ASPI Defence Conference 2026: Keynote session with Pat Conroy

From translating the National Defence Strategy into sovereign industrial capabilities, to sustaining trusted partnerships across the Pacific, the Minister for Defence Industry and Minister for Pacific Island Affairs, the Honourable Pat Conroy MP, has two big hats to wear. In this keynote conversation with ASPI’s Director of Defence Strategy, Mike Hughes AIM, the Minister discussed the proposed Defence Delivery Agency and the future of defence procurement. The discussion also examined strategic competition in the Pacific and how all tools of statecraft — security cooperation, development, labour mobility, people-to-people ties and more — can be used to reinforce Australia’s position as the Pacific's partner of choice.