Roundtable with the Hon Andrew Hastie MP

On Thursday 20 April 2023, the Perth USAsia Centre was honoured to host a roundtable discussion with Australian Shadow Minister for Defence, the Hon. Andrew Hastie MP

Mr Hastie was recently a Lee Kuan Yew Exchange Fellow at the invitation of the Singaporean government. He provided the roundtable attendees with a rundown of his time in Singapore, including insights to the country’s bilateral relationship with Australia.

Participants from the Western Australian government, industry, defence, academia and civil society also discussed broader Indo-Pacific trends. These included rising great power competition involving China and the United States and its allies and partners, the evolving AUKUS partnership, and the political climate in the United States as the next presidential election cycle begins.

The pending release of Australia’s new Defence Strategic Review framed much of the conversation. This, along with AUKUS, is likely to have significant implications for WA, as a state facing Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean, along with major naval assets at Garden Island.

Mr Hastie was Assistant Minister for Defence under the Morrison government. He is the Member for the WA seat of Canning and was a commander in the Special Air Service Regiment.