Thank you for that introduction.
And thank you for the opportunity to speak to you here at ADSTAR 2026 in my hometown of Adelaide.
I acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of these lands, the Kaurna people, and pay my respects to their Elders past, present, and emerging.
This summit’s theme – Delivering More, Together – underscores a simple truth.
In today’s world, no nation can secure its future alone.
And no nation can innovate effectively in isolation.
We know the strategic landscape has changed.
Military power is expanding rapidly, while the guardrails that help prevent conflict and manage strategic competition have not kept pace.
The rules and norms that have underpinned our region’s security and prosperity for generations are under increasing pressure.
And the risk of escalation and miscalculation is growing.
At the same time, technology is transforming the foundations of our society, the nature of conflict itself, and the dimensions of national power.
Artificial intelligence, quantum technologies, autonomous systems, cyber and space capabilities, and space technology.
These are the tools with which the future strategic landscape will be shaped.
I have often spoken about the four Rs of Australia’s foreign policy: our region, our relationships, the rules that protect us all, and our resilience.
Australia wants a peaceful, stable, and prosperous region.
One where sovereignty is respected.
Where countries are free to make their own choices.
Where disputes are resolved by dialogue, not by force or coercion.
Where no country dominates, and no country is dominated.
As a middle power, Australia cannot achieve that vision alone.
We know we must do more to contribute to the strategic balance that preserves peace.
Since the Albanese Government came to office, we have strengthened every single relationship in our region.
The Ocean of Peace Alliance with Fiji.
The Pukpuk Treaty with Papua New Guinea.
The Treaty on Common Security with Indonesia.
The Parseria Joint Declaration with Timor-Leste.
And we have upgraded our ties with India, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Vietnam, Vanuatu, the Philippines, Brunei, Naoero, and Tuvalu.
These agreements reflect a shared understanding that our security, prosperity, and resilience are strengthened when we invest in each other’s success.
Last week, alongside signing a Protocol that will strengthen cooperation on energy security and critical supply chains, we concluded the Australia-Singapore Industrial Base Resiliency Arrangement with Singapore.
The Agreement advances coordination between our defence industries and is a practical example of trusted partners working together toward shared goals.
The same principle is reflected in the landmark $2.5 billion agreement with Canada to deliver an Australian-developed over-the-horizon radar capability derived from the Jindalee Operational Radar Network.
Built through decades of collaboration between Defence, industry, and researchers right here in South Australia, it brings together Australia’s world-leading expertise and Canada’s Arctic defence requirements.
The same output is also shaping our growing defence and technology partnerships with India, Japan, the European Union, and the United States.
We know innovation is fundamental to our resilience.
It underpins our security.
And it is inseparable from our statecraft.
Australia’s approach is to use all tools of national power to shape the region and the world that we want. An element of this – what I call amplified middle power diplomacy – is to strengthen our relationships with partners.
The countries best positioned for the future will be those that can build the strongest networks – between governments, researchers, industry, and international partners – and forge the most effective pathways from ideas to real-world capability.
That is why the Government’s new Defence Innovation, Science and Technology Strategy places collaboration at its centre.
Because innovation does not merely enable capability. It multiplies it.
Many of the technologies shaping our security are technologies with both commercial and national security applications.
We can see that clearly in the work of QuantX Labs.
Born from research at the University of Adelaide, QuantX has developed world-leading precision timing technologies.
Its optical atomic clocks support advanced radar and navigation in Defence operations, while also strengthening critical infrastructure, transport systems and financial networks used by everyday Australians.
It is a powerful example of Australian research being translated into sovereign capability, commercial success, and strategic advantage.
Central to our sovereign capability is AUKUS – and the nature of AUKUS depends on our close work with trusted partners.
Acquiring conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarines will help us deal with the capability gap left to us – and ensure Australia is better able to contribute to deterrence, collective security, and regional stability.
It will make Australia a more capable partner, better able to reduce the risk of conflict, and to preserve the balance in our region that has underpinned decades of peace and prosperity.
Through AUKUS Pillar I and Pillar II, we are working with the United Kingdom and the United States to accelerate the development and deployment of advanced technologies and helping build the industrial and workforce capabilities Australia will need in the decades ahead.
We can already see the benefits in South Australia.
From Lot Fourteen and Osborne to organisations such as the Australian Institute for Machine Learning, Defence Trailblazer, Acacia Systems and Silentium Defence, South Australia is building Australia’s defence innovation ecosystems.
Last month, the Albanese Government announced a further $4.6 billion to support the continued delivery of our world class Nuclear-Powered Submarine Construction Yard at Osborne.
The investment will support ongoing construction and development activities across the Osborne precinct as work continues at pace to establish the infrastructure, workforce and industrial capability required to deliver this generational program.
One that will create almost 10,000 jobs across the entire program in South Australia alone.
In Adelaide’s north, Century Engineering recently became the first company qualified through the Federal Government’s Australian Submarine Supplier Qualification Program.
A business that once manufactured components for two-stroke Victa lawnmowers is now supplying parts for next-generation aircraft carriers.
Few stories better illustrate how local expertise can connect to global opportunity through trusted partnerships.
And last week, my colleague, Minister for Defence Industry Pat Conroy, also announced New South Wales business Bisalloy Steel has secured a $2 million contract to deliver submarine-grade steel to US shipbuilder General Dynamics Electric Boat for the construction of Virginia-class submarines.
Yet another example of Australian industry contributing to the trilateral submarine industrial base.
Success stories like these encourage more businesses to invest as they see a pathway from innovation to commercialisation and export.
Sometimes from unexpected places.
For the motorsport fans in the room, a number of companies with manufacturing pedigree in V8 Supercars are now engaging in federal supplier uplift programs as they explore emerging export opportunities within the broader AUKUS supply chain.
The same engineering excellence and culture of continuous improvement that drive success on the racetrack can translate into solving complex defence challenges.
That is one of the strengths of AUKUS: creating new pathways for Australian innovators to contribute to capabilities that matter to our collective security.
And so, I would encourage you to keep seizing those opportunities.
To build new partnerships.
To help shorten the distance between discovery and deployment.
And to ensure Australia remains at the forefront of the critical technologies that will help shape our region’s future.
Thank you.
