Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, Suva, Fiji

Bula Vinaka, Talofa Lava, Alii.

Thank you for your generous welcome.

As always, it is such a pleasure to be back in the Pacific. And to introduce you to my old friend and new Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Matt Thistlethwaite.

I would like to acknowledge Secretary General Waqa and his team in the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, representatives of the Council of Regional Organisations, senior officials of the Fijian Government, members of the diplomatic corps – particularly those from our fellow Pacific missions – members of the media, ladies and gentlemen.

As we do in Australia, I would also like to acknowledge the traditional owners of the land on which we meet, the Vanua of Suva, and pay my respects to their elders past and present.

I was very honoured today to meet with the Chair of the GCC, Ratu Viliame Seruvakula, and to congratulate him on the important occasion of the Great Council of Chiefs Complex, the meeting house, being reopened today, an auspicious moment for Fiji. 

Three years ago, almost to the day, I had the privilege of visiting Suva on my first bilateral visit as Australia's Foreign Minister.

You invited me to give my very first speech as Foreign Minister, right here at the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, the heart of Pacific regionalism.

And I am honoured to return, re-elected as Australia's Foreign Minister, to deliver my very first speech of this second term here again.

And I return with a mandate from the Australian people to continue our work together.

Three years ago, I promised you we would listen. I promised you we would learn. I promised you we would act.

That is what we have done, and I am inspired by what we have accomplished together – Australia, hand in hand with the Pacific family.

We work hand in hand, because we share an ocean, and we share a future.

And we know that future is becoming more uncertain.

The Pacific is facing growing challenges, from climate change, cuts to global aid and rules under strain.

None of us can solve these problems on our own.

We are counting on each other; to each play our part in a shared Pacific that is peaceful, stable and prosperous.

We are counting on each other to support the aspirations and wellbeing of our peoples.

And in a more uncertain world, we are counting on each other to work together to make our region even more resilient.

Australia is a partner the Pacific can count on.

We have built on our position as the region's largest and most comprehensive development partner.

We have lifted our development assistance to record levels, with more than $2.1 billion to the Pacific.

Recognising the impact of global aid cuts, we have reprioritised our development assistance to dedicate 75 cents of every Australian development dollar to support our region.

And we are building on our $620 million Partnerships for a Healthy region to deliver an $81 million package to address issues affecting our region including HIV/AIDS, dengue fever and polio.

We have partnered to better integrate our economies, making it easier for people to move between countries to live, work and study, and for business and tourism.

40 years of tariff-free access into Australia has helped contribute to the prosperity of the Pacific.

And I can promise you today, that will not change.

We have partnered to forge ground-breaking new agreements with Tuvalu, Nauru and Papua New Guinea.

We have expanded and deepened our Vuvale partnership with Fiji.

We have partnered in new Pacific-led policing, disaster preparedness and defence arrangements – supporting Prime Minister Rabuka's vision for an "Ocean of Peace"…

Enabling Pacific security to be provided by the Pacific family, assuring our stability and safeguarding our sovereignty.

We have grown closer by sharing our stories, cultures and common passions – including on and off the sporting field.

Together we have built a stronger Pacific family - working with Pacific institutions on Pacific-led solutions.

Nowhere has this been more important than on climate change.

We hear you. The Australian people hear you. We have now had two consecutive elections in Australia where our people have voted to end the climate wars that plagued our nation for over a decade.

Australians have voted for action. To protect the great ocean that we all call home. To deliver on the commitments we have made to our future generations.

The Albanese Government has enacted our commitments to reduce our country's own carbon emissions, as we said we would.

Our Paris Agreement commitment to reduce carbon emissions by 43 per cent by 2030, and to reach net zero by 2050, are enshrined in Australian law.

So is our commitment for 82 per cent of Australia's electricity generation to be renewable within this decade, a huge transformation for Australia.

When we came to office in 2022, just 32 per cent of Australia's electricity generation was renewable, and we have already increased it to a record 46 per cent renewables by the end of 2024.

And in my home state of South Australia, we now generate more than 70 per cent of our electricity from renewable sources.

We have listened to the Pacific's call for urgent climate action – and we are on track to deliver $3 billion in climate finance by this year.

And we are backing Pacific climate solutions by investing in the Pacific Resilience Facility, a Pacific-led and Pacific-owned facility to deliver climate finance directly to communities.

In these communities we see the injustice of the climate crisis – where those who contributed the least to the crisis, are the most vulnerable to its impacts.

Australia is working to build resilience in these communities.

And in 2023 - in a world first for a legally binding agreement – we provided legal protection for Tuvalu's sovereignty in the face of sea level rise, through the Tuvalu-Australia Falepili Union.

I have had the privilege of hearing your leaders speak on your behalf on the world stage.

Pacific voices have long been – and continue to be – at the forefront of global climate advocacy.

And Australia will advocate with you.

We all know that if we are to meet the Paris Agreement goals, we need the largest economies – both advanced and developing – to quickly decline their emissions.

The science makes clear that to keep the climate targets in reach, we need all of the world's largest emitters to do their part - we need historical and current major emitters to do their part.

Nobody has more authority in making that call than the Pacific family.

I urge the Pacific to use its voice, its moral authority, to bridge the divides, to bring the global north and global south together and unify us in our mission to preserve our planet.

Next year we hope a COP31 hosted by Australia and the Pacific helps give you that platform, and we will stand with you in demonstrating the urgency of this crisis to the world.

Our commitment to winning the bid to host the very first Pacific COP has never been stronger.

I was the first Australian Foreign Minister to visit every Pacific Islands Forum member, and I did so in my first year in the job.

This is my 28th visit to a Pacific Islands Forum member country as Foreign Minister.

My conversations across the Pacific confirm the ongoing deterioration of our shared strategic circumstances is of widespread concern.

I listened carefully when Prime Minister Rabuka says "the Ocean of Peace is a signal that we seek a region in which strategic competition is managed, where stability is the touchstone of regional relationships, where coercion is eschewed and where differences are resolved peacefully".

I agree. And what I would say is that our circumstances may be changing, but our geography has not. We know in Australia that our security is enhanced when we work together, when we respond to Pacific priorities, and when we respect Pacific institutions.

As a member of the Pacific family, our priority is to ensure the Blue Pacific is an Ocean of Peace, and it remains peaceful, prosperous and equipped to respond to the challenges of our time.

That's why we have worked closely with our regional counterparts to help the Pacific family stay united, and why we will continue to elevate Pacific voices on the issues that matter most to our region.

And we will continue to be your reliable partner. We will continue to respond to Pacific priorities, and deliver on quality infrastructure, skills, banking and budget support.

We will continue to invest in locally-led solutions to security challenges such as heath and community safety, cyber crime, corruption and maritime security.

We will continue to pursue greater integration of our economies, with more opportunities for Pacific islanders looking for jobs and economic options.

And we will continue to help goods and services move across the Pacific and beyond by investing in aviation, seaports and road infrastructure and banking.

Only two weeks ago I stood beside Prime Minister Albanese to thank the Australian people for their support on election night.

I also want to thank all of you today. I am humbled by the way I have been welcomed by the Pacific family for the past three years.

Thank you for inviting me into your communities and your schools, into your churches and your parliaments.

Thank you for sharing your hopes and your stories, your traditions and your rituals, for allowing me to participate in fatele and to Talanoa.

To have respected elders like Prime Minister Rabuka and Prime Minister Marape call me 'sister' is an honour I cherish.

Brothers and sisters, we are counting on each other to ensure our region remains safe and secure.

We are counting on each other to support the prosperity and aspirations of all the people who make up this great Pacific family.

We know that none of our nations can achieve the future we want on our own.

In this time of great uncertainty and conflict, as institutions are reshaped and global norms transformed, our region is stronger together – we can take action, together.

We can find solutions to our shared challenges, together.

The Australian Government and the Australian people are committed to this imperative.

And we will continue to stand side-by-side with you, working in the Pacific way to support a peaceful, stable and prosperous region.

Vinaka vaka levu.

Thank you.

A recording of the speech is available on the DFAT YouTube channel.