Source: Australian Attorney General’s Agencies
Good morning everyone and thank you Cosima and the Australian Financial Review for the opportunity to speak today.
I begin by acknowledging the traditional custodians of the land on which we gather today, and pay my respects to their elders past, present and emerging.
Early in my first term as Trade Minister I had the pleasure of meeting in Tokyo, an amazing sushi chef, Kenji Miyajima.
Apart from being a master at his craft, and a lovely bloke, he was an important person for an Australian Trade Minister to meet.
This is because he was one of thousands of Japanese people who are going about their daily lives with a Cochlear implant, an amazing bit of Australian tech helping him to hear.
Cochlear is a great Australian success story.
Back then, in late 2022, they were working hard to grow the Japanese market which offers huge potential for Australian exporters of high-tech medical equipment.
At the time, they were also working to deepen their links into other big Asian markets, like China.
The following year, in 2023, Cochlear had a big win in China.
They secured access to deliver their hearing loss products through 10 hospitals in Hong Kong’s Greater Bay Area.
They have are now in the process of rolling out thousands of hearing implants there.
Cochlear’s success story is just one of thousands which highlight the ingenuity, hard work and determination of Australian exporters on the world stage.
And our government has shown time and time again, that we have their back and stand ready with them to maximise existing conditions, create new opportunities and always have their interests and their workers interests at heart.
Now, in 2025, we are dealing with an increasing level of global economic uncertainty, caused in part by heightened geo-political tensions and the application of tariffs by the United States.
There is intense strategic competition for resources, investment, skills and the technologies of the future.
And behind it all, the essential global transition towards net zero bears down upon us.
In this challenging global context, business and government have to work together to shape and build regional and global systems.
With Australian business and investors, the Albanese Government is taking the bull by the horns to shape our own economic future.
As a trading nation, it is in our interest to expand our trade and investment networks, and to make it more efficient by removing barriers to trade and increasing productivity at the border.
For me, there are five key principles that should guide us.
First – maintaining free and open markets is essential to our national prosperity.
In the face of the shift in US policy, we have to double down on our commitment to defend a rules-based trading system.
I have said before, the World Trade Organization needs reform.
It needs to be seen by all players to be a system that supports all our interests.
Regional and plurilateral agreements – and bilateral trade agreements – have a role in bolstering the global rules-based system, and allowing us to strengthen our partnerships and diversify into new markets and sectors.
Second, global trade should be governed by rules.
Prosperity will only come where all countries operate by the same rules and standards and maintaining peace depends on us using those rules to manage our disagreements.
Third, cooperation is key.
We have to work together to buttress the global trading system.
Our efforts to promote the importance of the rules-based global trading system are always more effective when we collaborate with Asian partners.
We have to inject new energy into regionalism and boost our already significant regional trading architecture to strengthen our resilience to shocks and economic coercion.
The efforts of Australian business and Australian investors are so important here.
That is why the Albanese Government has initiated a number of trade missions just as we promised during the election.
In our first 100 days, we have sent business missions to Malaysia, Singapore, India and Japan, all of which are key markets for Australia.
These missions take Australian entrepreneurs looking to build trade, manufacturing and investment links with markets in our region.
It’s really exciting when you hear the stories of Australian businesspeople like Grahame Aston of PPC Moulding Services, who participated in the trade missions including to Malaysia.
Grahame is looking to add more Malaysian manufacturing capacity to his plastics and silicone medical device business, which is headquartered in Sydney but has expanded to include 600 people working for him in Malaysia.
He talks about the huge energy he sees in Malaysia – how potential partners there are vying to bring in more investment, and how keen they are to work with Australian businesses.
These trade missions are but one example of how the Albanese Labor Government is supporting Australian business to make new and deeper connections in the region.
Fourth, we are committed to not leaving businesses and workers who are affected by big change behind.
We have to make sure that Australian businesses across the region have access to critical technology, innovation and investment.
We have to strengthen our commercial engagement to increase regional prosperity and resilience, particularly in sectors that support the green economy transition.
We want to work closely with our Asian partners to enable our respective private sectors to diversify, both for their own prosperity and to build regional resilience.
And the proof is in the pudding, with the value of trade outcomes growing more than threefold since an Albanese Labor Government was elected.
Export Finance Australia (EFA) is boosting its activities in Southeast Asia, providing A$529 million in finance to the region last financial year – a 40 per cent increase from the previous year.
One in four EFA-supported transactions are in Southeast Asia – supporting our exporters to expand into the region and helping deliver quality infrastructure to meet the needs of our partners.
That includes a US$79 million loan to Gulf Energy in Thailand for new large-scale solar and battery storage projects.
EFA is also working with our Japanese, British and Canadian partners to deliver a US$350 million syndicated financing facility for the Vietnam Prosperity Joint Stock Commercial Bank to finance sustainable and critical infrastructure projects across Vietnam.
And fifth, we must not compromise on our fundamental values and interests.
We must continue to ensure a level playing field for Australian businesses and workers.
I can assure you, the Government has a strong plan for achieving these goals.
We are expanding our existing trade network commitments.
We have already upgraded our trade agreement with ASEAN.
We are reviewing our trade agreement with Indonesia.
Our landmark agreement with the UAE is on track to enter into force very soon, which will see tariffs eliminated on 99 per cent of Australia’s exports to the UAE.
We are committed to concluding negotiations for a new trade agreement with the European Union, which as I have said before will only be done if a deal is in Australia’s national interest.
We seeking to expand our existing trade agreement with India to build on the benefits of our existing agreement.
We will work together with the region across multiple forums – APEC, the OECD, the G20, every chance we get – to defend open global trade and advocate for reform to the WTO.
We will work closely with Japan and Korea, who are key bilateral partners for Australia and with whom we share an ambition to drive economic and energy security for the region.
The $10 billion frigate announcement reflects Australia’s confidence in Japanese know-how and capability to produce world-class boats.
This is just one example of the growing importance of critical technology and defence trade connections that support our sovereign capability.
Austrade, for example, is tracking $2.8 billion in exports in our technology and defence sector last financial year alone.
And we will deepen our collaboration with ASEAN partners even further:
- Through the Southeast Asia FTA modernisation initiative
- Through Invested, our Southeast Asian Economic Strategy to 2040
- Through our Green Economy Agreement with Singapore and similarly innovative evolving initiatives; and
- Through the Southeast Asia Investment Financing Facility
The Government has made its first investment under this Facility – a A$75 million equity investment into Singapore’s Financing Asia’s Transition Partnership (FAST-P) to help accelerate Southeast Asia’s clean energy transition.
And I’m pleased to announce today that Export Finance Australia has boosted this investment with an additional A$100 million loan on the Commercial Account into FAST-P, taking Australia’s total support over $175 million.
This paves the way for Australian investors and exporters to participate in Southeast Asia’s growing sustainable infrastructure sector, opening new markets and building long-term commercial partnerships.
All of these programs and investments send a clear signal to the region. Australia is a reliable and willing partner for trade and investment – we want to work with our friends and neighbours to strengthen our economies, build business and create jobs.
Friends, 2025 is a challenging year, and the business environment as we head into 2026 is only getting more complex.
But Australia, the Australian business community, and our Asian partners – all live in the most dynamic part of the world.
We will continue to advance our interests in clever, innovative, effective ways.
And we will be most effective if we work together to influence global action, and to become more productive and prosperous at home.
Thank you.