Good morning everyone,
I begin by acknowledging the traditional custodians of the land on which we meet and I pay my respects to their elders past and present.
There's no better place in Australia to be right now than Adelaide and I want to welcome you all here.
John Bannon used to say that you could tell how well an economy was going by the number of cranes you could see on the horizon.
If his metric is anything to go by, South Australia is booming, and I hope you all take the time to enjoy the world class hospitality we have to offer.
I thank the Chamber and Andrew for the invitation and I acknowledge the important role you play in supporting so many Australian businesses.
Your members are the people who create jobs, invest in communities, and export Australian products and capabilities to the world.
I know many members are also among the first to feel the pressure when global conditions shift, and trade doesn't flow as it should.
It's been an especially difficult time for Australian businesses.
Trade and tourism are major economic drivers.
Our future prosperity depends in part on our ability to navigate these evolving conditions.
The challenges faced by goods exporters, such as global travel disruption, changing trade routes, cost pressures, and workforce constraints are the same experienced by one of our largest exports - our tourism industry.
However, despite the significant challenges of recent years, Australia's tourism outlook is positive.
Visitor spend reached a record $192 billion in 2025 with international visitor spend growing strongly to $39 billion.
By 2030, we expect international visitor spend to Australia to reach $46 billion.
But we will not be complacent.
We are focused on even greater growth.
We are supporting industry capability, encouraging regional dispersal and working with states, territories and industry to strengthen Australia's competitiveness as a destination.
We are investing $10 million in the Great Barrier Reef Educational Experience Fund and $8.5 million in targeted support to reinvigorate tourism in the Red Centre.
We have announced over $56 million over the next four years for traveller modernisation activities, including rolling out of the digital incoming passenger card to all international airports and seaports.
Tourism Australia's Come and Say G'Day campaign featuring Robert Irwin is helping drive demand across 16 global markets.
And very shortly, the new Western Sydney International Airport, which is already operating new freight flights, will open for domestic passengers in the coming weeks and international flights to New Zealand and Singapore soon after.
I want to see more trade, not less.
And the Albanese Government is delivering that, even as we face the most contested and complex global trading environment in a generation.
Perhaps because of it.
We are helping Australian businesses identify new opportunities, understand new markets and build the capability to compete.
That is the purpose of our Accessing New Markets Initiative.
This $55 million program is helping Australian exporters diversify into new markets and grow in established ones.
At the heart of the initiative is the Trade Diversification Network - of which ACCI is one of 40 national peak industry body members.
The network enables Austrade and industry to co-design targeted export activities, including trade missions, training, market insights and business-matching support.
This is not the government deciding from Canberra what business needs.
We are working in tandem with industry to deliver co-designed, targeted support that is making a practical difference.
Today, I am very pleased to report that the Accessing New Markets Initiative has delivered strong results since it commenced 9 months ago, supporting more than 900 exporters to generate more than $100 million in export sales.
I said I wanted to see more trade, not less.
Our approach is working - last year we did a record $1.3 trillion worth of trade with the world.
The Australia-UK Free Trade Agreement has seen trade with the UK double since 2023 and is continuing to grow.
The Australia-India Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement has seen our agricultural exports to India more than double since 2022, increasing by 139 per cent. Australian services to exports to India more than doubled over the same time frame.
And I'm still playing the second innings with India.
Despite the disruptions in the Middle East, our landmark agreement with the United Arab Emirates is poised to pay dividends for Australian exporters who I know are ready to seize the enormous opportunity posed by improved access to the region.
Earlier this year, I travelled to the UAE and attended Gulfood in Dubai where Australian businesses secured $400 million worth of deals. Andrew joined me on that trip, and I am sure he can attest to the demand for high-quality Australian products in the region.
And our efforts in strengthening our relationships across Asia have never been more important. Those relationships meant we were able to quickly reach new agreements across the region to secure the fuel needed to keep Australia moving during the recent fuel crisis.
We now have more fuel than we did when the conflict began.
Earlier this year, after many years of negotiation, the government concluded our newest trade agreement with the European Union.
The EU is a high-income market of about 450 million consumers, and a GDP of almost $33 trillion.
Don't think of this new agreement just one new agreement, think of it as twenty-seven new agreements.
Twenty-seven new doors have opened for our businesses.
When the agreement enters into force, 97.8% of Australia's goods exports to the EU will enter duty-free.
This new agreement will see South Australian seafood served on tables in Poland.
Western Australian critical minerals powering German factories.
Victorian wine poured into Austrian glasses.
And Queensland beef hitting supermarket shelves in Belgium.
The Agreement will deliver more European capital to Australia, with foreign investment screening thresholds for private EU investors being raised to $1.5 billion.
This Agreement will mean more jobs, lower costs, better competitiveness and stronger margins for Australian exporters.
However, reaching agreement is only the first step.
There is still some way before we can enjoy the benefits of free-flowing trade and goods between Australia and the economies of Europe.
Like all trade agreements, the terms of our deal must be ratified through our nation's parliament, before it can enter into force. In past years, ratification may have seemed easy or guaranteed. After all, trade policy in this country has been largely bipartisan, with all sides of politics recognising the prosperity and jobs created by our exporters.
But it has become clear that the passage of this new deal through the parliament is not guaranteed.
In recent weeks, as politics in our country has shifted to entertain and reward populism, some in our parliament have been tempted to signal that they will oppose this agreement - choosing to chase headlines rather than practical outcomes.
Sadly, some of those who are indicating that they will try to block this agreement, are the same Members and Senators who claim to represent the hard-working businesses in this very room.
Turn on the news. The world is currently falling into two groups, those putting up barriers, blocking markets, and imposing taxes and tariffs - and those continuing to build connection, strengthen trading relationships, and find new markets.
This Government chooses to be the latter.
We will not be tempted into the error, into the fallacy, or into the lie - that locking ourselves away from the world will help Australian business or consumers.
We will not send a message to the world that we are not open for business, that we are not interested in winning foreign investment, and that years of hard-fought negotiations can be sacrificed on the altar of someone's political ambition.
I want to make this clear - there is no second chance with the EU if we choose to walk away from this deal.
To those that seek to block this agreement - the question will come, now or later, why did you sacrifice gains for Australian exporters, Australian businesses, and Australian jobs - just to chase a headline or a vote?
Now is the time for a unified Australia-first approach to free trade, not for dragging us back decades down the path of protectionism and isolation.
So today, I am calling on all of you in this room - make your views known to each and every Member and Senator.
Make it known what this deal means to you, your business, your growth, and your jobs.
Make it known that if a party or leader claims to represent the business community, or our regional producers, then how they vote in parliament matters.
In uncertain times, Australia's answer should not be to retreat.
It should be to compete.
To diversify.
To build resilience.
To back our businesses and to make sure the benefits of trade and tourism are felt by workers, families and communities right across Australia.
Thank you.
