It’s an honour to be here with you tonight and to join in celebrating Navy Week for 2024.
And I want to congratulate you on the insight of the theme you have chosen for this year.
“Our power at sea is derived from the wellbeing of our Navy people and their families”.
That is a timeless truth.
Because the great strength of the Royal Australian Navy and indeed our entire Australian Defence Force has always been the people who serve our country.
The men and women who wear the uniform and their families, because they also serve.
That is why just as our Veterans have always stepped up for us, we must step up for them.
And it is why one of the great privileges of my job is the opportunity to meet with the men and women currently serving in the Australian Defence Force and to say thank you for the skilled, dedicated and professional way you carry out your vital work.
All of you here tonight understand the place of honour that the Royal Australian Navy occupies in our nation’s history.
Yours is a noble tradition of service to Australia and courage in the cause of peace.
Memorials around our country bear the names of Australian naval personnel who have lost their lives in conflict, reaching back to the First World War.
And for more than a century, the Navy has given strength to Australian self-reliance.
You and the generations who have served before you, have upheld our national sovereignty, as well as our national security.
Our naval capability has always been a central part of Australia’s contribution to the peace, stability, security and prosperity of our region, the Indo-Pacific.
National sovereignty. Regional stability. Peace and security.
This is the Navy’s legacy, it is your history and it is your future mission too.
That’s what our Government is investing in.
Last week, the Deputy Prime Minister released our blueprint for the future of the Royal Australian Navy.
We committed ourselves to the next generation of continuous naval shipbuilding and the thousands of skilled jobs this industry represents.
Locking-in decades of work in the Osborne shipyards at South Australia and the Henderson precinct in Western Australia.
Our plan will see the number of warships more than double, from 11 to 26.
Bringing our fleet size to its largest level since the Second World War.
We are investing in a bigger, more lethal fleet and it will come into service sooner.
Of course, this larger fleet will need more personnel, which is why we’re focused on boosting recruitment.
And why we want to work with the best recruiters and best ambassadors for the Navy, the people in this room and all those you serve with.
We are making these decisions in accordance with independent and expert recommendations.
And we are making these investments because we recognise that in a time of strategic competition and international uncertainty, it has never been more important to ensure that the members of the Royal Australian Navy are supported by the very best in technology.
When the Commonwealth Naval Forces came into existence this week in 1901, the fleet’s only turret ship was built in 1870.
It took a long and determined campaign from a great Prime Minister, Andrew Fisher, to secure a fleet worthy of those Australians who had volunteered to serve their new nation.
The world that first generation of Australian naval personnel knew has changed in almost every way.
The challenges we face, the technology we look to, the way in which we co-operate and interact with our allies and partners are constantly evolving.
But what has not changed, what will never change, is the ultimate power and the greatest strength of the Royal Australian Navy will always reside in the people who serve.
Your courage, your skill, your dedication to duty will shape the future of our fleet, the future security of our nation and the future stability of our region.
And in all this, I want you and your families to know that Australia is proud of you and Australia is with you, every step of the way.
Thank you, enjoy Navy Week.