonomous systems is measured in months, not years. Building stockpiles that sit in warehouses and become obsolete is not an effective use of taxpayers' money. Instead, Australia must support a sovereign industrial base capable of rapid development, production at scale and iterative improvement. That requires a whole-of-society approach: government procurement and incentives, industry partnerships, research institutions and workforce training.

Our aim must be to ensure that the ADF can access the right mix of high-end and mass produced systems when required and that we can scale production quickly in response to changing circumstances. The defence subcommittee's recent report, which was tabled this week, on the 2023-24 Defence annual reportemphasises these points. It highlights the rapid evolution of autonomous technologies and the need to align capability development with Australia's strategic geography. It also underscores that investments in capability must be matched by investments in people—in recruitment, retention, transition programs and services for veterans and families. Insight into defence agencies is incomplete without insight into the experiences of those who serve and those who have served.

This bill recognises that reality. It proposes a dedicated parliamentary joint committee on defence with the mandate and expertise to examine defence policy, defence capability development, defence procurement, defence operational safety and the welfare of defence personnel and veterans. It balances transparency with the need to handle classified materials securely, drawing on the model of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security. That balance is crucial. Oversight provided by such a committee as this must be meaningful, but it must also be able to protect sensitive information that, if mishandled, could harm national security.

Parliamentary oversight is not an adversarial exercise for its own sake, much as the column inches that are expended on the battles of this place might convey that. Parliamentary oversight at its best is a powerfully constructive mechanism to improve performance, to identify risks and to recommend reforms that deliver better outcomes for the Australian Defence Force and, through them, for us the Australian people. Effective oversight builds public confidence; ensures that taxpayers' money is spent wisely; and ensures that procurement delivers capability on time and on budget, wherever possible, and that operations are conducted with due regard not just to safety but to law.

I've seen where improvements are needed and I've seen where progress is being made. I've seen defence personnel working tirelessly to adapt to new technologies and new strategic demands. I've seen communities eager to partner with Defence, to share in the economic opportunities, the national security uplift and the national pride that capability development brings.

Establishing a dedicated parliamentary joint committee on defence will allow sustained, specialised scrutiny and constructive recommendations that improve capability, accountability and the lives of those who serve. This bill is a practical, measured step to ensure parliament can meet the challenges of a more contested strategic environment. It will help safeguard our nation, it will help support our service personnel and veterans and it will help to ensure that investments in capability deliver value for the Australian people.

The formation of this committee will enable parliament to ask hard questions. It will enable the parliament to receive classified briefings, where necessary, and to report publicly, where appropriate, so that Australians can have confidence in the institutions that protect them.

Colleagues, this is an important step change from the current structure of the committee that sits as a subcommittee under the auspices of the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade. It is an amendment to the Defence Act of 1903 and inserts new requirements that will enhance the capacity for us to do our work as parliamentarians. Importantly, this bill, which I hope will be supported in the chamber today, is a response to the 2003 report of the Joint Standing and Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade subcommittee which called for the implementation of this new joint statutory committee to request and receive those classified information briefings.

The comparison, for those who understand these matters, is with the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security. The fact is that its significance demands very careful attention to the nature of those who are selected to conduct the inquiries. That should be given very careful consideration. That is why this 13-member committee will be appointed by the Prime Minister in consultation with the Leader of the Opposition.

The men and women of our defence forces deserve the best oversight and support we can provide. They deserve a parliament that's informed, engaged and capable of guiding the nation's defence policy with both wisdom and care. The bill strengthens that capacity. It strengthens our democracy.

Acting Deputy President Polley, as you well know from your experience in the chamber here as a senator for Tasmania and now acting in the role of Deputy President of the Senate for the purposes of this debate, there are important matters that are dealt with in the most careful and serious way in committees and in this parliament.

The role of committees in undertaking the work that cannot be done on the fly in public, in this chamber and the other one, is vital to the nation's security and wellbeing. I think of Anzac commemoration events and the pride that Australians have in the defence of democracy. In the current environment, the defence of the nation requires this step change. This is an important addition to the capacity of our nation to defend itself. I commend the Defence Amendment (Parliamentary Joint Committee on Defence) Bill 2025 to the Senate, and I urge my colleagues to support it so that parliament can better fulfil its duty of oversight in the national interest.