Remarks, Signing of Geelong Treaty

SUBJECTS: The Geelong Treaty; AUKUS

RICHARD MARLES, DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER: Can I just say, welcome John, to Geelong. It is an enormous honour to be signing the Geelong Treaty with you today. The Geelong Treaty represents one of the most significant treaties between Australia and the United Kingdom that has been signed since Federation. What this Treaty will do is underpin the way in which both our countries develop a class of submarine that we will jointly operate. It's a Treaty which will last for 50 years. It is a bilateral treaty which sits under the trilateral AUKUS framework; itself embodied in a trilateral treaty that was signed in Washington DC, in August of last year. And in doing this, AUKUS will see 20,000 jobs in Australia. It will see – in building a submarine in this country – the biggest industrial endeavour in our nation's history, bigger even than the Snowy Hydro scheme. And in military terms, what it will deliver is the biggest leap in Australia's military capability, really, since the formation of the Navy back in 1913. It is John and my honour to sign this Treaty today, but I'm really mindful that to get here has involved a power work from officials from both countries. Both the United Kingdom and Australia owe all of them a debt of gratitude and I am sure on behalf of John and I we are deeply thankful to them for their work which has brought us to this day. 

JOHN HEALEY, UK DEFENCE SECRETARY: Indeed, Richard, thank you. With the cold and wet outside, the Sheffield art on the walls inside, I am almost feeling at home here. But I was honoured last year to welcome you to my constituency in South Yorkshire, and it's a pretty proud moment to be here with you in your Corio constituency now, together with you to sign this new AUKUS treaty; the Geelong Treaty. It is a Treaty for 50 years. It is a Treaty that will support tens of thousands of jobs in both Australia and the UK. It is a Treaty to build the most advanced, most powerful attack submarines either of our nations have ever had. It is a Treaty that will fortify the Indo‑Pacific, it will strengthen NATO. And we're the politicians signing it today, but this is a Treaty that will define the relationship between our two nations and safeguard the securities of our country for our children and our children's children. So this is an historic day, and Richard, it's a pleasure and pride for me to do this with you.