Doorstop interview - Canberra

Well, good morning it's going to be a big week in the parliament. In the house, we'll be considering legislative change around gambling, improvements to paid parental leave, and supports for people living with disability. In the Senate of course, we will be continuing debate on climate, dealing with national security issues, and commencing debate on the Restoring our Rivers program – an essential reform to get the Murray Darling Basin Plan back on track - essential for the river, essential for the communities in the basin.

I wanted this morning though, to make some remarks about the work that was done last week at the Pacific Islands Forum. The Prime Minister was there with other Pacific leaders working together to secure our interests, alongside other Pacific leaders with a shared commitment to stability and prosperity. And central in that work, of course, is the approach to climate change. Pacific leaders make it clear to us that climate change is amongst their most important priorities. Pacific leaders are calling for a response to climate change that allows for Pacific leadership, and Australia is pleased to be working collaboratively and to play our part.

On Friday, the Prime Minister announced an important new agreement - a treaty between Tuvalu and Australia. Falepili is a concept in Tuvalu which refers to the relationship between neighbours, the obligations and responsibilities that we have with each other. And the treaty between our countries goes to three things: security, climate, and human mobility. We'll be supporting Tuvalu in cases of national emergency; we will come to their aid. We will support them in their efforts to adapt their coastline to rising sea levels, knowing how vulnerable Tuvaluan infrastructure is to this very significant challenge. And we will establish a small mobility pathway for Tuvaluan people who wish to come to Australia to work, live, study, and contact and connect with friends and family.

These are important reforms, and they are complemented by a border commitment to the Pacific family. The $350 million in infrastructure to be allocated to the Pacific, to support them in their efforts to deal with climate change, including money for renewables in remote and regional parts of the Pacific. These are substantial and meaningful commitments, and they are part of a broader agenda for this government in re-engaging with the Pacific.

It follows a long period where Australia was let down by the Morrison Government and all the other prime ministers that preceded him. For nine long years those liberal governments mocked Pacific concerns about climate change and trashed our global reputation. That is not a position that our country can afford. We take this relationship seriously. We know that our world is changing, and that our relationships to Pacific matter for Australia's national security also. And when we say we're part of the Pacific family, this is really what we mean. We will demonstrate it with concrete actions and meaningful work to collaborate with the Pacific on the challenges that matter to them.