Page 1197 - Week 04 - Wednesday, 4 May 2022
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(4) acknowledges the contribution of Canberrans in supporting Australian security through their work in diplomacy, international partnerships, climate change, soft power and influence, intelligence and defence;
(5) recognises the compassion and generosity of many Canberrans in their support of the Ukrainian nation, by contributing to aid organisations helping displaced, injured and traumatised Ukrainians;
(6) encourages the Australian Government to support investment in diplomacy, aid, trade, and climate change mitigation and adaptation, commensurate to defence spending;
(7) affirms its support for Canberra’s defence industry sector; and
(8) affirms its support of the Australian Federal Government and other nations in their provision of equipment to enable Ukraine to defend its people.”
I circulated it in advance of the debate. It endeavours to reach a compromise position that may be supportable by a majority of members in this place. It acknowledges the role that the defence industry plays in our region as a major employer, noting that the reason for its level of economic contribution and employment is off the back of Australian government investment, in large part.
It acknowledges the importance of the defence industry to the security of Australia. It also acknowledges that it is our efforts in diplomacy and multilateral international partnership and engagement through global fora, through our soft power and influence, the contributions of our intelligence and national security agencies and, indeed, the strategic context in which we find ourselves now, that are all important parts of Australia’s international engagement and our defence and national security response.
It acknowledges that the Australian government has committed nearly $200 million in military equipment to the democratically elected Ukrainian government. It acknowledges another important fact: that climate change is one of the biggest threats to Australia’s security. Importantly—and we are living through this in the context of surging inflation and cost of living pressures—it acknowledges that the dependency on imported fossil fuels diminishes our nation’s energy security.
My amendment condemns Vladimir Putin’s military aggression and acknowledges the terrible consequential suffering of Ukrainians and, indeed, people across the world bearing the costs of war. It acknowledges the right of the people of Ukraine to sovereignty and territorial integrity. It acknowledges the contribution of Canberrans supporting our national security through work in diplomacy, international partnerships, combating climate change, and the work that is undertaken, as I have mentioned, in intelligence, defence, national security and the soft power and influence that a nation of our size can have.
It recognises the compassion and generosity of Canberrans in their support of the Ukrainian nation. It encourages the Australian government to support investment in diplomacy, aid, trade, climate change mitigation and adaptation, and for that to be commensurate with our efforts in defence spending. It affirms our support for Canberra’s defence industry sector and affirms our support for the Australian federal government and, indeed, other nations in their provision of equipment to enable
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