Press conference, Indian Ocean Defence and Security Conference

SUBJECTS:  Indian Ocean Defence and Security Conference; Western Australia; Hamas-Israel conflict; Global rules-based order; Espionage-related charges; US Presidential election; Offshore Patrol Vessels; Australia’s contribution to the Combined Maritime Force; Albanese Government Ministry. 

MATT KEOGH, MINISTER FOR DEFENCE PERSONNEL: Well, welcome everybody to the Indian Ocean Defence Conference here in Perth. Western Australians have always known that critical to our future, both economically and in relation to our security, is what happens to our west and to our north. And that’s what this conference is all about. 

And when we think about Defence in the west, we’re the home to Australia’s submarines, our conventional submarines, and we’ll continue to be home to our nuclear-propelled submarines as well. But it’s not just a submarine story. As has been announced by the Albanese Government, Western Australia, for the first time will also be the home to a continuous ship build as well. And across these major projects we will see not just new jobs created but jobs created for generations to come. It’s about defence personnel in Western Australia serving the national interest. It’s about having great capability based here in Western Australia. And it’s about providing that sovereign capability in the industrial base for generations to come, providing certainty for people in their income and being able to support their families and certainty for business going forward as well. Building on the great history of this state over decades and over a century of being an industrial superpower supporting not just Western Australia but supporting the entire nation and not just economically, but when it comes to our national security as well. 

It’s great to be here in Western Australia not just to have this conference but to have the support of so many across industry, across defence and of course, across government. Very happy to be standing here with Acting Prime Minister Richard Marles, with Acting Premier Rita Saffioti and the Western Australia Defence Industries Minister and Minister for Police Paul Papalia. 

I’m going to hand over to Richard now. 

RITA SAFFIOTI, WA ACTING PREMIER: Sorry, yeah, just a quick word on behalf of the state government. We’re very, very proud to be hosting this conference. As has been highlighted, our defence industry plays a critical role in our economy and, of course, we want to grow that in the future, creating new jobs and opportunities for Western Australians. We have such a proud history in this space, and we believe there’s enormous potential and opportunity for our industries in the future. As Treasurer I’m very, very keen to support our future industries in this space. As I’ve said, incredible history. We have cutting-edge technology. We’ve got businesses throughout WA, particularly in Henderson, who have cutting-edge technology and such a proud history of shipbuilding in this state. Very proud to be hosting this conference. Can I congratulate in particular Paul Papalia for helping drive this initiative. We’re very, very proud to have up to a thousand delegates here showcasing Western Australia to the world, and we’re very, very proud of our industry in WA and very keen to support it. I’ll now pass to Richard. 

RICHARD MARLES, ACTING PRIME MINISTER: Well, thank you. It’s a real pleasure to be here with three proud Western Australians – Rita, Paul and my colleague Matt Keogh, the Minister for Defence Personnel and Veterans’ Affairs. And it’s fantastic to be here at the Indian Ocean Defence and Security Conference; both delegates to the conference but also those who are on the floor in the trade component of this combined to being a gathering of 3,000 people. And that’s the single biggest gathering of defence security ever in Perth. And that fact speaks to the geostrategic significance of the spot on which we are all standing. Perth is the literal fulcrum between the Indo and the Pacific. To our west is the Indian Ocean, the bourgeoning, positive relationship with India and other countries in the Indian Ocean. We are much closer to South East Asia here. And to our north within a time zone of plus or minus an hour you have Jakarta, Singapore, Hanoi, Taipei, Beijing, Seoul, Pyongyang. This is a place of enormous geostrategic significance. And it’s no coincidence that this is the home of our submarine fleet, and going forward will be the home of the Submarine Rotational Force-West, which is one of the key early expressions of AUKUS. This week as a result we have for the first time a meeting of the chiefs of navy of the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia happening on Australian soil for the first time. And that is an extremely significant event of its own. And it is not just AUKUS and the operational side of our nuclear-powered submarine capability, but what comes with this is a growing defence industry here in Western Australia, both in terms of supporting AUKUS and Submarine Rotational Force-West but also in terms of building the new general-purpose frigate for our surface fleet. This represents, firstly, a continuous naval shipbuilding commitment to Perth, which has never been made by a commonwealth government before, but in combination think is the biggest defence industry proposition for Western Australia since federation. 

So this is a really exciting moment for Western Australia. It speaks to the significance of this place. And, finally, I really want to in that context offer a real thanks to the Western Australian government – to Rita and to Paul, to Roger Cook for the partnership that we’ve had with the Western Australian government, which has been absolutely superb. I think what we are going to see with the establishment of SRF-West, with AUKUS really getting its first operational expression here in Western Australia is something that’s going to be so exciting for this state, but in the development of defence industry we’re really seeing also a very significant diversification of the Western Australian economy. That is fantastic for WA, but it also speaks to the enormous contribution that WA is making to our nation, and for that I am deeply thankful to the Western Australian government.  

PAUL PAPALIA, WA MINISTER FOR DEFENCE INDUSTRY: Look, I’ll keep it really short. Six years ago when we began this event the intent was to bring the world defence industry players from around the world, defence decision-makers from around the world to Western Australia and give our local industry the opportunity to have a platform to sell their capabilities. Today we’re delivering on that intent. It’s extraordinary to see the outcome, and it’s only going to grow from here. We are leading– Western Australia is leading the nation into AUKUS. It’s getting real right here, right now. And that’s a wonderful thing to witness. I’ll take any questions on this. We’ve got to get to the– some of us have got to get to the opening. Anybody got any questions of me, firstly? We’ll come to Richard and then come back. 

JOURNALIST: What do you have to say to the protestors outside this morning who have described the conference as a showcase of military hardware of companies complicit in a genocide in Gaza? 

PAPALIA: Look, the defence of our nation is a noble effort, and it’s Western Australians who are absolutely committed to supporting that effort. This is the single biggest– the acquisition of nuclear-powered submarines is the single biggest uplift in defence capability in the nation’s history. It is a good thing. And it is a necessary thing in this dangerous world that Australia improves its defence capability. We’re absolutely behind it. 

JOURNALIST: Minister, do you need a dry dock in WA?

PAPALIA: Undoubtedly, as you home port nuclear submarines and you do deeper maintenance over time, there will be a need for that. But also you’d have to think that there needs to be another dry dock in Australia. There’s only one in the entire nation that docks our naval vessels. 

JOURNALIST: Minister, regarding the inquest, how would you describe the performance of Adam Tomison in his time as director-general? 

PAPALIA: Look, Adam Tomison? 

JOURNALIST: Yeah. 

PAPALIA: Look, I won’t make any comments about the inquest that’s going on at the moment. It’s a coronial inquiry and it’s normal practice not to comment on them while they’re underway. Thanks very much. 

JOURNALIST: Acting Prime Minister, thank you. Overnight the head of the British army has given a speech, a major speech, saying that he’s got three years to rebuild his military for a potential major war against what he describes as an axis of upheaval of China, Russia and North Korea. The US military has put a similar sort of timetable – around 2027 – for when China will be ready to invade Taiwan. What are we doing in this three-year period to build up our military for this, given that things like submarines, future frigates – both classes of future frigates – come beyond that period? 

MARLES: Well, firstly, I’m aware of the comments that have been made and, you know, we have constantly reiterated the fact that what we’re seeing in Ukraine but also with more contested space in the Indo-Pacific we are living in a more fragile area where the global rules-based order is being placed under pressure. And that’s why we describe ourselves as living in the most complex strategic circumstances that we have since the end of the Second World War. But we are investing in the here and now. But we also need to be really clear about the strategic circumstances that Australia faces and the strategic problem that Australia is seeking to resolve. We are building our relationships with countries in the region. We are growing our relationship with our ally partner, the United States. We are seeing an increased force posture of the United States in Australia, and the Submarine Rotational Force-West is a perfect example of that. But ultimately what we also need to be doing is making sure that over the coming years we build our own capability so that we are able to resist coercion from any potential adversary in the future, and that is the strategic problem that we are seeking to solve, and we are confident that we are able to solve that problem over an appropriate time frame. 

JOURNALIST: Acting Prime Minister, one of the countries in the so-called axis of upheaval [indistinct] by the UK army chief is Russia. Russia is accused of having a couple– infiltrating defence systems here in Australia. What have you learned– obviously it’s been audited, the access that Kira Korolev had. What can you tell us what it is that she had sought to obtain?

MARLES: So I’m limited in what I can say, but let me assure you of this: that in the audits and the work that has been undertaken to understand what access has been had, we are really confident that there is no significant piece of information, no significant secret, if you like, that is held by our nation that was accessed by this individual. So we are really confident about the integrity of the Defence Force’s security systems in terms of the way in which we are managing our information. And we are really confident that these individuals have not breached that. 

JOURNALIST: I understand she worked for the 7 Combat Regiment, signal in that Regiment, which deals in encrypted communication. Is that skill set that you anticipate she, or the Russians are interested in? 

RICHARD MARLES: Well, again, I’m not going to go into the detail of this case. I think – and for good reason I should not be going into the detail. But I think it is appropriate that I give the assurance that I have in what is a very reasonable question. Australians will want to know and have a sense of confidence that the information held by the Australian Defence Force has not been fundamentally compromised by this individual, and it hasn’t been. 

JOURNALIST: Minister, in recent times the Navy has asked for expressions of interest for personnel to go to the Middle East. Has there been any discussion about Australia taking command of the taskforce over there? The expressions of interest [indistinct]? 

MARLES: Well, as you know, we’ve been an active participant in the Combined Maritime Force and in the Combined Task Force 153, which is the task force which looks after the supervision of the vessels going through the Red Sea. And we’ve been very clear about our engagement in both the CMF and CTF 153 from the outset. The command structure of CTF 153 has its own processes, so I am not going to pre-empt that other than to say that we are very active participants in that.

JOURNALIST: Acting Prime Minister, are you concerned that while US officials here may give every assurance that a Trump administration will remain committed to AUKUS, ultimately we’re dealing with a candidate who is erratic and who has not shown a commitment to other alliances?

MARLES: Look, we’re really confident about our Alliance with the United States irrespective of what happens in November. And we’re really confident about the equities that we have within that Alliance and, in particular, AUKUS. And the reason we have that confidence is because at the end of last year we saw a critical package of legislation pass the United States Congress which has given rise to a generational transformation in terms of harmonising the defence export control regimes between our two countries, which is such an advantage for Australian defence industry here today in terms of their ability to engage with the United States. And that legislation that passed the Congress did so in a completely bipartisan way with support across the political spectrum – Democrats, Republicans, Trump Republicans as well. Every indication we have had from the Trump camp is support for AUKUS. And so we are very comfortable with whatever occurs in the United States in November. We’re obviously working really well and productively with the Biden administration, but the American elections are obviously a matter for the American people. We know that irrespective of what occurs in November, whoever is elected as the next President of the United States, we can enjoy a productive relationship and an alliance which will be going from strength to strength, and AUKUS will be a fundamental part of it. 

JOURNALIST: A very Western Australian question. With the OPV project [indistinct] under construction the Arafura class to a fleet of [indistinct] using the existing workforce and the existing supply chain, why has that offer been ignored? 

MARLES: Firstly, we’re working through with Lurssen in relation to the OPVs following the announcement that we did in relation to our ongoing surface fleet. What that announcement made clear was that we are walking down the path of introducing a general purpose frigate, and we have identified four exemplars in respect of that general purpose frigate, and the exemplars that we have identified are all about getting that general purpose frigate into service as quickly as possible. Now, we are having a hybrid build, which will see the first of those built overseas. We are not seeking to modify them because our principal objective here is to get a new general purpose frigate into service as quickly as possible because there is an urgency around capability. And that’s the– they’re the decisions that we’ve made and we intend to follow through. 

JOURNALIST: On the reshuffle, are you expecting it to be minimal and what [indistinct] the Prime Minister? 

MARLES: Well, look, this is not going to surprise you, the answer to this question: obviously reshuffles are a matter for the Prime Minister. I think were I to engage in a reshuffle while the Prime Minister was on leave would not win me any friends at all. Thank you. 

END