**Check against delivery
Premier Barnett, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen.
It is a great pleasure to be here today for the official opening of the North West Shelf Venture's LNG train five.
The North West Shelf Venture - the founder of the Australian LNG industry - is a national success story.
Importantly, the train five expansion will probably take Australia from being the fifth largest LNG exporter in the world to number four - I hope that ultimately we can get to number one.
Since 1989, more than 1500 cargoes of North West Shelf LNG have been shipped to Japan, China, South Korea, Taiwan, Spain, Turkey and the USA.
Construction of the fifth train alone employed 1800 people at its peak and directly contributed $1.6 billion to the Australian economy.
I hope this $2.6 billion expansion is the first of many more LNG investments to come - such as Pluto, Gorgon, Sunrise, the Browse Basin, and Gladstone - as we continue to unlock the wealth from Australia's immense gas and energy resources for the benefit of all Australians.
In a carbon-constrained world, Australian LNG is also very important to maintain continued sustainable growth in Asia.
For every tonne of CO2 emitted in Australia during production, LNG saves four tonnes of CO2 when consumed in Japan and nine tonnes when consumed in China.
Exports of Australian energy resources such as LNG to high growth economies such as China - where economic growth is still forecast above nine per cent next year - will also be vital to help Australia weather the downturn currently affecting many of our other trading partners.
Now, more than ever, we need the jobs, investment, exports, infrastructure and economic growth that comes with them.
As a world class gas province Australia has a very important role to play in providing our region with a secure, reliable and clean energy supply as well as providing for our own national energy security.
Expenditure on the train five project brings the total investment in the North West Shelf Venture assets to over $25 billion - a significant commitment by the six companies involved in this venture to the development of Australia's energy resources.
The North West Shelf Venture is a great example of cooperation between Australian and international petroleum companies.
Much of this project was achieved with foreign investment - on which Australia is built - but it is also a great achievement for our successful home-grown companies, Woodside and BHPBilliton.
The Australian Government continues to welcome foreign investment, particularly when it is in the national interest and to the benefit of the Australian community.
We are absolutely committed to growing the LNG sector and working with you to provide an internationally-competitive investment and regulatory environment to encourage further developments - here in the Carnarvon, the Browse, the Timor Sea and Queensland's coal seam methane fields.
In closing, I congratulate the Venture's partners for bringing train five into production ahead of schedule in a challenging environment and for the leading role they are playing in unlocking the wealth of Australia's energy resources for the nation.
Thank you.