Australia is proud to be part of the Pacific family. Shared values, unbreakable people to people connections and historically strong business links are the cornerstone of our engagement with the region.

COVID-19 has caused untold hardships for people and economies throughout the Pacific; however I am confident about our future and firmly believe that our best days are yet to come.

Recognising that vaccination is our only pathway out of the pandemic, Australia has worked with our Pacific partners to deliver almost 2 million lifesaving vaccines across the Pacific, and we have committed to supporting full vaccine coverage for the Pacific and Timor Leste.

To help bolster and stabilise the region's economies, Australia is investing an additional $305 million for a COVID-19 Response Package for the Pacific and Timor-Leste above the $1.4 billion in development assistance we already provide each year. This temporary and targeted increase has maintained essential health and education services, helped avoid a major economic collapse and cushioned the blow for many of our neighbours.

But I know, from listening to my friends and colleagues in the Pacific, that there is a shared desire to do more than just mitigate and repair the damage from COVID-19. Governments across our region are committed to innovate, grow, and bounce back stronger and more resilient than ever.

This means creating an environment that encourages investment and entrepreneurship. The Australian Government believes that a business led recovery will be pivotal in securing long term prosperity, and we are investing in the human and physical capital to support this.

Australia's Business Partnership Platform is enabling businesses in Fiji, Tonga, Samoa and Timor-Leste to access finances, resources, and expertise from corporate partners.

In Fiji, for instance, an innovative low-cost digital payment system developed by Mastercard will support 400 female-led small and medium enterprises reduce costs, improve productivity, and grow their business.

Encouraging meaningful growth also means providing the infrastructure businesses need to thrive. Through our flagship Australian Infrastructure Financing Facility for the Pacific, and our bilateral programs, Australia has committed to investing more than $2 billion in critical nation-building projects right across the Pacific. High-quality, transformative infrastructure such as solar farms, hydropower, highways, seaports and airports as well as fibre optic internet projects are already underway. We will continue to provide access to responsible and transparent concessional financing for infrastructure projects that will encourage further private sector investment, yielding economic benefits for generations to come. 

The Blue Pacific's magnificent natural beauty, our vast natural resources and rapidly growing populations remain one of our biggest economic strengths. Tourism, forestry, fisheries, mineral resources, and agriculture will continue to be major economic drivers that underpin our region's COVID-19 recovery as well as our future prosperity.

That's why supporting Pacific farmers access new international markets, such as commercial Kava exports to Australia through Pacific Horticultural and Agricultural Market Access (PHAMA) Plus, is a high priority that will see stronger agricultural development and investment translating into more and better jobs across our region.

This is also why access to Australia's labour market through the Pacific Labour Scheme and Seasonal Worker Program is one of the most important priorities for the Australian Government as well as for participating nations. 

The depth of Australia's investments in the Pacific is comprehensively supporting the economic needs and aspirations of our citizens at every level. And as our region achieves higher vaccination coverage, I look forward to seeing the Pacific gradually reopen, recover and flourish.

Australia will always be committed to a more resilient and economically strong Pacific, because when our region thrives, Australia thrives too.

Senator the Hon Zed Seselja, former Minister for International Development and the Pacific