 Leader of the Opposition, Bill Shorten, Shadow Ministers, Senator Penny Wong and Richard Marles, Ambassadors and High Commissioners from the UK, China, France, Germany, the European Union and representatives of the Philippines and others, Lowy Institute Board members, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen. Good afternoon, I'm Michael Fulilove and I'm the Director of the Lowy Institute. It's my pleasure to welcome you all here this afternoon for today's important event with the Opposition Leader. Next year we will go to the polls for a federal election. Many of us have complained about Australia's decade-long period of Prime Ministerial churn. I imagine our guest today hopes that the wheel will turn just one more time before it settles into a normal, healthy rhythm. Others often say their most sacred duty is securing the nation and its people. And as the post-war international order frays, that duty will become harder to discharge. Certainly, there are reasons for optimism. Wealth and power are shifting eastwards towards us. For a country like Australia, with an economy that is so interconnected with Asia's economies, this presents many opportunities. It's exhilarating. But there are worrying trends too, including the conduct sometimes of our great ally, the United States, as well as that of our leading trading partner, China. So whomever takes up residence in the lodge next year will find a very full inbox when it comes to foreign policy. Ladies and gentlemen, it's important that Australia has an informed and rigorous national debate on foreign policy in the lead up to the election. And here at the Institute, we're committed to doing our bit. We do this in two ways. First of all, by injecting ideas into the debate. And in 2018, we've launched two major research projects. The Asia Power Index, which maps the power of 25 countries in our region. And the Pacific Aid Map, which tracks all development flows to Pacific Island countries. We've published important research on topics, including US foreign policy, Southeast Asia's economies, North Korea's nuclear strategies, threats to stability in the Pacific and the Middle East. We're also the leading Australian forum on international issues. This year, our annual Lowy lecture was given by our Chairman, Sir Frank Lowy. In recent months, we've hosted leading Australian political figures, including ministers Julie Bishop and Christopher Pine and Shadow Ministers Penny Wong and Richard Miles. This month, we will host the new Foreign Minister, Senator Maurice Payne, and we hope to host Prime Minister Scott Morrison before the election. And today, I'm delighted to be hosting the Leader of the Opposition, Bill Shorten. Ladies and gentlemen, the Honourable Bill Shorten has served as the Leader of the Opposition since 2013. He was first elected as the member for Marabanyong at the 2007 federal election. He served as a Cabinet Minister in the Rudd and Gillard governments. Before entering Parliament, Mr Shorten was the National Secretary of the Australian Workers Union. As Opposition Leader, he has demonstrated great resilience and a gift for maintaining party unity. He's also confounded expectations by leading the national debate on issues such as negative gearing and tax. According to today's news poll, Bill has a strong chance of being elected Prime Minister next year, which means he may be taking the helm of Australian foreign policy at a very consequential moment. Ladies and gentlemen, please join me in welcoming Bill Shorten. Good afternoon, everybody. First of all, I'd like to acknowledge the traditional owners of the land upon which we meet, and I pay my respects to elders past and present. And I'd like to thank the Lowy Institute for inviting me to address the topic of the foreign policy of the next Labor government. I'd also like to acknowledge this audience here. It's amazing to see so many people who take such a deep and abiding interest in Australia's foreign policy. People who are experts with a deep knowledge in this matter. I also of course acknowledge the heads of mission from other countries who've done us the courtesy of coming along to hear our talk today. The foreign policy of the next Labor government will be different from those of the past because the world is different. Power is shifting. The international order in which Australia has operated since the end of the Second World War is being disrupted. The America first policies of the Trump administration. The China dream aspirations of Xi Jinping. Britain's decision to leave the EU. Doubts and tensions over the Paris Agreement. Stressed institutions, in stressed international institutions more broadly and threats to the health of liberal democracies. These are all signs of the shift. We can't know where the present uncertainty will lead. But we can be sure of one thing. The world of the past is not going to return. We can't trust to old assumptions. We need to think differently about foreign policy, understanding that Australia will be more responsible than ever for setting our own future. Under a Labor government, I lead. Australian foreign policy will be independent, confident and ambitious. If I am elected Prime Minister, Australian foreign policy will speak with a clear Australian accent. Because I believe that foreign policy is more than an academic survey of the world around us, more than a catalogue of the things that are happening to us. Our foreign policy should speak to who we are, for the confidence that we have in ourselves, for the values we believe in, for the region and the world in which we want to live. At the beginning of this year, I promised my team would spend 2018 outlining our vision for the nation, a plan to hand on a better deal to the next generation. Meeting that fundamental test, delivering a better deal for those who come after us, depends upon a more secure, more prosperous region. Foreign policy and national security policy are therefore directly linked to Labor's reforming social purpose. They are essential to its success. John Curtin and Ben Schiffley understood this. They understood the connection between the lives of working Australians and the corridors of international diplomacy. They argued the case, as we will, that international arrangements must serve the interests of rising living standards and a stronger safety net. They called it the positive approach. It influenced the way that Australian leaders worked to shape the United Nations and new international trade, economic, and labour organisations formed at the end of the Second World War. Those principles haven't changed. Improving the everyday lives of Australians will be our purpose too. My shadow ministers have already outlined some of the objectives that will guide Australia's international policy under Labor. Today I want to set down my priorities and some of my intentions for foreign policy in the first months of a new Labor government. There are, of course, plenty of issues that could be covered. Africa, the Middle East, Europe, cyber security. But today cannot be a manifesto. I want to keep things direct and focused, beginning with the two countries that will shape Australia's future most directly, the United States and China, our closest ally and our principal trading partner. Both nations are changing and Australia's policy needs to respond from forethought rather than reaction. Australia and the United States share history, culture, a language and a friendship, a genuine friendship. We are bound by shared democratic values and respect for the rule of law. Labor's commitment to the United States' alliance is a pillar of our foreign policy. We know that Australia's interests are always best served when the United States is engaged in our region. And the Andes Alliance helps anchor that engagement. This was the understanding behind the Gillard government established a rotation of U.S. Marine forces in Darwin. And the next Labor government will continue to ensure that our alliance is shaped for our times. Because America's position in the world and its approach towards it are changing. Reflecting the attitude of American voters, President Trump has made it clear that the United States is not prepared to prop up the global order alone. He's declared that he wants to put America's interests first. And he says he wants U.S. allies to contribute more. This is a reality we have to understand. Recognizing that even beyond the current administration, future U.S. governments will demand more reciprocity in international transactions. Australia's interests will obviously be different from those of the United States in some areas. Our national focus is different. Our relationships with our close neighbors are different. Our economies have different structures. And indeed our differences in perspective and opinion are one of the valuable, one of the most valuable qualities we bring to our alliance with the United States. We tell truth to power. We recognize that we will not always see eye to eye on international issues. The Labor Party opposed the Second Iraq War and in view of the consequences, we were more responsible allies for doing so. We regret the United States decision to withdraw from the Paris Agreement. We can and will express any differences within the enduring framework of our close relationship. This is how friends and allies engage. It's what a confident and independent approach to foreign policy means. Like the United States, China is changing. It's becoming more significant globally as well as regionally, helped greatly in its rise by the rules and institutions of the post-war system. It is pressing its claims for greater global influence. By some measures, China is already the largest economy in the world. China's growth has brought unprecedented prosperity to the Chinese people and benefited the broader region and Australia. China accounts for one quarter of our total trade. According to the Governor of the Reserve Bank, it will be our largest export market for the foreseeable future. And ours is not just a trade relationship. Chinese investment in Australia is significant and its role in the overall stability of the global financial system is critical. The political, strategic and people-to-people dimensions of Australia's relationship with China are equally important. More than one million Australians now claim some Chinese identity. In fact, it's hard to think of an important issue in Australia's future. From climate change to the future of Antarctica, where China will not be an influential actor. When Gough Whitlam made the decision to establish diplomatic relations with the then-underdeveloped agrarian China of Chairman Mao, these realities would have seemed unthinkable. But for all of this, China's party-state system remains very different to our liberal democracy and differences between our systems and values will inevitably affect the nature of our interactions. However, the Labor government, the next Labor government, will not deal with China purely through the prism of worst-case assumptions about its long-term ambitions. Preemptively framing China as a strategic threat isn't a sufficient response to its role and increasing influence in our region. These kind of false binaries take us nowhere. We will deal with China on the basis of the actions it takes and in our own national interests. In other words, our approach will be sophisticated enough to recognize where our interests align and where they diverge. We will deal with China respectfully and directly at all times and frankly when necessary. We will speak out when its actions are contrary to our own interests as we would expect China to do the same. As our Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs, Penny Wong puts it, consistency and clarity will shape our response. China is an important part of our region but not the only part. It was Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard who reframed Australia's region as the Indo-Pacific. My vision for the Indo-Pacific is a region where all voices are heard, where rules and institutions guide collective action and where the rules are set through negotiation, not imposition. A regional framework of respect and cooperation. Australian Labor is good at building foreign policy frameworks. We own a proud tradition of elevating and empowering multilateral institutions. Our belief in the value of collective action, the power of institutions to drive change is a founding principle of the Labor movement and it is a conviction that applies to international affairs as much as domestic. Think of Doc Evert at the United Nations, Hawke and Keating in Evans transforming APEC and ASEAN, Kevin Rudd and Wayne Swan's work at the G20 and Kevin and Julia's success at securing a seat for Australia in the United Nations Security Council. A new Labor government will bring new energy and new purpose to this approach because we live in a time where the authority of rulemaking organisations from the United Nations to the World Trade Organisation is fraying. This matters to Australia because a might is right world, a world where power alone is the determinant of rule setting marginalises Australia's interests. Other countries will find an Australian Labor government working to establish active partnerships exploring new ways of managing a divided world and reforming the institutions to which we belong. We will seek to deepen our economic and defence ties with New Delhi as India's interest and influence in our region grows. We want to broaden our old friendships with South Korea and Japan. After all, our contemporary trading relationship with Japan began with the 1957 Commerce Treaty when memories of war were still so fresh but the foundation of our political relationship was the basic treaty of friendship and cooperation driven by Whitlam and signed by Fraser. Penny and I visited Japan and South Korea last year and there is more that we can do with these nations to enhance the security of our region and we will put a clear focus on the nations and institutions of Southeast Asia as the point where the Indian and Pacific oceans intersect and through which so much of Asia's trade and energy supplies flow Southeast Asia is central to Australia's foreign policy. The largest Southeast Asian state Indonesia has been at the heart of Labor's view of the region ever since Chifley's decision to support the Indonesian independence fighters against the returning Dutch colonial administration after the Second World War. Paul Keating once described his vision for our relationship with Indonesia was strategic trust. Now there's still a lot of work to be done to reach that point but that will be the ambition will be a central objective of the government I lead and if I become Prime Minister I will make an early visit to Jakarta. I think all Australians are rightly proud of the role our country played in helping Tim O'Leste establish itself as a nation and I acknowledge Prime Minister Howard's strong leadership as a key part of this yet neither Prime Minister's Abbott nor Turnbull have visited the country. I will rectify this neglect by paying an early visit in order to re-energize this friendship. Building a stronger regional framework also means paying close attention to old friends like Singapore and Malaysia and newer partners like Thailand and Vietnam as well as supporting the institutions that are centred around ASEAN and the East Asia Summit. These countries are vital in helping to address issues like transnational crime including people trafficking. They are vital to help keep our region safe from terrorism particularly the growing threat of battle-hardened foreign fighters returning from the Middle East and for Australia to offer leadership in Southeast Asia and indeed the world we cannot turn away from the erosion of democratic freedoms in Cambodia or from expressing human rights concerns in Vietnam or in the Philippines. We will draw attention to human rights abuses and use our influence to hold those responsible to account. We are deeply concerned about the treatment of the Rohingya minority in Myanmar and we will support moves to bring justice upon those who have committed the crimes and to ensure the values of the universal declaration of human rights are defended and expanded. We will appoint a global human rights ambassador. We have a vision for Australia's role in our region and we have a suite of policies to support it. Labor's future Asia plan is a whole of nation effort elevating our approach to the Indo-Pacific beyond transactional questions broadening our engagement beyond one narrow frame of reference or another. As Tanya Plibersek, Chris Bowen, Jason Clare, Richard Miles and Penny have all spoken about a key part of this work begins in Australia boosting Asian languages and cultural understanding from schools to boardrooms. Drawing on the knowledge of our great and growing and diverse Asian-Australian community and making better use of the literally tens and tens of thousands of our unofficial diplomatic corps the wide-ranging Aussie diaspora working in Asia. In a time of global disruption much of the structure and content of Australian foreign policy will have to be new but the principles that guide us of those which has always shaped my and Labor's view of the world we seek a peaceful world we seek a world in which power is tempered by justice we seek a fair world where prosperity is shared we seek a sustainable world where the environment is protected for future generations for me these are not just lofty ideals I believe Australia has a real and practical interest in cooperating with others to build a better future it's what Gareth Evans called good international citizenship it's what Penny Wong calls constructive internationalism and help achieve these aims Labor will rebuild the skills and expertise necessary to enable us to deliver an international develop assistance program of high quality and measurable effectiveness the Abbott, Turnbull and Morrison governments have reduced Australia's aid budget to a historic low Labor will lift Australia's contribution this isn't just our humanitarian responsibility it's an investment in our regional and national security and nowhere are the opportunities and responsibilities of good international citizenship more clear than the island states of the Pacific a Labor government I lead will seek to engage with the Pacific through partnership not paternalism ours will be a listening leadership based on respect and a genuine understanding of one another we're talking about a collection of partner nations in an ocean larger than all of the earth's land mass combined call it the blue continent our Pacific policy will respect the important geographical implications of that terminology we will not define our Pacific neighbors by the smallness of the size of their land by their relatively small populations but by the greatness of the oceans for which they are custodians of and that we share with them the Pacific region is known for its diverse languages culture legal systems and stages of development we need to put more effort into recognizing and understanding this remarkable diversity appreciating the challenges of travel service delivery infrastructure in these remote areas otherwise within a decade the 10 million people living across the Pacific islands will be living in some of the least developed nations on the planet it is not for us to lecture these nations about what they should want or to insult and patronize our neighbors if they ask for assistance but rather to work alongside them to achieve the progress that they need we will listen knowing that our Pacific neighbors sustainable development and property reduction are more than just economic concerns for them and we must strive to understand the socio-cultural dimensions which impact these issues a labor government will put the Pacific front and center in our regional foreign policy we are not going to forfeit the Pacific because we didn't turn up Labor will reconstitute the role of the Minister for Pacific Affairs and international development that the Prime Minister has recently relegated to an assistant minister status the minister will serve within the foreign affairs policy and will coordinate our Pacific strategy and programs across government proof of how seriously that we take the Pacific and the people who call it home we will engage with the Pacific not through the intricacies of geopolitics but in its own right our goal will not be the strategic denial of others but rather the economic benefit of 10 million people of the Pacific islands themselves the new prime minister's decision to miss the Pacific Islands forum meeting in Nauru sent I think the worst possible message at exactly the wrong time it is a pattern of the fly-over neglect of the Pacific and of the forum by coalition prime ministers obviously development assistance is critical Labor will grow our aid commitment to the Pacific but our agenda for engagement is bigger and broader than this we will encourage others including private firms the private sector to invest in projects that drive development in the region from roads and ports to water supply communications technology and energy infrastructure New Zealand's already doing this the United States and Japan are exploring the same options Australia should be too my vision for Australia is to actively facilitate concessional loans and financing for investment that is for vital nation-building projects for a government backed infrastructure investment bank our neighbors in the Pacific are looking for partners to help them build infrastructure and as prime minister I intend to make sure they look to Australia first I see this financing facility as a way that Australia can elevate our status as partner of choice for Pacific development and enhance security and prosperity in the region we'll also look for benefits in and opportunities in government services where both Australia and the region can win-win through us utilizing our economies of scale and comparative advantages and technology and expertise take the provision of Pacific patrol boats and the advisers which accompany them enabling Pacific countries to engage in better surveillance of their exclusive economic zones to defend themselves against threats from smuggling illegal fishing various forms of exploitation and other types of transnational crime all this in turn helps build the sovereignty of the Pacific states our tapes and vocational training institutions can be called on to do more to help Pacific nations expand their skills the seasonal workers program a labor initiative which has enormous mutually beneficial potential and where there is a genuine shortage of seasonal workers in this country the Pacific should be prioritized we believe in giving people of the Pacific the opportunity to work here not as a substitute for local workers not as a way of undercutting overall wages and conditions but with a guarantee too that no one working in Australia is exploited I think that's particularly relevant in light of reports today the widespread wage theft for overseas workers means one in three are earning less than half the minimum wage we must also address the particular inequalities affecting women in the Pacific from education to jobs to family violence just as the Gillard government did with the ongoing Pacific women shaping Pacific development initiative equality for women is an economic and social priority for labor here at home and gender equity and social inclusion with the heart of our foreign policy in the region and the wider world now the Australian Defence Force already enjoys close relationships with the militaries of the region but we can do more we will seek to actively work with the PNG Defence Force the Republic of Fiji Military Forces and the Tonga Defence Services to identify how the ADF can help these nations bridge specific capability gaps we want to mend our relationship with the Republic of Fiji Military Forces to ensure that the ADF is best placed to develop the Fiji and military's professional capabilities to ensure Fiji's security needs in doing so though we'll be mindful of the lessons of the past cooperation must focus on instilling professionalism in military forces respect for the rules of armed conflict international humanitarian law and the principle of civilian authority over the military no community of nations are more concerned about climate change with better reason than our Pacific neighbours rising sea levels are an existential threat to these nations under an Australian Labor Government our nation will be much better placed to help our neighbours respond and depress their case internationally because we accept the science of climate change and we accept the need for real action Papua New Guinea is the largest Pacific State the one of whom we share the longest history and it lies just five kilometres from the closest Australian islands in the Torres Strait we need to start thinking of Papua New Guinea as a big country already a population of 8.4 million and by the middle of the century it could reach Australia's current size now several Prime Ministers of Papua New Guinea have raised various concerns about Australia's visa policies the costs and restrictions on their citizens which have impacted relationships at the personal level under a government I lead we will institute a thorough analysis of the details and causes of the discontent seeing how we can improve the system without undermining our border security fundamentally building a deeper form of engagement with Papua New Guinea will require more than cacoda tourism it requires us to recognise Papua New Guinea's leadership role in the Pacific according to the government and people of Papua New Guinea the respect of equals as well as friends now no country is a closer friend to Australia than New Zealand no nation understands us better how closer economic relationship is one of the great global success stories of international engagement but we should always be asking ourselves how can we work more effectively on our common global and regional objectives and the improved treatment of the hundreds of thousands of long-term New Zealand permanent residents and taxpayers in Australia would be on my agenda in recent years the issue of people smuggling and asylum seekers is complicated and sometimes distorted our relationships with a number of countries of importance to us in the Pacific and Southeast Asia the problems of refugees and displaced persons are tragic in their impact and global in scale but they do have a particular regional dimension I want to be very clear about this Labor will maintain regional processing we will continue to stop boat arrivals and to turn back boats when safe to do so and we will defeat any efforts by criminal syndicates to resume their lethal trade operation sovereign borders will be fully resourced indeed we will revisit areas where the current government has made cuts but those to the number of AFP officers working in neighboring countries with our partners to prevent and disrupt smuggling ventures at the same time though I recognize there are more displaced persons in the world today than at any point since the Second World War and Australia must play its part in helping to resolve this humanitarian crisis we've already announced that Labor will increase our aid program our support for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and our humanitarian visa program all of this represents the biggest offering to the global plight of refugees that any Australian government has ever made it signals a determination for Labor to see Australia return to the group of nations which are seeking to resolve this global tragedy Greater Australian action on the global stage will place us in a much better position to secure third country resettlement arrangements for the people remaining on Manus and Nauru the New Zealand government put forward an important offer it's time for the new Prime Minister put aside the points scoring and to work with us to take it up stopping the boats was never meant to leave people languishing in indefinite detention we understand the importance of region wide solutions to the problem including the need to develop regional processing facilities that meet our international obligations and into which we have a clear line of sight to help coordinate Australian activities in this area we will appoint an ambassador for refugees and displaced persons we will work with the UNHCR on ways to manage and process asylum seeker flows today I've deliberately focused on our vision some of our immediate actions and policies of our foreign policy rather than talk too much about the other side but I do have to say that the more that we discover about their decision to abandon 70 years of bipartisanship on the Middle East the worse it looks Labor supports a two-state solution we recognize Israel's rights to live behind secure borders we acknowledge the people of Palestine's legitimate aspiration for a state of their own and we understand that in an area writhed with tension every move is weighted with meaning so simply announcing the relocation of the Australian embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem it's no mere logistical exercise it's hugely controversial and consequential there is a reason why only Guatemala and the United States have arrived at that decision the idea that such a decision could be taken simply to help with the desperate pursuit of a handful of votes in a by-election without consulting our foreign service or our defense force without communicating the decision in a timely and courteous manner to our neighbors and partners without any structure or process or advice behind the decision at all this is not just cynical politics it's damaging to Australia's reputation and to our relationships with other nations if i'm elected prime minister foreign policy won't be shaped by internal polling or electoral timetables but always by Australia's national interests first, second and third the immediate will not trump the long term the short term will not trump the future now i've spoken today about disruption caused by changes in the policies and attitudes of other nations but our international community is also being confronted by new and urgent sets of challenges as a result of developments in artificial intelligence and machine learning these technologies are redefining the way we work the way communities engage with each other the ability of governments and private businesses to impose social control and these technologies are being weaponized too the new frontier of artificial intelligence urgently requires new ways of thinking and more effective and up-to-date international agreements label and show that Australia is able to contribute actively and creatively and constructively to international actions in this area today while i haven't focused the speech on defense policy i do reiterate our firm commitment to a strong self-reliant defense forces one of the great privileges of being a member of parliament is the opportunity to witness the professionalism skill and dedication of our remarkable Australian defense forces up close Labor is committed to our serving men and women and our veterans and we're committed to maintaining defense spending at two percent of GDP and we will also develop a capable national defense industry because as Richard Miles has said this industry uniquely has the ability to project Australian power to have Australia be taken seriously in a way which complements the work of the ADF a homegrown defense industry as part of Labor's DNA we will support security policies and agencies that keep Australians safe we'll maintain and develop the wide network of security ties and intelligence arrangements to help us deal with the challenges to our society and our word our traditional five eyes partnerships pooling resources effort and knowledge are critical to that and to help change the international environment like changing things at home you've got to know what you want to do and expend the effort and resources and work with other people not all of them will share your aims but like all fields of leadership you have to persuade and the job of persuading and influencing and shaping requires resources appropriate to that task that's why it is just as important to invest in our diplomacy and the infrastructure of our international engagement as it is to sustain our defense force and intelligence and security resources and if Australia is to think differently about the world we also have to think differently about ourselves I have already announced that in our first term Labor will prioritise a voice to parliament for our first Australians and will hold a people's vote on the Australian Republic with an Australian head of state we are taking these actions not because of what they say to others but because of what we say to ourselves the nation we want our children to see in the mirror confident ambitious but nevertheless they will send a signal to the wider world about Australia's confidence in ourselves and the changing nature of our society next month marks the centenary of the armistice when the guns of the first world war fell silent over the past four years our nation has commemorated and honoured tens of thousands of young Australians who risked and lost their lives in that conflict or who came home changed forever but next year will mark the centenary of the Paris peace conference when the participants and the victors of that terrible war came together to try and build a lasting peace Australia was at that conference we were part of those efforts and those efforts failed however the following 20 years growing protectionism increased isolationism the failure of multi-lateral organisations like the League of Nations and the election of ultra-nationalist governments that undermined liberal democracy all led to another even more damaging conflict we can hear the echoes of that world now we should heed the warnings Australia can't do it alone but by adding our voice to others by demonstrating Australian leadership by building new coalitions standing up for what we believe contributing to the growth of security and prosperity we can make a difference we can recognise changing global realities as Curtin did in his turn to America as Schiffley did in supporting the Indonesian independence movement as Golf Whitlam did in visiting China we can shape international institutions as Everett did at the United Nations Keating with the APEC leaders meetings and Rudd with the G20 we can contribute to the development of new rules as Gareth Evans did with the Chemical Weapons Convention the responsibility to protect doctrine in the Cambodian peace process it will be wrong to underestimate the challenges ahead but it would be equally wrong to underestimate Australia's capacity to respond and change Conviction, confidence and ambition will underpin Australia's approach Labor's approach the foreign policy of the next Labor Government will speak with a clear Australian accent thank you very much Thanks Michael Well thank you Bill for giving such a thoughtful and wide-ranging speech I know it's one that will be read closely in coming days Thank you also, we note the important announcement on an Australian Investment Infrastructure Bank we could even call it the A-W-I-B if we wanted but I'm going to take the Chairman's prerogative to ask a question on a different topic and that is defence spending you recommitted today that Labor would spend 2% of GDP on defence but in the Rudd and Gillard era of course defence spending reduced significantly and major capability decisions were deferred are you confident that Labor can keep that commitment even in the face of important other priorities like health and education? Yes I am Labor has made some difficult economic reform decisions and we've got enough respect for the electorate to put them out there for people to contemplate we do regard the 2% of GDP going to defence as an important fundamental proposition we also regard the health of Australians where it is your Medicare card not your credit card to also be important we also think it's important we provide universal access to preschool for three and four year olds that we uncap university places that we probably fund our schools and our TAFE the reason why we're able to do those things and also help have a trajectory to reduce national debt faster than the existing government is because we are tackling unsustainable tax concessions and loopholes at the top end because we are prepared to say to multi-nationals you have to pay your fair share in Australia for example we are a country who's coming 23rd in maths attainment for our kids but we are the only country in the world who gives you a tax refund in the year on your shares for a dividend when you haven't paid income tax the question is what sort of country we want to be we've got to do the fundamentals right that's why we are saying that every sat day we want first home buyers to be able to go to an auction and not have to compete with someone who's investing in their 7th investment property subsidised courtesy of the taxpayer so we will we can afford our promises because we've actually done the homework and we've put forward the case for a fairer tax system which reduces debt looks after the fundamentals lets us pay for our essential services lets us pay for our defence commitments which also ensures that working people have a fair go alright let me go to the audience I know there's going to be a lot of interest from the audience in asking questions including from the media so if you'd like to catch my attention please put your hand up I'll ask you to wait for the microphone tell us your name and please keep your question short I'm going to start over there with one of my colleagues from the Lowy Institute Alex Oliver who's sitting here today and setting out such a broad and comprehensive outline of a labour of foreign policy one thing which you didn't touch on which was a strong result in our annual opinion poll about Australian foreign policy is a difficult question of immigration the rate of immigration and I realise this is a policy area which cuts across both domestic and foreign policy but I was wondering if you could set out given that some of your shadow ministry including Senator Wong here today have talked about the importance of an open Australia and the benefits that a strong immigration rate can bring to Australia's prosperity could you outline what sort of an immigration policy a Labour Government would have thanks very much obviously the nature of talking about our foreign policy meant it can't be the manifesto for the campaign launch but we've still got a few weeks before we have to put all of that out but on immigration we're an immigrant country it's interesting I've looked at some of my ancestors some were convicts others were jumped ship in the port of Melbourne looking for gold they never found any I'm not sure they'd get in under today's laws and some might say that's a good thing but we are an immigrant nation we've all got a back story other than our first Australians so immigration has been a good thing for Australia there's a debate about congestion if I'm spending an hour and a half getting to work from the Central Coast or from western Sydney or from Berwick and Pakenham in Melbourne into the city I'd be frustrated at the lack of investment in infrastructure what I don't do is blame immigration for all of that but I understand why people say hey, our city's the planning hasn't kept up so in other words I get the symptoms and if there are good ways to encourage immigrants to the bush they're up for that people have spoken about that for decades though so we won't be unduly obstructive but on the other hand we'll wait to see the detail of the government's propositions we think that we should have the exact number on immigration which seems to obsess everyone we'll take advice from the experts what might be the case for one year might not be the case for the next year what we do need to do though is recognise that we still need to have a humanitarian we still need to have a family reunion intake and of course we need to have a skilled migrant intake I think the area which has had less attention is the over-reliance on temporary work visas that isn't permanent immigration but that's part of the 1.5 million people in this country right now have a visa which gives them work rights now what I think we have is a fragmented labour market which is dampening wages the only way to debate about immigration is infrastructure and low wages growth wherever you go in Australia people say that everything's going up except their wages so I don't expect immigration or particular immigrants to have to carry the can for a poor wages policy in this country or for a lack of an infrastructure program in this country we'll be sensible, work with the experts and we'd like to make it bipartisan Peter Harcher from Fairfax Media Thanks Michael, thank you Mr Shorten a two-part question if I may one on the US one on China on the US you noted that the Trump administration expects all allied countries to do more in their own defence which you described as a reality what more do you think Australia will need to do in its own defence beyond what the coalition government has planned and on China my question is you noted an intention to speak truth to power how would an incoming Shorten Government deal with the reality that the Chinese Government is systematically repressing hundreds of thousands and perhaps as many as a million of its weaker population in concentration camps or certainly detention centres thank you in terms of defence policy there is a high degree of bipartisanship one thing we want to make sure though is that we continue to get value for money the submarine's contract is enormous so certainly we want to make sure that that is on track at all stages it's something which Richard's been giving specific attention to so people are looking for a radically different defence policy they're not going to get that but what we also want to make sure is that we're getting value for money in the big defence contracts I also think that there's more that we can do in the area of veterans Australia Labor's proposed we borrowed an idea from the Brits a military covenant with those who've served we think the government could not just give a lapel pin but have a look at the military covenant too that would be I think a positive development but I don't see defence policy as an area of giant disagreeing between Labor and Liberal in terms of speaking truth to power what we'll do is we'll do it in a respectful manner but I did say in my speech that where values diverge we won't ignore issues what I won't necessarily do is do it for a megaphone but I would like to see us resuscitate a Greater Human Rights Dialogue with China there's no doubt in my mind that we don't have all the information that people are asking for in terms of the treatment of the Uyghur minority and that what we've seen is gravely disturbing the way where the world process our advocacy though will be through an absence of surprises I don't think it's just China and Australia I don't even think it's country to country I just think it's organisation to organisation to people to people we've got to state what we think in advance so that way people can make their own judgments that's why I've treated not just the Lowy Institute but the Australian people in other countries with respect to outline our foreign policy that's the purpose of today to understand how we think and how we would approach changing world around us so I think that is the best way to go consistency and clarity perhaps to borrow from former Prime Minister the only thing I will in this speech no surprises Paul Kelly Paul Kelly from the Australian Mr Shorten we've seen in recent weeks the United States adopt a very strong and confrontational attitude towards China as outlined by the Vice President in his speech of the 4th of October can I ask you therefore to what extent you have a different appreciation from China to that outlined by the Trump Administration in its recent manifestation and do you think it's possible for an Australian government maintaining an alliance with the United States to have a significant to have a significantly different policy towards China compared to America Oh yes I'm not going to give America advice about their foreign policy to China but what I would say is I'd refer the answer to your question to my entire speech I've said that we don't need to view our relations with China through solely the prism of the worst case scenarios and I think we're a better ally and friend of the United States when we tell them what we think and how we should do things I think America and plenty of other places around the world expect Australia to be on our game when it comes to our region and I've enunciated today a very clear Pacific doctrine for the Labor Party that we will engage in our region and that should give an illustration, Paul, of perhaps the distinction I don't believe that we should be supporting the Pacific Island states as some sort of denial, strategy to another power but rather to help 10 million people it's a remarkable part of the world 550,000 square kilometres of land and about 180 million square kilometres of sea we shouldn't let the small size of the land distract us from our role so I think that both China and the United States would welcome Australia stepping up its engagement in infrastructure finance I think that our role in helping protect that amazing environment of the blue continent people would welcome so we'll have our disagreements with China we'll have our disagreements with the United States the ANZAS Alliance as I've said is fundamental to us but our foreign policy will speak with an Australian accent we don't have to agree with every tweet that comes out of the White House and what we need to do is also maintain our own national interest China is our principal trading partner and when you put into the mix our trade with North Asia the stability of that region is very important to our future but I think the best investment we can do in the Pacific region is to be very good neighbours in our own neighbourhood the best security I can give our kids and our grandkids is by being thoroughly engaged in our government with Indonesia with Papua New Guinea with the Pacific Islands with South East Asia and by taking an approach to China and to the United States which doesn't allow a false binary to occur Mr Shorten speaking of tweets can I draw you out on how you would approach your relationship with President Trump in office obviously a lot of leaders have stumbled over the relationship with Mr Trump Theresa May acted with some would say unseemly haste and that didn't work out others have tried a charm offence and that didn't work out you had one or two things to say about Mr Trump I recall a couple of years ago how would you seek to manage him as a counterpart if you're elected Prime Minister as much as I had to correct FM Radio during the last federal election I commented on some of his views in terms of how I would work with the White House professionally I've got a great team some of whom are here today they would be professional my front bench has got so much more stability than the other team my men and women of my shadow team and indeed my back bench have been to the United States and China I suspect much more frequently than many of the current government ministers Shamal's been working on defence policy for a very long time and the Pacific Penny Wong's been working on foreign policy for a very long time so my team is professional we're not going to do knee-jerk reactions like move an embassy we're students of history I appreciate that the Americans first were led on a battlefield by a foreign general was John Monash it goes back to Hamel the Battle of Hamel so I also know that in 1942 with the bombing of Darwin the 10 planes that scrambled to fight off the 180 bombers of the Japanese Imperial forces the 10 planes that scrambled in Darwin were American planes an American pilot but I also recognise that that doesn't mean that we've simply got to agree with everything that's said I don't even think they think we should I'll take a couple more questions the lady in the second row Meredith Griffiths from ABC News A groups have been rather lukewarm in their response to this idea of a Pacific investment infrastructure investment bang saying that we shouldn't be getting involved in some kind of lending race what would you do how would you structure it to ensure that small nations aren't going to be saddled with unaffordable debt yeah I am the model that we're proposing is not new I mean maybe no government Australia has proposed extending it to our relations with the Pacific but I'd say to those AIDS groups the aid groups who are concerned you want to talk to the green groups about the Clean Energy Finance Corporation we'll talk to the tourism groups who like what we're proposing with our Northern Australia Tourism Fund we will, I mean the New Zealanders have set up a fund very similar America and Japan are doing the same things I think it's a good judicious use of taxpayer dollars can't just shovel taxpayer dollars in foreign aid as simply as some of the aid groups would like but there's no doubt that aid has been badly hit under coalition governments so at $11.3 billion that's terrible but you can't simply remedy then we're not going to promise that we can because Australians want to see value for money for our international engagement but I think well thought out projects of which we can provide concessional loans as opposed to just grants allow us to help prioritise the needs of these island states it'll be their ideas we look to energy infrastructure, the internet, water, ports infrastructure so I think it's a smart way of combining a scarce amount of precious Australian dollars with the know-how and the knowledge empowering knowledge of those communities but we're not going to back in there'll be plenty of governance around the scheme these just won't be monuments or buildings which sit with no purpose empty after they've been built with it plenty of lessons people have made mistakes before I think this is a very sensible way of delivering aid but maximising the productivity of each very important taxpayer dollar Alright and I'll take two final questions I'll take them at the same time if I might Shane McLeod from the Lowy Institute and then Damien Kay from the New York Times so I might ask you to answer both at the same time Bill if that suits you, Shane Thanks Mr Shorten I manage the Australia Pup When You're Guinea Network here at the Institute and I suspect there'll be a few Pup When You're Guineans who are happy to hear you look at the visa situation Do you actually perhaps see a future where it might extend a bit further I think a lot of Pup When You're Guineans might like to think about visa free travel between Pup When You're Guinea and Australia can you see something like that happening between P&G and other countries of the Pacific Thank you Damien Kay from the New York Times Mr Shorten I was wondering if you could speak a little bit about China's role within Australia there are many American officials who have argued that China will push as far as it can wherever it can and that if it's been able to push harder in Australia that's because there's been vulnerabilities here where do you see areas of concern in terms of China's interference or influence within Australia and what would you do differently than the current government I might go to the second question and finish on yours Well one thing that I just don't understand what this government hasn't done is ban foreign donations just beyond, beyond belief Now I decided to lead by best practice a couple of years ago, a year and a half ago now we just banned taking foreign donations not just from China but from anywhere and I actually thought even though the laws have a lower minimum I thought the government might be encouraged, shamed into doing the same thing but I think the coalition's broke so I don't care where the money comes from so I do think they need to in all seriousness they need to shape up and stop taking foreign money full stop I think that's one very practical way I've had a look at your legislation in the United States now they've done some things to be fair and we back that but I think we need to get foreign money out of Australian elections and I think that would have two effects one is it would decrease hidden foreign influence in our elections I think the other thing to do is it just show the Australian people that we're not always in it for ourselves and that we're trying to rebuild confidence I should just say for your information and edification we're also back in National Anti-Integrity Commission which the government is not yet at that's not really on foreign affairs but I'll take every opportunity to champion that cause so we think eliminating foreign money out of elections will be a very good start in terms of visas the current situation is that Australian citizens can enter P&G with a get a visa on arrival at no cost a visitor visa for a P&G citizen to come to Australia is about 480 kena depending on the exchange rate of course if there's a problem and the visa's refused you don't even get a refund I think we shouldn't just take our relationship with P&G for granted I think ordinary Papua New Guinea has got a great respect for Australia from rugby league through to I don't think we can you know through a shared history but I don't think we can take it for granted just because we have been well thought of doesn't mean we're as will be in all friendships need replenishment for the well of goodwill as for no visas I don't know but what we want to do is have a thorough review and analysis so we can stop some of the annoyances I mean young P&G students don't all have to come to Australia to study they could easily go to the Philippines or Japan, China, the Middle East we take our relationship when you take relationships for granted you tend to wake up in the morning and realise they're over we have got no plan for a no-cost for no visa I do think that there are plenty of kinks we can iron out in the system anyway thank you very much for listening today it heartens me the interest Ladies and gentlemen, Mr Shorten has done us the compliment today of giving a very substantive speech but also taking a lot of questions on a lot of topics Mr Shorten we hope that if you're successful in the election next year you'll do us another compliment and give your first major foreign policy speech to the Prime Minister to the Lowy Institute so thank you ladies and gentlemen for coming and please join me again in thanking Mr Shorten thank you very much