Federal politics live: Penny Wong and Richard Marles to meet with AUKMIN counterparts in Sydney

There will be a fairly high profile meeting in Sydney today, with the Foreign Minister Penny Wong and the Defence Minister Richard Marles hosting their UK counterparts David Lammy and John Healey for annual talks at Admiralty House by the harbour.

The AUKMIN discussions will range over a host of different topics, but there’s likely to be a fairly sharp focus on defence and security issues this year.

The four ministers are expected to announce a new treaty focussed on shipbuilding and defence cooperation between the two countries, which are both trying to rapidly build up their industrial and military capabilities in an increasingly uncertain and perilous world.

We don’t have full details on this yet, but should have more information soon.

And while both Australia and the United Kingdom insist the Trump Administration’s review of the AUKUS pact is perfectly routine, the ministers are also very likely to have a detailed discussion about how they can ensure the technology sharing arrangement doesn’t fall victim to the US president’s “America First” agenda.

The United Kingdom will also want to use this meeting to highlight that its aircraft carrier the ‘Prince of Wales’ (along with a multinational strike group) has now arrived in Darwin to take part in Exercise Talisman Sabre.

It’s the first time the United Kingdom has sent an aircraft carrier to Australia in more than two decades, and the British government is calling it a clear demonstration of its “commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific”.

Put crudely, the UK is signalling to China (and others) that it’s still willing to deploy military force to this part of the world, despite the demands imposed by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Hi everyone! Welcome to another day of our federal politics live blog. It’s great to have you here!

I’m Josh Boscaini joining you live from Parliament House on a very chilly Canberra morning (yes, it’s minus 0.2 degrees Celsius here).

The first sitting week of the year may have concluded but there’s still plenty around in the land of politics to keep us busy. Let’s get straight into it!

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