STATEMENTS BY SENATORS

Senator GREEN (Queensland—Assistant Minister for Tourism, Assistant Minister for Pacific Island Affairs and Assistant Minister for Northern Australia) (13:05): Before I begin, I want to associate myself with the comments from the good senator from North Queensland, Senator MacDonald, and acknowledge the good work that Mates do in our communities, especially ahead of World Suicide Prevention Day.

I thank them and thank Senator MacDonald for raising it in this chamber. Last week, leaders from across the region came together in Palau for the 55th Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting. For the Albanese Labor government, our approach to the Pacific is clear.

We turn up, we listen, and we act on the priorities of our Pacific family. We recognise that Pacific nations determine the future of the Pacific, and we respect sovereignty. We build partnerships and deliver practical benefits for our region, and we act in Australia's national interest.

Last week's forum demonstrated exactly what these partnerships can achieve. We know that climate change remains the No. 1 priority for Pacific leaders. For communities across the Pacific, climate change is not a theoretical challenge or an ideological debate.

It is impacting coastlines, infrastructure, food security, energy security and people's livelihoods right now. That is why Australia is taking climate change seriously and working alongside the Pacific on practical solutions. In Palau, the Prime Minister visited the country's first large-scale solar power plant, backed by a $31.4 million investment through the Australian Infrastructure Financing Facility for the Pacific.

The Prime Minister, alongside the President of Palau, President Whipps, marked the delivery of additional battery storage, a key milestone to upgrade Palau's electricity grid. At the forum, Australia also announced support for the establishment of a Pacific renewable energy commissioner, helping to drive the region towards an ambition of 100 per cent renewable energy in the future.

Prime Minister Albanese also announced Australia's partnership with the secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Program over five years to advance shared climate and environmental priorities. Australia will continue to support the Pacific's longstanding international ocean leadership by continuing to support the Office of the Pacific Ocean Commissioner and the Unlocking Blue Pacific Prosperity initiative.

This is what partnership looks like, practical action driven by Pacific priorities. We also know that security challenges in our region are changing, and Pacific leaders have been clear about the impact that transnational organised crime and illicit drugs are having on their communities. Last Wednesday, leaders unanimously endorsed Waqa Moana, a Pacific-led Australian-backed maritime security initiative to counter illicit drug-trafficking.

To support the implementation of the scheme, the Prime Minister announced a $600 million package of support, including support for new countertransnational and organised crime programs across the region. This is in addition to the work the Australian Federal Police is contributing over the next four years. Criminal networks do not respect borders, and no country can tackle these challenges alone.

We are already seeing what the cooperation can achieve. In Palau, 119 Pacific police support personnel from across the region helped provide security for the forum, including 28 Australian Federal Police officers. That is the Pacific security being delivered by the Pacific, with Australian backing.

Of course, our partnership is about opportunity and people as much as it is about security, and we all know that sport is a great thing that connects our region. As we look towards the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic games, we want athletes from all across the Pacific to have an opportunity to be there and every opportunity to succeed. That is why Australia has announced support over the next four years for athletes and officials from 14 Pacific countries to access high-performance training and qualification opportunities to maximise athletes' and officials' participation and success.

Pacific athletes and officials will be supported at the Tahiti Pacific games, the Los Angeles Olympic and Paralympic games and the Rarotonga 2029 Pacific Mini Games and other international sporting events. Australia's future is tied to the future of the Pacific. Our security and prosperity are shared, and the challenges facing our region require us to work together.

That is why, after a decade of decline under those opposite, we will continue to turn up and to listen and, most importantly, we will continue to act alongside the Pacific family to build a region that is peaceful and prosperous.