Good afternoon.
I begin today by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on which we meet and pay my respects to Elders past and present.
My thanks to Innes, John and the Australian Industry Group for the invitation to speak today.
AiG has long been a strong voice for Australian industry.
Your members are the businesses that manufacture, innovate, invest and export.
They create jobs, send our goods to the world, develop new technologies, and help drive Australia’s prosperity and global influence.
I have recently returned from the G20 Trade Ministers Meeting in Milwaukee.
Where twenty Trade Ministers from the world’s largest economies met to address a range of trade and economic challenges, against backdrop of growing global tensions and protectionism.
I’m sure you can imagine there were some very frank discussions.
The global trading environment is increasingly complex.
Supply chains remain under pressure. Strategic competition is increasing. And economic security is a central concern for governments and businesses alike.
But one message was clear.
The countries that will succeed are not those that close themselves off from the world or subvert the global rules of trade.
They are those that build strong partnerships, diversify their markets and remain active participants in the global economy.
For Australia, trade security does not mean less trade.
It means more diversified trade.
Because trade creates jobs, attracts investment, drives productivity and strengthens economic resilience.
That means more markets, more customers and more opportunities for Australian businesses.
That is why the Albanese Government remains firmly committed to free and fair trade.
Australian businesses and exporters have enormous advantage es.
We produce world-class exports. We are leaders in mining services and resources technology.
And we are building globally competitive capabilities in clean energy, critical minerals, advanced manufacturing, defence industries and critical technologies.
Our job as a government is to help Australian businesses take those capabilities to the world.
That starts with opening doors.
Australia’s network of free trade agreements now spans almost 90% of the globe, and they give our businesses better access to many of the world’s fastest-growing, and most valuable markets.
These agreements reduce barriers, lower costs and provide greater certainty for exporters and investors.
But agreements themselves do not create exports. Australian workers, businesses and investors do.
That is why I encourage Australian companies to fully utilise the opportunities available through Australia’s large network of trade agreements.
Of course, Government also has a role to play.
We are helping Australian exporters to identify new opportunities, build capability and diversify their markets through our $55 million Accessing New Markets Initiative.
Through trade missions, market intelligence, business matching and unparalleled in-market expertise, the Government is helping Australian businesses expand into new markets and grow in existing ones.
At the centre of this work is the Trade Diversification Network.
The Network brings together more than 40 peak industry organisations, including the Australian Industry Group, to make sure support is tailored to real business needs.
It is government and industry working together to identify opportunities, remove barriers and deliver practical support.
And it is working. Really working.
In less than a year, the Accessing New Markets Initiative has helped more than 900 exporters generate over $100 million in export sales.
These are important results, and speak to the hard work of exporters, alongside support from Government through agencies like Austrade.
The work that Austrade does in driving these results are critical, which is why I also want to acknowledge the release of Austrade’s latest Trade and Investment Report today.
Last year, Austrade supported Australian businesses to achieve over 2,400 trade outcomes worth $8.8 billion.
That exceeded its annual target by more than twofold.
These results were delivered across sectors critical to Australia’s future:
Agrifood and consumer products generated $2.2 billion in outcomes.
Defence industries – $2 billion.
And the green economy – $1.7 billion.
We are also seeing the benefits of the Government’s trade diversification strategy.
Last year, Southeast Asia delivered Austrade’s highest number of trade outcomes, worth $1.6 billion.
Our trade with India has grown significantly, with exports reaching $10 billion in 2025.
And while China remains our largest trading partner, Australian businesses are increasingly finding success across a broader range of markets.
That diversification makes Australia stronger, smarter, more resilient, and secure.
The report also highlights the importance of international investment.
Investment brings much more than capital.
It brings technology, expertise, research partnerships and supply-chain connections.
Over the past decade, international investment has supported nearly 400,000 Australian jobs.
Last financial year, Austrade facilitated 115 investment projects worth a record $15.4 billion.
These projects are expected to create or support more than 19,000 Australian jobs.
And since 2022, Australia’s total two way trade has grown from $1.07 trillion to $1.37 trillion, increasing by more than $300 billion.
Together, these results show the enormous contribution trade and investment are making to build the industries, capabilities and jobs Australia will rely on for decades to come.
It is clear that no government cannot rest on its laurels, hoping more trade and opportunity will come our way.
I see my job as pushing more Australian companies out the door.
I am more ambitious for Australian companies than they are for themselves.
That is why concluding negotiations on our newest trade agreement with the European Union earlier this year was such an important achievement.
The European Union is a market of around 450 million consumers and an economy worth almost $33 trillion.
This is not just another trade agreement. Rather it should be viewed as 27 trade agreements, with the 27 countries that make up the EU.
It is twenty-seven massive new opportunities. Twenty-seven new open doors for Australian businesses that have effectively been closed for decades.
And twenty-seven lucrative reasons for business and industry to back this deal.
When the agreement enters into force, 97.8 per cent of Australia’s goods exports to the EU will enter duty free.
That means better opportunities for Australian manufacturers, farmers, fishers and foresters, technology firms, service providers and clean energy industries in one of the world’s largest markets.
It means lower costs, stronger competitiveness and greater certainty for exporters.
It will also support stronger two-way investment flows, giving businesses greater confidence to invest, expand and create jobs.
Unfortunately, there are those in this very building who want to the throw that out the window.
Right now there is a group agitating against the enormous opportunity this deal represents, and to dump Australia into the basket of countries pursuing a race to the bottom of tariffs and protectionism.
They want to say no to billions of dollars of new trade, and hundreds of millions of new consumers for your businesses.
They’re acting against the interests of the millions of Australians they claim to represent…
Farmers on the Riverina who will see significant market access increases for their produce…
The miners who are right now producing the critical minerals that will power the global economy…
And the regional communities who rely on trade for economic opportunity and prosperity…
This group will make doing business harder, as your competitors move in for opportunities they seek to lock you out of.
Decades of prosperity. Decades of bipartisan support for trade.
Abandoned on the whim of a movement experiencing a political identity crisis.
Let me make this clear.
There is no second chance with the EU if we choose to walk away from this deal.
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.
Now is not the time to hamstring the operations of businesses in this room – limiting your opportunities to expand and risking your existing customer bases.
All on the fairytale promise of an Australian economy that simply cannot exist except for in the imagination of politicians selling an empty promise.
They’ll use the straw man of action on climate and energy to justify their position.
But make no mistake, they are taking this position based on false ideas about trade.
Protectionism has consequences.
We have seen that around the world – tit for tat measures as countries ratchet up pressure, resulting in higher prices for consumers and less opportunity for exporters.
Angus Taylor knew this when highlighted the benefits of free trade in his maiden speech.
Tony Abbott knew this when his government pursued an aggressive free trade agenda
And Nationals leaders of the past knew this when they fiercely guarded the trade portfolio, recognising the significant benefits of free trade to Aussie farmers.
There is no room for negotiation here, the deal is done.
There is a simple choice before the parliament, accept or reject.
This deal won’t pass the parliament on its own.
So today, I implore you to stand up for your members and businesses and demand the members of this parliament see deal through the parliament in the coming months.
Friends, Australia’s prosperity has always depended on our ability to engage confidently with the world.
We have always been a great trading nation.
And the lesson from today’s global environment is not that we should trade less.
In uncertain times, Australia’s answer should not be to retreat.
It should be to compete.
To diversify.
To invest and to attract investment.
Because when Australian businesses succeed internationally, Australia succeeds.
Thank you.
