Portfolio — 27 April 2026

Assistant Minister Matt Thistlethwaite is travelling to New York to lead Australia's delegation to the 11th Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons at the United Nations — the most significant multilateral nuclear disarmament forum in the NPT calendar [TA-260427-dfat-d64e8bbf7c12]. The mission combines a formal multilateral commitment with a dense bilateral agenda.

Thistlethwaite will hold ministerial-level meetings with counterparts from Japan, the Republic of Korea and Vietnam, focused on maintaining the two-way flow of energy supplies, fertiliser and other critical goods [TA-260427-dfat-d64e8bbf7c12] — a supply-chain resilience thread running across Australia's Indo-Pacific relationships. The Pacific dimension of the visit is equally substantive: Thistlethwaite will meet the Permanent Representatives of twelve Pacific missions to the United Nations, spanning Solomon Islands, Micronesia, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Palau, Kiribati, Nauru, New Zealand, the Marshall Islands, Samoa, Tonga, Vanuatu and Tuvalu [TA-260427-dfat-d64e8bbf7c12].

That breadth signals Australia's intent to use the NPT Review Conference as a platform to reinforce Pacific partnerships on nuclear and security issues, not merely to engage the established major-power interlocutors. The PM media release frames Australia's posture at the conference around three pillars: championing practical non-proliferation and disarmament, supporting the International Atomic Energy Agency's safeguards and safety work, and sharing the benefits of nuclear science and technology with partner countries [TA-260427-dfat-d64e8bbf7c12].

The IAEA dimension is notable given ongoing domestic debate about nuclear energy policy; the release keeps Australia's position anchored to safeguards and civil applications rather than power generation. No parliamentary segment is present for this date; the record consists of the ministerial media release only.