Australia–Pacific Relations

Built on Respect, Trust and Understanding

I'd like to commend the member for Sturt on this motion. My community's cultural ties to the Pacific run deep, and so I'm only too happy to add my voice to support this motion. We're proud to be home to the second largest Pacific population in Victoria, with more than 10,000 Pacific Islanders across the local government area. The Pacific is not foreign policy in my community; it's family. We know that a stronger, safer, more prosperous Pacific benefits every Australian.

So I welcome and we welcome the signing of the Vanuatu-Australia Nakamal Agreement in Canberra a few weeks ago. This is a landmark agreement with broad-reaching impacts. It's a 10-year strategic, economic and security treaty.

Australians want a peaceful Pacific, and this agreement sets out an enduring framework to strengthen people-to-people links and our cultural connections. I agree with what the Minister for Pacific Island Affairs said. It is about respect, trust and understanding. It strengthens and formalises our partnership as we walk forward together as two sovereign nations. These are values I can certainly get behind.