28095 (2026). Teanau Tuiono to the Associate Minister for National Security and Intelligence

28095 (2026). Teanau Tuiono to the Associate Minister for National Security and Intelligence: What correspondence, if any, including letters, emails, text messages, WhatsApp, signal, or any other form of electronic communication, has the Minister or any member of their office sent or received with ASEAN countries about the US call to lift Defence spending to 3.5 percent of a country's GDP by date and title?

Hon Mark Mitchell: In my capacity as Associate Minister for National Security and Intelligence, neither I nor my staff have sent or received correspondence from the ASEAN countries about the US call to lift Defence spending to 3.5 percent of a country's GDP. Engagement with foreign countries including embassies is a matter that falls within the Foreign Affairs portfolio. I refer the member to the response to Written Parliamentary Question 28060 (2026) provided by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Rt Hon Winston Peters.