Jessica Collins (NSW, Liberal Party) | Hansard source

In article 3, part (3), sections (a) to (c), the parties commit to deepen engagement by enhancing economic growth, digital economies and personal links, including through mobility. These are all things that I've long advocated, including in my maiden speech. These are good things. But I've argued that we need regional integration on all of these issues so that they go deeper, longer and further than a bilateral agreement.

One part of that integration is defence. It should be raising a Pacific infantry regiment as an entirely rotational force, where our soldiers could train and deploy side by side with our Pacific family. The Ocean of Peace Alliance, or the Veitacini Treaty, tabled today enshrines mutual defence obligations and a framework to develop visiting force agreements. As I said in my maiden speech last year, for Australia to remain the preferred security partner in the Pacific and to secure the ocean of peace, we need to not just sign security agreements but pursue real defence integration with our Pacific partners. Australia's Pacific integration must cover all aspects of force posture, including intelligence sharing, defence training, disaster response capability, logistics arrangements, resilient infrastructure and enhanced maritime security cooperation.

Last month I had the honour and privilege of attending RimPac, the US led military exercises, where I gained firsthand insight into the training environment of our service personnel and the importance of defence integration with allies and partners—to strengthen readiness, to train in the region, to practise in the region together, understanding the landscape of the Indo-Pacific. There were representatives from Tonga and Fiji at RimPac, and it was terrific to see them embedded into the program. We also know that Papua New Guinea now plays a huge role in Exercise Pitch Black in the Top End of Australia. These are all good things, and they are important because, in our current strategic environment, we need to be ready to deploy with our friends and allies.

China continues to test the region's security architecture, including by launching a missile capable of carrying nuclear warheads into our ocean of peace and doing live-fire exercises in the Tasman Sea. A security agreement alone is not sufficient to protect our ocean of peace. That has been made abundantly clear. I therefore urge the government to pursue meaningful defence integration with our Pacific partners and to lift defence spending as a matter of urgency. Australia cannot afford to be complacent should the PLA Navy again seek to circumnavigate our coastline, conduct live-fire exercises in the Tasman Sea or launch ballistic missiles directed towards our Pacific partners. We have to step up to deter, because diplomacy and deterrence are the only credible ways to protect and maintain our ocean of peace indefinitely for the benefit of the entire Pacific family.

I commend the government and Prime Minister Rabuka for their work on this, but there is so much more to do, including cleaning up the mess on inserting a Labor political agenda into what should be a bipartisan led treaty.