Thank you all for being here this afternoon.
I thank our hosts Macquarie, a great Australian success story.
Among many distinguished guests, I acknowledge our Ambassador, Kevin Rudd and Australia's Consul-General to New York, Heather Ridout.
When I had the privilege of serving in Kevin's Cabinet as Minister for Infrastructure, we asked Heather to join the board of a new body we were establishing: Infrastructure Australia.
Its mission was to look beyond the short-term thinking that can sometimes capture planning and investment - and identify true, nation-building projects that would drive growth and boost productivity in our cities and regions.
The outstanding quality that Heather brought to that role is the same one she brings to her work here in the United States: a grasp of Australia's true potential and ways to unlock it.
This is what today is all about.
For decades, the United States of America has been the proving ground for Australian entrepreneurs, innovators and creatives.
In tech, in finance, in medical research and the arts, Australians have taken the view that if you can make it here, you can make it anywhere.
And because this country's founding spirit owes so much to people chasing their dreams and believing in themselves, because Americans are so generous with their enthusiasm, their mentoring and their support network, and because Americans know a game-changing idea or a world-leading product when they see one, so many Australians have achieved extraordinary success here.
Our cultures complement each other - both our similarities and our points of difference.
Our people have a knack for bringing out the best in each other.
Which is why skills and ideas and insights travel back the other way.
In tech and start-ups, in agriculture and medical science and resources.
And investment flows both ways as well.
Some of the biggest names in America, are expanding their footprint in Australia.
Google, Microsoft and Amazon in digital infrastructure, cloud computing and quantum.
Pfizer, Baxter Healthcare and Cardinal Health in medical manufacturing.
Chevron, Exxon.
Lockheed Martin and Anduril.
Along with your biggest investment and private equity funds.
All of this is a success story, worth celebrating.
All of it proves the enduring and evolving strength of our two countries' economic co-operation.
I'm here today because I want us to add a new dimension to our partnership.
American capital and Australian manufacturing are a natural fit.
And if we move now, we can make them an unbeatable combination.
We can put our investment partnership at the centre of a defining global opportunity.
The world's shift to clean energy represents the biggest change since the industrial revolution.
We are looking at ever increasing global demand for clean energy and the technology that generates and stores it.
And if you started with a blank piece of paper and wrote down every asset and resource you would need to thrive in that economic environment, at the end of it, you would hold in your hand a list of Australia's strengths.
A mining sector that leads the world in innovation.
Along with the iron ore, copper and coal that have built and powered our region's prosperity.
We are also the world's largest producer of lithium.
We have the largest global reserves of zinc and nickel.
And we are home to some of most valuable deposits of critical minerals on earth, just about the whole periodic table.
Including the light and heavy rare earths essential for high-tech manufacturing and defence, the digital economy, artificial intelligence, data centres and clean energy.
And I should note - these are just the deposits that we know about.
The experts at GeoScience Australia are still mapping our continent, they classify 80 per cent of it, under-explored.
Our resources are more than what's our under our soil or seabed.
Australia is the sunniest continent on earth.
And we have the space that makes it possible to co-locate extraction, refining, processing and manufacturing.
To build an entire, secure supply chain, end to end - and power it with clean energy.
And as energy and emissions and transport become more significant factors in the cost of production, compared to the cost of labour.
And as the alignment of economic and security interests becomes increasingly important.
Our Government sees this as an opportunity to create a new source of comparative advantage.
To make more things in Australia.
High-skill workers, making high-value products - with lower production costs and greater certainty.
Australia has the skilled and productive workforce to make this happen.
A world-class university and training sector, with a proud track record of innovation and research.
We have the capability - and we have the capital.
Our system of universal compulsory superannuation, means Australian funds continue to grow and invest.
Over the next decade, total investment in the US from Australian pension funds is expected to more than double.
That will mean more than $1 trillion invested here in the decade to 2035.
These same funds are investing in the drivers of growth in the Australian economy: infrastructure, energy, start-ups and private capital.
Investing in Australia is about what we have - and where we are.
Because when you build your business in Australia, you are building a platform and a presence in the fastest-growing region of the world in human history.
Our relationship with our region runs deeper than proximity.
We are more than neighbours, we're partners.
Our bilateral - and multilateral - trade agreements give us priority access to every market in our region.
We are deepening our business to business engagement with India and South East Asia, on track to be the third and fourth largest economies in the world by the 2040s.
And Australia's multicultural society, our diaspora communities and our status as an education and tourism destination means we are able to call on bonds of family and friendship with every nation in our region, indeed the world.
Australia knows the benefits of free and fair trade.
And our economy is geared for international investment, and for decades has been shaped by it.
We welcome it, we value it.
We know the vital role it plays in our national growth and success.
This why, in our first term, our Government streamlined the investment review process.
Making it work better - and faster - for parties that Australia knows and trusts.
We're building on this with a new focus on clearing away unnecessary barriers to major projects - and accelerating approvals.
So that investment flows into generating new energy, exploring new opportunities and creating good jobs.
Every investment decision begins with a review of the fundamentals.
And Australia's fundamentals are as good as anywhere in the world.
Low inflation, low unemployment, accelerating growth.
A Triple-A credit rating from all three agencies.
And we sit close to the top of every global ladder for the integrity of our legal and financial system, the security of transactions, timeliness of payments, smart use of technology.
Now, any Australian trade official can give you a compelling and detailed presentation on the strength of those fundamentals.
I'm here as Australia's Prime Minister to make it clear that our Government isn't resting on this record.
We're not waiting for the world to come to us.
We're going above and beyond.
Our Future Made in Australia Agenda invests in the full life-cycle of projects: upfront capital, innovation and research - and production incentives.
Including new production tax credits for processed critical minerals and renewable hydrogen.
Our plan facilitates new investment in battery and solar supply chains.
And in innovation, from green iron, aluminium and steel to low carbon fuels.
This fits together with our $15 billion National Reconstruction Fund.
Providing loans, guarantees and equity to help commercial projects, including value-adding in resources and renewable energy technology.
All of this is reinforced by our commitment to reducing emissions.
Our targets for 2030 and 2035 have us on track for Net Zero by 2050.
This provides certainty for business to build for the long term.
Put simply, our Government's plan for a Future Made in Australia, is a ready-made opportunity for investment from America.
And we want to give you every chance to see that for yourself.
Which is why in November, our Minister for Energy, Chris Bowen and our Minister for Industry, Tim Ayres will be hosting an Investor Forum in Australia.
We see that as a focal point for working through the detail and getting deals done.
With targeted and tailored action - from fast-tracking approvals to direct incentives.
As I've made clear today, Australia is blessed with an abundance of natural resources.
For investors, we are also home to the most valuable of resources: trust.
Trust that has been earned and built, over generations.
You know who we are - and what doing business with us means.
You can trust in our laws and governance.
You can invest with confidence in our institutions.
You can build a secure supply chain, in our stable democracy.
You can grow and thrive in an economy that values your investment and rewards your enterprise and aspiration.
You can employ Australian workers, with confidence in their skills and smarts and productivity.
You can draw on Australian research and innovation and know that it's world class.
You can take on the new challenges and opportunities of emerging markets - from a stable and familiar foundation.
In a time of global economic uncertainty - you can be certain about Australia.
Our Government wants to see Australia make this moment count.
We want to make the most of our nation's strengths - and our people's potential.
We want to make more things in Australia.
We want you to be part of seizing this opportunity - and sharing in it.
I look forward to continuing this conversation.
