SENATOR THE HON SIMON BIRMINGHAM
SHADOW MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS
LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION IN THE SENATE
SENATOR FOR SOUTH AUSTRALIA

THE HON ANDREW HASTIE MP
SHADOW MINISTER FOR DEFENCE
FEDERAL MEMBER FOR CANNING

JOINT STATEMENT
LABOR LEAVES OUR SAILORS IN THE LURCH

Wednesday 14 February 2024

In yet another failure of leadership, Defence Minister Richard Marles was a no-show when it came to standing up for our brave sailors who were attacked by a People's Republic of China destroyer in November last year.

Senate Estimates revealed today that while our divers from the HMAS Toowoomba showed up for duty, our Defence Minister did not. He didn't even seek a call with his Chinese counterpart to protest the sonar attack.

In response to Coalition questions in Estimates today, Defence officials confirmed that despite radio calls to the People’s Liberation Army - Navy (PLA-N) vessel and HMAS Toowoomba’s warnings that it had divers in the water, the PLA-N destroyer moved into close proximity.

The HMAS Toowoomba and its divers “experienced sonar emissions from the Chinese vessel”. The incident was “assessed by Navy operational command as being both unsafe and unprofessional”.

Despite the severity of the incident and threat to Australian Navy personnel, Defence Minister Marles did not seek a call to his Chinese counterpart to stand up for our Australian Defence Force personnel injured in the attack. 

Under Coalition questioning at Estimates on Monday, the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet confirmed the Prime Minister was informed of the incident on the day it occurred, just ahead of meeting Chinese President Xi at APEC in San Francisco.

However, the Department refused to confirm whether the Prime Minister raised the incident directly with President Xi, leaving little doubt that despite having the chance to stand up for our injured sailors and their shipmates, the Prime Minister chose the weaker path and failed to do so.

It's not good enough. Our sailors, soldiers and airmen deserve better from the Albanese government.

If the Prime Minister and the Defence Minister can’t stand up for Australia’s best interests on the international stage, then they should step down.