Business as usual won't cut it: why AUKUS makes us a stronger ally

Our region, the Indo-Pacific, is witness to renewed major-power competition which is driving the biggest military build-up we have seen anywhere in the world during the last 70 years. On the other side of the world, the war in Ukraine is demonstrating in real time the threat of conflict on the rules-based order. As we face this juncture it is abundantly clear that sober, responsible, and clear-eyed statecraft has never been more important.

We are committed to supporting security and stability founded on the global rules-based order and our approach is firmly anchored in a resolve to safeguard our national interests.

The idea of larger countries seeking to impose themselves on smaller countries, as we've seen play out in Ukraine, is a clear violation of international law that cannot be allowed to stand.

That's why Australia has provided approximately $655 million in support to Ukraine, including 90 Bushmaster protected mobility vehicles, and ADF personnel who will help train Ukrainian troops in the United Kingdom next year. Australia is also working with its partners in the region to deepen our defence relationships and bolster cooperation.

Since coming to government I have met with counterparts from right across South East Asia and the Indo-Pacific; from Japan, India, Papua New Guinea, Fiji and Tonga - to name a few. And just last week defence ministers from 18 nations met in Cambodia to discuss the key challenges in the region.

It was on the sidelines of the talks with ASEAN-ministers that I met with my Chinese counterpart General Wei Feng. These constructive talks about the defence relationship between our two nations was the latest step in stabilising our relationship with China.

We will continue to chart the course on this steady and consistent approach. But this does not mean we will lose sight of our own security. The increasingly complex geopolitical environment we face makes it apparent that Australia must be able to project power and deter threats in its own right. We must be able to hold any adversary at risk, at a greater distance from Australia, and do so through the full spectrum of proportional response.

The Defence Strategic Review, announced within our first 100 days in government, will provide us with an outline of what that projection looks like. This includes not only capability, but people too. Our Defence Force will be required to recalibrate its military capabilities, force structure and posture. Our approach must strengthen the lethality, resilience and readiness of the ADF.

We must ensure we accord adequate priority to high-end military capabilities to do this. The ADF must augment its self-reliance to deploy and deliver combat power through impactful materiel and enhanced strike capability - including over longer distances.

Our defence industry partners, at home and overseas, will be increasingly important to ensuring we have the ability to sustain that capability.

At the centre of our impactful projection will be Australia's nuclear submarine capability, through our partnership with the United States and United Kingdom. What that capability will look like is on track to be unveiled early next year. It will provide our Defence Force with an unmatched strategic advantage in terms of surveillance and protection of our maritime approaches.

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These investments are not only about Australia's security - they are about the region's security as well.

AUKUS will not only make Australia safer, it will make Australia a more potent and capable partner. It doesn't displace our commitment to longstanding partnerships in the region, it strengthens our ability to contribute.

But in order for us to develop these important capabilities, we also need to invest in the people and funding required to make it happen. Underpinning the development of a new strategic posture for our nation will be having the people and the funding to make it happen.

These are the areas the Albanese government will seek to address as it receives the Defence Strategic Review and makes its announcement about the optimal pathway for Australia's nuclear powered submarines - both major milestones due early next year. And they will remain at the forefront of our thinking from that point onwards.

The Defence Strategic Review will inevitably foreshadow some difficult decisions, but Australians can be assured we will make them in the best interests of our country.

We are no longer blessed with a completely benign strategic environment. Business as usual just won't cut it. Australia's defence must match the world we face going into 2023, so that it can underpin our security and prosperity into the future.