Press Conference, Sydney

SUBJECTS: AUKUS Pillar I and Pillar II, Operation Kudu, Hunter Class frigates.

MINISTER FOR DEFENCE INDUSTRY PAT CONROY: Well, it's a great privilege and honour to be on the deck of HMAS Adelaide with my UK ministerial counterpart, Minister Eagle, it's a great pleasure to welcome you to Sydney and Australia. 

First off, can I express on behalf of the Australian people and the Australian Government our condolences for the tragic events in your home city of Liverpool. The Australian people do stand together with the people in the United Kingdom and in particular Liverpudlians.

Our relationship with the United Kingdom is Australia's oldest relationship. We're here at Fleet Base East, which was home to the Royal Navy even before the Royal Australian Navy existed. But now it's a modern partnership, it's a modern partnership of equals dealing with the most challenging strategic circumstances Australia has faced since World War II. 

Together Australia and the United Kingdom stand shoulder to shoulder against challenges to the Rules Based Global Order. 

Together we're training brave Ukrainian citizens under Operation Kudu right now to go back to their homeland to fight for freedom and against oppression. Together we're part of the AUKUS partnership, which is all about increasing deterrence and support for rules based order in the Indo-Pacific. 

Later this year, in fact in the next month or two, the UK Carrier Strike Group will visit Australia and will visit Darwin, and we're very excited to see the Carrier Strike Group in Australian waters. 

We face huge challenges at home and abroad, and the way we confront them is through increased strategic and industrial cooperation, and AUKUS is a great symbol of that, but there are many other areas that we're cooperating in together, for example, building the Hunter Class frigates in Adelaide right now. 

We've had a good discussion on the shared strategic challenges, we've had good discussions on the industrial cooperation, and the opportunities to grow both our economies while helping make both our countries safer in the meantime. 

Our relationship is strong, it's getting even stronger under the joint leadership of our two governments, under the leaderships of Prime Minister Albanese and Prime Minister Starmer, so thank you, Minister Eagle for being here, and I look forward to continued cooperation. 

MARIA EAGLE: Well, Pat, thank you very much for your warm welcome, and thank you in particular for the condolences that you have just expressed towards people of Liverpool who I know will appreciate it. 

We have friends all around the world us Scousers and we appreciate those thoughts very much. 

It's a real pleasure to be here in Sydney and on board HMAS Adelaide. Australia is one of the UK's closest allies, and I'm travelling on from here to Adelaide and Perth to see the fantastic progress you're making with our landmark AUKUS partnership. 

Our two countries do share an unbreakable bond that's enduring, and a bond that recognises the security of the Indo‑Pacific and the Euro‑Atlantic are indivisible. 

The war in Ukraine has shown that, and I'd like to thank Australia for its continued commitment to Ukraine, including your huge contribution to the UK‑led training program where we've worked together with other like‑minded allies to train over 50,000 Ukrainian soldiers.

As the world becomes more unstable and unpredictable, the stability of our defence and security partnerships are ever more important, and today we discussed shared security challenges, the importance of maintaining both deterrence and freedom of navigation in the Indo‑Pacific, and in this context AUKUS is vital. 

Australia's acquisition of a conventionally armed nuclear‑powered submarine capability is a wise response to the rapidly evolving strategic environment, and our AUKUS partnership is also creating thousands of skilled jobs in Australia and in the UK and advancing both of our countries' submarine and advanced military capabilities. 

Pat and I also discussed how we can work more closely together on defence industrial cooperation because AUKUS is about much more than defence, it's about strengthening industry, removing trade barriers and driving growth in all three countries. 

Thanks to AUKUS, Australian firms are a growing part of the UK supply chain enhancing industrial resilience, and I also welcomed Australia's support for the UK's Carrier Strike Group deployment that set off for the Indo‑Pacific last month. 

As we look forward to Exercise Talisman Sabre later this year, where UK and Australian Forces will again train side by side, it's just one more example of our defence cooperation. 

For the first time since 1997 a UK carrier, the HMS Prince of Wales will visit Australia docking in Darwin, and in the face of increasing global threats the UK and Australia remain the greatest of friends, and among the closest of Defence partners. 

Through our joint support for Ukraine, our AUKUS partnership and our high‑end military exercises, our cooperation is delivering security and prosperity for the Australian and British people for which, Pat, thank you very much. Thanks again. 

MINISTER CONROY: Questions. Matthew.

JOURNALIST: Minister, can you ask you, is Australia concerned about reports that Indonesia is looking to buy Russian and Chinese aircraft? 

MINISTER CONROY: Look, thanks for the question, and I'm not going to comment on speculation in the media, but I will make the point that Indonesia sources equipment from all around the world and has done for a number of decades. 

The important point is that Australia's relationship with Indonesia is going from strength to strength, as evidenced by Prime Minister Albanese continuing the tradition of making his first visit as a re‑elected Prime Minister to Indonesia. We've got incredibly strong relationships, and that will get even stronger in the future. 

JOURNALIST: Did Australia know about [indistinct] ‑‑

MINISTER CONROY: Matthew. 

JOURNALIST: How quickly does the Government want to end [indistinct] ownership Port of Darwin and would you accept US buyer [indistinct] Australia [indistinct]. 

MINISTER CONROY: We've been very clear that we want to see the Port of Darwin back in Australian hands. We were clear from day one, that the last Liberal Government made a massive mistake in allowing the sale of the port with a long‑term lease on the port, and we're going to fix that, we're going to fix that in a systemic way, a systematic way, we're going through the process now of looking at the options, but our commitment is at the end of the process, the Port of Darwin will be in Australian hands. 

JOURNALIST: And Minister, can I ask you about the - are you concerned at reports of alleged price gouging by the British company, BAE regarding the Hunter frigates? 

MINISTER CONROY: Look, sorry, is that to me, or? 

JOURNALIST: Yes. 

MINISTER CONROY: We are really optimistic about the Hunter Class project, we've been very open that there were some challenges in that project, as there is when there's a first of type being developed, but I'm satisfied that we're making progress in it, and at the end of the process Australia will have the most advanced submarine hunting frigate in the world, and this is an example of industrial cooperation between our two countries. 

The Type 26 that the UK are building and the Hunter Class will be very advanced frigates, they will have can componentry from both countries in them, and they're an example of our countries working together to make the world safer. 

JOURNALIST: Are you worried about the cost [indistinct]? 

MINISTER CONROY: Again, we've been very open that the last government allowed the project to drift through changes and a lack of leadership when Peter Dutton was Defence Minister. We've got on with fixing that. We've made a number of decisions to get that project back on track, and we're confident it is on track now. 

JOURNALIST: There's some bilateral talks, the US partners aren't involved in these discussions. How would you describe relations with the USA [indistinct]? Let's hear from both of you, it was a trilateral to start with. How would you describe your relations with [indistinct]. 

MINISTER CONROY: Well, I'd make the point that we have bilateral and trilateral conversations, for example, there's regularly scheduled AUKUS Defence Minister meetings that Secretary Healey and the DPM and the US Defence Secretary Hegseth will be participating in. 

So we have trilateral conversations, and we also have bilateral conversations. And what I'd make the point is that all three parties to AUKUS are committed to it, all three parties are delivering the key milestones that we've committed to, but at the same time our relationship with the UK is very strong, it's getting deeper, and we're working together on a number of exciting projects that advance both our nations, including the Hunter Class frigate. 

MARIA EAGLE: I'd just say that the US are committed to AUKUS, the new administration is committed to AUKUS, as are both Australia and the UK. There's nothing unusual about us having bilateral discussions about the way forward. This is a multi‑decade long commitment to -‑‑ 

JOURNALIST: One of founding fathers of AUKUS was Scott Morrison, he threw up the possibility of AUKUS expanding into space, dialling into the technology there? 

MARIA EAGLE: I mean I think we have we have a lot of work to do on Pillar I and Pillar II. That's what we're focused on right now, and I think any further discussions thereafter are for the future. 

JOURNALIST: But is it an [indistinct] I mean potentially, if it makes [indistinct]. 

MINISTER CONROY: Well, I agree with Maria, that our focus is on AUKUS Pillar I and Pillar II and continuing to deliver on those. Let's not forget that AUKUS Pillar I and II, particularly Pillar I is the most advanced industrial undertaking Australia will ever attempt. It will create 20,000 jobs doing some of the most advanced industrial and technology work in the world. 

Let's focus on that right now, delivering that, demonstrating to the Australian people that we can deliver what we've committed to; let's focus on that, because that's really important for the nation. 

JOURNALIST: Is your timeframe on track? 

MINISTER CONROY: Yes. 

JOURNALIST: That you set out, everything is. ‑‑ 

MINISTER CONROY: We've achieved every major milestone that we've committed to. Preparatory work has begun on the submarine construction yard at Osborne, Submarine Rotation Force West, the planning and preparation for that is going well, including billions of dollars' worth of work at HMAS Stirling. We've had successful submarine maintenance periods for visiting US nuclear‑powered submarines, so we're hitting all the key milestones.

Australian sailors are graduating from training in both the UK and United States right now, and in fact it's poor manners to brag in front of a guest, but I've been particularly proud about how well our officers have been doing in the training courses and in fact the latest training course through the US Reactor School, Australian submariners finished second, third and fifth. 

So we're hitting all the major milestones, and this is a project in the interests of all three nations. 

JOURNALIST: Minister Conroy, is there an appetite for Australia to sign a security defence pact with the EU similar to what the UK did last week; is there maybe appetite and scope for the UK, EU and Australia to go into a trilateral agreement, you know, in the context of Ukraine and the Indo‑Pacific security? 

MINISTER CONROY: Well, I'd refer you to the comments from Prime Minister Albanese in response to that last week. We've got good levels of discussion with the European Union on lots of things, but we are firmly focused on the Indo‑Pacific. That's what the National Defence Strategy has set out, that's where we're facing our greatest strategic challenges. 

So we are focused on the Indo‑Pacific but while being very clear that we will be involved in global events where they're important, and that's why I represented Australia at the NATO Indo‑Pacific 4 meeting last year where I announced the gifting of our Abrams tank fleet to the Ukraine, that's why our discussions today included how we can continue to support Ukraine, because Vladimir Putin's illegal, immoral and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine is not just a matter for Europe, it's a matter for the whole world, because it signals to dictators around the world that might is right, so we'll continue to be focused on the Indo‑Pacific while being part of global efforts there. 

JOURNALIST: Just one more on AUKUS submarines, what are the next milestones, particularly for the Ukraine and Australia, what's the next [indistinct]? 

MARIA EAGLE: We have to keep on track with Pillar I, making sure that submarines are delivered on time, and we also have to look at what we can do in Pillar II to have some joint effort to make that a reality. 

MINISTER CONROY: And just to amplify what Minister Eagle said, long‑lead items have been ordered for the first of the Australian reactors to go into SSN AUKUS. I'm looking at getting over to the United Kingdom to inspect that. Design work on SSN AUKUS is continuing at pace, and industrial cooperation is also ramping up, for example, a great Australian company, Pacific Marine Batteries is supplying batteries right now into the UK nuclear program. So, they're the major milestones coming up, with a particularly Australia‑UK flavour. Thank you very much everyone.

ENDS