Doorstop Interview, Cairns

SUBJECTS: RVS Takuare Recommissioning; Cairns; Indo-Pacific Partnerships

RICHARD MARLES, DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER: Well, today is a very happy day with the recommissioning of the RVS Takuare, the ship behind me, which is a Guardian Class patrol boat that's been in Cairns for the last two years, being refurbished after it was damaged during Cyclone Kevin back in March of 2023. 45,000 hours of work have gone into the refurbishment of Takuare, and I really want to thank all of those at Norship here in Cairns who have done the work in the refurbishment of Takuare. It is a fantastic job and the product that you can see behind me now speaks to their skill and their effort, and it's really a great contribution to the people of Vanuatu, but it's a real contribution to the relationship between Australia and Vanuatu, and in that sense, a great contribution to Australia's national security. Today, I was able to meet with the Minister for Internal Affairs of the Republic of Vanuatu, Andrew Napuat, who is here for the recommissioning of the Takuare. It was a great meeting in the sense of being able to talk about how much Takuare is going to contribute to Vanuatu’s defence and to the protection of Vanuatu’s Exclusive Economic Zone. But also the way in which the refurbishment of Takuare is a symbol of the broader relationship between Australia and Vanuatu, and that relationship is going to be pursued in the Nakamal Agreement between Australia and Vanuatu, which we will be negotiating with Vanuatu over the coming months. This will be an overhaul of the relationship between Australia and Vanuatu in terms of security, but in terms of the economic relationship between our two countries. We are two countries which are bound by geography. We are here in Cairns, Australia's gateway to the Pacific. We are both Pacific nations, and we have a shared history. We seek to be Vanuatu’s partner of choice, Vanuatu’s security partner of choice, and the Nakamal Agreement will give expression to that. And we're really excited about the prospect of that, and very grateful for the conversations that we've been able to have today with Minister Napuat.

JOURNALIST: How significant is Cairns specifically? How's their role in foreign partnerships with neighbours like this?

MARLES: Well, I mean the significance of Cairns to our relationship with the Pacific and today, our relationship with Vanuatu, you can see behind me with the Takuare and the 45,000 hours of work which went into the refurbishment of Takuare as an achievement of the defence industry of Cairns. And it is an enormous contribution to our relationship and in that sense, it speaks to the way in which Cairns really is, in so many ways, our connection with the Pacific and in this instance our connection with Vanuatu. 

JOURNALIST: The Nakamal Agreement is this when the Vanuatuan Prime Minister said he wanted to go back to the drawing board when he took office? Is this a result of that? 

MARLES: We've been looking to work with countries of the Pacific since we've come to power to redefine our relationship with the Pacific. And you can see that in the various relationships that we have built and the various agreements that we've signed with countries like Tuvalu and with Nauru. A month or so ago, I announced that we would be entering into a refurbished Defence Cooperation Agreement with PNG. The Nakamal Agreement with Vanuatu is a part of that program of seeking to rebuild our relationships with the Pacific, and we've seen that, as I said, with Solomon Islands as well. We're really excited about taking our relationship forward with Vanuatu through the Nakamal Agreement and it will be an overhaul of our bilateral agreement, but it will take Australia and Vanuatu is bilateral relationship into the future. 

JOURNALIST: Why do they want to go back to the drawing board? And what are their demands?

MARLES: Vanuatu see Australia as its partner of choice, and we seek to be the partner of choice, the natural partner of choice of Vanuatu. And this will be an opportunity for us to make a shared statement in relation to each other's security. It will be an opportunity for us to make a shared commitment to each other in terms of the economic development of both our nations and in the development of the people of Vanuatu. 

JOURNALIST:  Following the Defence Strategic Review in 2023 there were Arafura Class patrol boats that were going to be based in Cairns, where are we at with the securing a home for any of those vessels? 

MARLES: The future home basing of the Arafura Class offshore patrol vessels is a matter to be determined. But the point I would make is that as we invest in HMAS Cairns to make this base a place which is a maintenance hub and a logistics hub, we are investing in HMAS Cairns to make sure it is Arafura Class ready. Thank you. 

ENDS