Launch of Thor: Ragnarok

Good evening and what a delight it is to be here this evening in Sydney for the launch of Thor: Ragnarok.

I visited the set of this movie on the Gold Coast and I can hardly wait to see the scene that I saw being filmed over and over. It involves – not giving too much away – but it involves a fight between Thor aka Chris Hemsworth and Hela aka Cate Blanchett.

There was somewhat of a physical mismatch between the two, but Hela is the Goddess of Death and I'm thinking maybe we should but our money on Cate.

Cate and Chris are two of our finest actors and in Thor: Ragnarok they are joined by a stellar international cast including Mark Ruffalo, and a very talented Australian crew and a brilliant New Zealand director Taika Waititi – I think we should make him an honorary Australian!

The value of having a film of this calibre in Australia is significant.

Thor: Ragnarok directly employed over 2000 Australians and engaged over 1000 Australian businesses.

Our creative industries make a significant contribution to the Australian economy, as well as helping develop high tech industries and promoting our reputation on the world stage as a sophisticated and innovative nation.

I want to thank each and every Australian who was involved in the filming of Thor: Ragnarok here in Australia and you are our ambassadors and the Australian Government is proud to support the work you do.

Let's hope we can find our way clear to continue to support blockbusters of this type being filmed here in Australia.

Congratulations to Disney Marvel and I thank you all for celebrating this magnificent film this evening. Let's enjoy it.

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