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Ladies and gentlemen,
It's a pleasure to be with you today.
The Australia-US relationship is one of the most durable relationships in modern day international diplomacy.
For more than 60 years the US alliance has been Australia's cornerstone military, cultural, and commercial relationship.
And while the focus of the relationship moves from time to time in response to changing economic and strategic circumstances - it remains an enduring engagement shaped by shared experience.
We share a commitment to the values of the rule of law, human rights and individual freedom.
We also have a shared optimism, borne from being relatively young, energetic and growing nations in control of our destiny and free from historical legacies that weigh other nations down.
We also share a common history as welcoming nations where foreigners have settled from abroad and helped build our respective societies.
The Australian Government's participation in President Obama's Nuclear Security Summit of last week also highlights the shared views of our nations.
Australia sees nuclear terrorism as a real and serious global threat and we welcome and join President Obama's call to enhance nuclear security.
Australia strongly supports the Summit's work program and forward-looking statement.
It shows our governments - and many others - are focused on dealing with the threat of nuclear terrorism and I have been very pleased to see how positively it has been received around the globe.
Australia has a long record of strong support for the global nuclear security framework. We were among the first to ratify the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material and its 2005 Amendment.
We have a strong program of regional outreach and training in nuclear and radioactive source security.
And Australia has also contributed to the IAEA's nuclear security fund and was active in the establishment of the World Institute for Nuclear Security.
In relation to economic matters - Australia has historically favoured a greater role for Government owned enterprises than has typically been found in the US.
In recent times this has changed as we have moved closer to the US approach through privatisations, both at a Commonwealth and State level.
Interestingly as a result of market interventions to deal with the Global Economic Crises the US has moved towards our historic position, with the US Government now, for the time being, a significant shareholder in the banking, insurance and automotive sectors.
With the Australia-US free trade agreement coming into force in 2005, Australia's trade and investment relationship with the United States today demonstrates the strength of our relationship.
Trade between our nations was worth more than $50 billion last year, while US direct investment in Australia in 2008 was worth $95 billion.
American investors regard Australia as an increasingly important business partner, and for good reason.
Investing in Australia
Australia is a nation built upon foreign investment.
Australia is today the regional headquarters for around 900 multi-national companies.
Australia rightly has a reputation as an attractive, internationally-competitive, and safe destination for global capital.
In the past 20 years, Australia's ratio of foreign direct investment to GDP has risen by one-third - well above the average for comparable developed economies.
The World Economic Forum ranked Australia 2nd among 55 of the world's leading financial systems and capital markets.
Of the world's nine largest banking groups rated AA or better, four are Australian.
Australia was the only advanced IMF economy to report positive through-the-year growth in the midst of the global financial crisis.
Our workforce is highly-skilled, highly-educated and outward-looking - ideal for overseas investors.
In Australia, business can make investment with confidence.
Asia's developing economies are expected to make up 50 per cent of global growth between now and 2014 according to the IMF's economic outlook.
And as you know, Australia is on the doorstep of that growth.
Resources growth
Securing access to affordable, reliable and clean energy is a challenge our two countries share.
When I visited the United States earlier this year, I sensed the growing interest in Australia's resources among business and political leaders.
With 30 or more nuclear power stations planned for the United States, there was great interest in Australian uranium.
And while we don't expect the United States to be a major buyer of Australian gas, there is huge potential for American investors in our LNG industry.
The American share of the Gorgon gas project alone represents an investment of $30 billion; and there are potentially further significant LNG projects on the horizon.
Australian LNG was a $10 billion export industry in 2008-09.
If the Ichthys, Browse, Sunrise, Prelude, Wheatstone, Gladstone LNG and expanded Pluto projects proceed by the middle of the coming decade, exports could be in the order of $50 billion by 2015-2016.
That is a 400% increase in just the next five years.
As a cleaner-burning alternative to coal, LNG has a key role in our region's transition to a low-emissions economy.
Australia aims to be the second-largest exporter of LNG behind Qatar.
Last month in Beijing, I attended the biggest company-to-company LNG contract signing in Australia's history.
This agreement will see at least $10 billion invested in Queensland's coal seam gas industry.
China will receive 70 million tonnes of LNG, making Australia a pioneer in LNG exports from coal seam gas.
To give you some idea of the potential, there is enough coal seam gas in Queensland to power the whole state for 1,000 years.
Australia recognises the important role it plays in our region as a valued and trusted supplier of resources and energy.
We are already the world's biggest exporter of coal and iron ore, and the second biggest exporter of uranium.
A growing and stable Asia-Pacific region, where countries have access to energy and resources through commerce, enables a focus on growth.
This regional stability is important to Australia and the US alike.
Energy in Australia 2010
The latest analysis of Australia's energy production, that I am pleased to launch today, highlights Australia's abundant energy resources.
Energy in Australia 2010 shows growth in Australia's energy production has been accelerating for some time.
The value of Australia's energy exports has increased throughout the past two decades at an average annual rate of 10 per cent.
And in just the five years to 2008-09, the value of Australia's energy exports increased by 232 per cent.
Australia now exports more than three-quarters of the energy products we produce.
The report also shows:
- Australia already accounts for around one-third of world black coal trade
- Identified conventional gas resources have increased threefold over 20 years
- And crude oil, LPG and natural gas exploration expenditure increased by 15 per cent last year.
These findings lend extra weight to our objective of becoming the region's premier energy supplier.
We are already the world's ninth largest energy producer.
Given our large energy resources base - Australia is well positioned to continue to supply a significant proportion of the world's energy needs, while maintaining domestic energy supply.
Investment challenges
But my focus looks beyond exports.
Growing demand from our regional neighbours presents great opportunities however it also presents us with significant skills and infrastructure challenges at home.
Australia cannot afford to let productivity slip, or for skills gaps to open up.
Demand for skilled labour is potentially a significant constraint on economic activity.
It is exceptionally important that we have a sufficiently-mobile labour force and skilled immigration to satisfy the demands of the growing resources sector.
If we fail on this front - we will see effects such as pressure on wages in the resources sector, but also in other areas such as the service industry, tourism, hospitality and even in agriculture.
Skills are critical for Australia to be the region's premier supplier of resources.
And they are equally critical to investors.
So the Australian Government has set up the National Resources Sector Employment Taskforce.
Earlier this month, the Taskforce released a discussion paper as the first step in helping us develop a plan to address labour and skills issues.
To those investing in Australia's resources, I also invite you to show leadership in improving skills within our indigenous communities.
Last month, I was very pleased to launch a $4.5 million trade training centre in Darwin.
This came about through co-operation between the Larrakia people and the Ichthys LNG project's joint venture partners - Inpex and Total.
The skills indigenous workers learn - in electronics, metalwork and so on - will empower them to benefit from the jobs and business opportunities in the resources sector.
By doing so, they will make a real difference to their communities by providing a stronger economic future.
The Rudd Government is proud to be leading a new, national effort to close the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.
The gap in health, in housing, in educational opportunity and in employment.
Having a job - meaningful employment - is a critically important component in taking charge of one's destiny.
We are making progress.
Nationally, we have driven reforms through training and employment programs to improve the employment participation of Indigenous people and help build the skills they need.
My own Department spends $500,000 each year on the Working in Partnerships Program, which allows the mining sector to discuss directly with traditional owners and indigenous communities, how best to address enterprise development and how to maximise indigenous employment.
The Minerals Council of Australia estimates that around two-thirds of Australian mining operations have Indigenous neighbours.
The minerals sector is already the largest private-sector employer of Indigenous people - five per cent of its direct workforce.
As an emerging energy superpower - we also have infrastructure challenges to resolve.
The Rudd Government has no intention of repeating the mistakes of the last minerals boom.
The value of our resources exports increased 46 per cent in 2008.
But much of this increase was built on surging commodity prices, rather than growth in production
Australia's next generation of prosperity must be different to the last.
As global growth returns it is crucial that Australia's resources sector increases production.
The Government last year delivered a Nation-building Budget, which will build crucial export infrastructure.
It invests in roads, rail, and ports to position Australia to take maximum advantage of the global recovery
It included:
- $580 million for Hunter Valley rail projects which will double coal-carrying capacity
- $339 million for critical common user infrastructure at Oakajee Port in WA.
- $50 million for the proposed Darwin Port expansion
We need the right infrastructure to get our resources to our ports.
The Government has started work on Australia's first ever National Port Strategy and a National Freight Strategy.
We're investing hundreds of millions of dollars in new infrastructure for the resources sector, to prevent the bottlenecks which frustrated customers in the past.
Clean Energy
I spoke earlier about the Australia-US alliance being one forged by shared experience.
It is also one being strengthened by our shared response to common challenges.
The development and delivery of clean energy in the 21st Century is one such challenge.
The Australian Government is investing $4.5 billion in the Clean Energy Initiative - driving down costs for innovative solar, geothermal, biomass, wind and low-emission coal solutions.
The United States is one of Australia's closest partners in developing clean energy technology.
Australia is active in nearly all the international energy bodies in which the United States leads or takes part.
Given our resource base, and structure of our economies, both Australia and the United States have a common interest in developing low-emissions coal technology.
Australia is leading by example on carbon capture and storage, through:
- Our $2 billion CCS Flagships Program, and
- Our role in establishing the Global CCS Institute
Already, investors are taking a keen interest in the Gorgon project - the world's largest geological storage operation.
Australia has established the Global CCS Institute to accelerate the deployment of carbon capture and storage technology.
The United States has strongly supported the Institute from the start.
Right across the resources and energy sector, Australia is an increasingly important strategic partner for America.
There are many reasons for that:
- We both understand the consequences of failing to secure our energy supplies
- We're both committed to diversifying our energy mix
- We both want to maximise our exports, and we instinctively know that free trade is better than restrictive trade
- We both understand the potential impacts of climate change and the knock-on effects on our economies
- Within our industries and research institutions, we have the expertise to find innovative, clean energy
- We both have strong financial sectors to support that innovation
- And we both have stable, forward-thinking governments delivering frameworks for investment.
Tourism
No analysis of the relationship is complete without my other portfolio responsibility - tourism.
Every month, enough Australians and Americans visit each others' countries to fill Yankee Stadium in New York and still leave thousands more outside.
Americans make up Australia's third largest inbound market for visitor arrivals.
Nearly half a million Americans visited Australia last year, and given that global business travel is poised to pick up again after the economic downturn, I would hope this figure grows significantly in 2010.
Conclusion
Ladies and gentlemen, the United States and Australia share a common outlook on so many issues.
With so much in common and so much at stake, I invite you to see Australia as an increasingly important partner.
Thank you