Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Legislation Committee, , 6:27:39 to 6:30:27
Discussion on high-level engagement with the UK government regarding European security threats and NATO cooperation.
Topics: ADF, National security
Speakers: Jacqui Lambie, Mark Hammond, Meghan Quinn, Unknown Speaker
>> Senator Lam, you had an additional
point. >> Thank you. I just just have a um couple questions just on Mr. String in the UK to defense. Has anyone met the new Has anyone in defense had an opportunity to since the change over of Snowr has anyone had the opportunity to um meet in from defense with Mr. Streeting at all?
>> Uh yes. Um so uh I was with uh the deputy prime minister and defense minister in the UK shortly after ministering took his post. >> Um and the deputy prime minister was in fact the first uh overseas visiting
person to really not know about them. So, I'll just cut you off. Have I had any defense personnel over there to meet
>> Uh, so we have uh we we so I have I have certainly met with him. Um, and we have our senior aid uh in the UK and he has was part of
>> Okay. The chief of defense force been over there yet? I asked this question because this week Mr. streeting has launched a national resilience conversation and he's calling it out obviously warning the nation needed to be ready for war with Russia within a thousand days or by 2030. Have our defense personnel not our politicians and that have we been able to get them over there yet to find out what's going on? Because I tell you what, Ukraine is They cannot get the help out of the US. We try every with other western countries trying to feed them what they possibly can but they are feeling the impact over there and I'm just not sure they'll hold for 3 years. So I know this could be a national security type thing but when can we get defense the CDF and that over to the UK? So we have a
significant defense uh set of personnel in the UK uh precisely to connect with uh with with the UK military. Uh and you don't have to physically attend the UK to have very close working relationships, but I'm happy to hand to
the CDF. Uh, Senator, I've met with um Rich Knighton, the chief of defense staff, United Kingdom, on two occasions face toface, and we've had several VTC's and we connected uh regularly. Um, we met in Canada at the Paycom Chiefs of Defense Conference. Okay. >> Uh, and more recently, two weeks ago, we met in Japan. We've had a number of conversations with the five eye chiefs of defense in one room >> including with Dan Kaine uh and >> your concerns about security outlook in uh Western Europe uh visav NATO and Russia uh have been the subject of deep discussion and I have back briefed uh accordingly to the minister the deputy
>> Thank you so much. That makes me feel better. Sorry, nothing against the deputy prime minister, the prime minister, just that these are the experts. on just making sure they've got their foot right in the door and keeping up with what's going on. I understand. Thank you.