Mr COULTON (Parkes—Chief Nationals Whip) (10:09): I'd like to acknowledge the member for Fremantle for his leadership of this delegation and thank him for the comprehensive report that we've just heard. I was very honoured to be part of this delegation. I'd like to acknowledge the other members that were on it. Apart from the benefit of the relationships with other countries, these delegations are really important in getting to know some of your fellow members, getting an understanding of them personally and also the electorates that they represent. On the tour bus we had some lively discussions around various issues in a very friendly, collegiate way. I'd like to thank Mr James Strickland for the work that he did in providing support on this delegation, and also the department. I thought it was well balanced between the California half of this delegation, where we looked at renewables—we went to the Port of Los Angeles—and also the connection with the US Navy and the importance of that relationship between Australia and the US in the military context. Meeting the admiral in charge of the US 3rd Fleet was incredibly important. As someone who has got an interest in logistics, the Port of Los Angeles was fascinating to me. The member for Fremantle mentioned the port's desire to go to zero emissions. What was interesting was that there's still some development of technology needed to make that happen and that the electric trucks, under their current design, can't carry a legally loaded container on the roads of California. That's driving a greater push towards hydrogen driven vehicles that will have that ability to actually work efficiently within the guidelines of the local law. In Washington, the conversations that we had on Capitol Hill were very important because at the moment there's quite a discussion around the AUKUS deal. The conversations we had with the friends of Australia in the senate and in congress were very important because the legislation to support the first part of that deal is going through congress and the senate—maybe before Christmas, maybe in the New Year. It is important that we have supporters in there that are prepared to drive this issue because, clearly, that is a very important deal, and having those personal relationships, meeting those people and having frank discussions is very important. The Inflation Reduction Act, which doesn't really describe the purpose of that act that the America has just instigated, has enormous potential for Australia with the benefits of diversifying the world market. I was really interested in this, particularly seeing Australia as a supplier of critical minerals. One of the representatives from my electorate had been in discussions with the Prime Minister when he was there the week before, talking with US counterparts about a supply line for critical minerals and raw materials from Australia. It will have enormous benefits for my electorate. I'd like to thank the other members of the delegation for their friendship and camaraderie: the leader, the member for Fremantle; the member for Durack; the member for Paterson; and the member for Warringah. In justifying sending five members of parliament to the United States for a week or so, I feel very comfortable that it was an investment well spent. I think that the relationship between our two countries is important, I think the relationships between the members in this place are important and I think it was a very beneficial delegation. The SPEAKER: The time allocated for statements on this report has expired.