MINISTERIAL STATEMENTS
Senator CICCONE (Victoria) (18:05): I also wish to speak on the ministerial statement by our Foreign minister, Senator Wong, tonight and also follow on from earlier today, in question time, where I asked Minister Wong about Australia's very close relationship with one of our closest friends in the Pacific, Fiji. It is great to see the two countries, under the leadership of Minister Wong and the Albanese government, doing the hard yards to try and repair the damage that was left by the previous administration in terms of our Pacific neighbours.
The Fiji-Australia Vuvale Union and the Ocean of Peace Alliance between Australia and Fiji, as we heard earlier from the minister, mark a very important and new chapter in the relationship between our two wonderful countries. They represent two of the most significant agreements ever made in the Pacific region. They are also a very clear demonstration of the progress that the Albanese Labor government is making in strengthening Australia's place in the Pacific and something that we are very proud to do since being elected.
For Fiji, this is their first alliance. To be clear, this is their first alliance—something that others, previous governments, could have done in their time. For Australia, it is our fourth, something that we are very proud about and something that we want to see more of with our closest neighbours, particularly in the Pacific.
The Ocean of Peace Alliance reflects Australia's very much deep respect for the sovereignty of our neighbours. Pacific leaders have agreed that Pacific security should be led by the Pacific, and this alliance absolutely reflects that principle. Peace is the greatest priority for our Pacific neighbours.
Above all, the region wants to see a future that is free of war. Australia and Fiji have stood together through some of the greatest crises that the Pacific has ever faced. We just have to remember, back during the First and Second World Wars, Fiji's contribution to the Allied efforts that far exceeded their size.
Fijian troops fought alongside Australian and New Zealand forces in the Second World War, most notably during the Bougainville campaign, and our soldiers happily served together in the fight for a much better and freer future. This treaty is a historic achievement that honours their sacrifice. It signals that neither of our nations will ever stop fighting for an ocean of peace.
Today, this commitment is more important than ever. Not since the end of the Second World War has the region faced such strategic uncertainty. In an age where great powers are increasingly viewing the Pacific as a stage for geopolitical competition, Australia has never been much prouder to be a partner of choice for the region.
We are proud of our efforts to strengthen our relationships with our neighbours. We will always invest in our vuvale, our Pacific family, because family is so integral to many of our Pacific islands neighbours. We are proudly committed to regional sovereignty, and we are also committed to a crucial role in the Pacific Islands Forum.
Australia's commitment to supporting regional security and governance architecture is reinforced by these agreements. The Ocean of Peace Alliance is a framework that could form the foundation of increased cooperation between Australia, Fiji and other like-minded nations in the region. Such cooperation will also help ensure the security of the region in uncertain times.
In response to uncertainty, we must also lean on the dependability and reliability of our friends, and that only happens through consistency, through engagement and through a demonstration that we actually do genuinely believe in each other's values and friendship. Only by standing together can we ensure that future generations will be able to enjoy the peace that we today seek to protect.
The Vuvale Union treaty will bring Australia and Fiji closer than ever and recognise our special bond. Australia will commit more than $1 billion of investment over a decade to support Fijian health care, Fijian infrastructure, Fijian economic diversification and, importantly, Fijian security. Through this treaty, Australia is well placed to help Fiji fight recent HIV outbreaks and to fight the scourge of transnational crime and illicit drugs.
Overall, these historic treaties will deepen our ties and help create a safer and more prosperous future for countries and the region. I want to commend the work by our Foreign minister, Minister Wong; our Pacific minister, Pat Conroy in the other place; and our assistant minister for the region, Senator Nita Green in this place, who I know holds very dearly to her heart the region and the people of the Pacific given not just her role as a senator for the great state of Queensland but her proximity, in Far North Queensland, to our neighbours in the Pacific.
On that note, not only do I commend the ministerial statement to our colleagues but I make this last point: Australia will continue to support Pacific led regional cooperation, and we stand together with and alongside our neighbours as we face the challenges ahead in what seems to be a very challenging time over the short to medium term. I seek leave to continue my remarks later.
Leave granted; debate adjourned.