Advertiser Bush Summit

Can I start by paying my respects to the Kaurna people. I acknowledge them as the traditional custodians of this land. I pay my respects to elders past and present.

I also acknowledge Minister Don Farrell, and the Federal MPs and Senators here today, Premier Malinauskus, the industry leaders, community leaders who are here today.

And thank you to the Advertiser for bringing us all together.

The Tiser has a proud history of campaigns, compelling action on issues that affect the lives of South Australians.

In fact I still have a newspaper clipping on the wall of my Adelaide office from the 'Save our Murray' campaign.

I remember vividly the daily front pages when I was water minister, urging me to buy back more water for the Murray – while upstream campaigners burned effigies of me for doing just that!

And this Summit is a powerful platform to examine the issues that shape the future of our regional and rural communities—communities that are central to Australia's identity - and our prosperity.

You often hear bush communities talked about in terms of their strength and resilience.

But we should not skip over the serious challenges our regions have faced, and continue to face - challenges which have forged that resilience.

Prolonged dry periods and more weather extremes impacting the cost of insurance.

The lack of affordable housing. The lack of services.

Skills shortages. The loss of industries, and the jobs that go with them.

Patchy telecommunications coverage and digital connectivity.

The impacts of instability in global export markets on regional economies and jobs.

It's not enough to celebrate the resilience of our regions.

We can't take it for granted. We have to contribute to it.

Our Government knows how important regions are in building a stronger Australia.

We understand that means doing more to harness the opportunities that exist in our regions.

But also doing more to stimulate regional economies and build thriving communities, by providing the people of regional Australia with the services they need.

First, to cost of living.

Australians in cities, Australians in regions are doing it tough right now because cost-of-living pressures.

When we came to government, inflation had a six in front of it.

We've made substantial progress since 2022.

Inflation is half its peak. Underlying inflation is falling.

But it's still tough.

Everywhere I go around Australia, and in Australia, people remind me of that.

The Albanese Government has been rolling out vital cost of living help.

We've supported higher wages and delivered tax cuts - to make sure that Australians can earn more and keep more of what they earn.

Energy bill relief, cheaper childcare and cheaper medicines.

All opposed by Liberal opponents.

It's also clear, that people living in rural and remote areas have higher rates of hospitalisations, deaths and injury - coupled with poorer access to primary health care services, than those in metropolitan areas.

We want to make it cheaper and easier to see a doctor.

We are funding more Medicare Urgent Care Clinics like the one in Mount Gambier, which opened in November. It's one of 24 clinics now treating patients in regional, rural and remote areas.

And since we tripled the bulk billing incentive, there have been over 114,000 additional bulk billed visits to the doctor in regional, rural and remote SA.

Growing regional economies, requires us to boost employment opportunities.

That's why we are partnering with states and territories to deliver 500,000 Fee-Free TAFE and VET places to 2026.

We can't get people to fill the jobs we need, without giving people the skills.

Around a third of enrolments are in inner and outer regional locations – like Mount Barker and Murray Bridge.

And we want to bring university closer to students in the regions, which is why we're opening new Regional University Study Hubs.

There are six already open in SA from Murray Bridge to Roxby Downs – and the seventh will be the Fleurieu Study Hub in Victor Harbor.

And of course, affordable housing is key to attracting and retaining the workforces the regions need.

We've established the Housing Australia Future Fund to help deliver tens of thousands of new homes – including in regional, rural and remote areas.

The Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee supports eligible home buyers to purchase a home in a regional area with a deposit of as little as 5 per cent.

So across whether it's wages and taxes, energy bills and housing, cheaper childcare and medicines, and affordable health and education services – we are trying to help Australians in the regions.

But we are also helping to strengthen regional economies, putting regional industries at the centre of our Future Made in Australia plan…

Leveraging the competitive advantages outside of our big cities – from vast energy resources, advantages in new clean energy industries, world-leading agricultural sector and regional innovation.

Harnessing these opportunities also demands that we make progress on priority infrastructure projects in regional Australia.

Six South Australian projects are among those receiving federal funding through the Growing Regions Program.

They include:

• the Penneshaw Foreshore Upgrade on Kangaroo Island,
• the Barossa Creative Industries Centre,
• and the Copper Coast Regional Aquatic Facility in Wallaroo.

We're progressing a number of road safety projects under our Infrastructure Investment Program, because every local community should have confidence in the roads they're driving on.

South Australia's share of that funding pipeline is almost $10 billion, over the next ten years.

Of the 36 projects currently committed to in SA, 17 are for regional areas, with another 4 bridging the urban-regional boundary. 
And we also know that there is little infrastructure more important for South Australia than the natural infrastructure of the Murray Darling Basin.

The Albanese Government has also worked hard to get the Murray Darling Basin Plan back on track after a decade of deliberate sabotage.

All of these actions represent our strategic, coordinated, whole-of-government approach to lifting up Australia's regions.

My role as Foreign Minister, is to help create opportunities, and promote and protect Australia's interests, as an exporter of choice in an increasingly competitive international environment.

To help build and maintain the strategic conditions that enable our stability and prosperity.

Jim Chalmers has noted, the global economy is framed by a number of serious challenges -

Heightened geostrategic competition.

An international system under continuous pressure whether from war, pandemic or disaster, or from the undermining of rules and institutions.

Demographic change.

Greater risk of major shocks to supply chains.

A vast increase in industrial subsidies in major economies; and a restructuring of global trade from the net zero transformation.

We built our prosperity in great part, because we are a trading nation.

Our great trading nation has to grapple with a world where trade is a vulnerability as well as an opportunity.

Which is why you have seen such a concerted effort from the Albanese Government towards the stabilisation of the relationship with our largest trading partner, China.

Under the Morrison Government, China effectively closed the door to a range of our exports.

Wine exports – so important to this region - shrank from a $1.1 billion market in 2019 to less than $10 million in 2022.

After considerable work, impediments on wine were lifted in March this year.

Between April and June this year, we exported $376 million of wine to China – nearly half of all of our wine exports for the quarter.

And 90 per cent of that came from South Australia – at a value of $341 million.

In 2023-24, Australia exported $15 billion of previously impeded products to China, compared to only $4.4 billion last financial year (2022-23).

We believe it is in Australia's national interest to have a constructive relationship with our largest trading partner.

It is in all of our interests to have Australia's finest exports purchased by China's consumers.

Given the challenges we face in the world, we should have open lines of communication with one of the world's great powers.

But I want to make this point:

We have, through calm and consistent engagement, restored dialogue with China. But this isn't only up to us.

Dialogue goes both ways, and both countries have to choose to come back to the table. Both countries have made that choice.

Yet we know that China will continue to assert itself in reshaping the region and the world.

China's interests will, at times, differ from our interests. And there are going to be issues on which we disagree.

We continue to press, for example, for impediments to rock lobster and meat establishments to be lifted.

This is the reality of two close trading partners with different systems, values and approaches to the world.

So, what do we do?

We can't imagine these challenges will disappear if we leave them in silence, or if we go around picking fights and blowing up relationships.

There are two ways our Government has changed direction from the previous government.

First, as I said, we've stabilised the relationship, so dialogue and progress have been possible.

Second, we're focused on diversifying Australia's trade and investments, so we're less vulnerable to economic coercion.

This matters for the nation and for individual businesses.

Australian business knows the threat to our resilience of having too many eggs in one market.

We live in the most competitive region in the world. This offers us enormous opportunity – and equally large exposure if we fail to seize it.

So I want to talk now about the region I was born in.

In 2022, Southeast Asia's combined nominal GDP was around A$5.2 trillion—larger than the economies of the United Kingdom, France or Canada.

Indonesia alone is projected to be the world's fifth-largest economy by 2040.

But the reality is that Australia's trade and investment with the region has not kept pace with the growth of Southeast Asian economies.

When we came to government, Australian direct investment in Southeast Asia was lower than it was in 2014.

We need to turn this around. That's why we appointed Nicholas Moore AO as Australia's Special Envoy to Southeast Asia, and charged him with developing a Southeast Asia Economic Strategy to 2040.

The Albanese Government has already delivered a number of measures in response to the Strategy, including a $2 billion investment financing facility to boost Australian investment in Southeast Asia - particularly in clean energy transition and infrastructure development.

Specialist deal teams are being established in Jakarta, Singapore and Ho Chi Minh City to work with investors; ten senior Australian Business Champions have been appointed to ensure Government and the private sector work in tandem; and we're helping more Australian businesses engage in the region through a new Southeast Asia Business Exchange.

I want to acknowledge my colleague Don Farrell's persistent efforts in this space.

Our Free Trade Agreement with the United Arab Emirates is moving quickly.

And he continues to press for a solid deal with the European Union.

We are supporting exporters to take advantage of existing trade agreements, including with the United Kingdom.

And we are building on our trade deal with India - the second most populated country in the world.

Local producers are benefiting from this - McLaren Vale's Wirra Wirra and Langhorne Creek's Metala have joined this list those exporting to India.

In fact, Wirra Wirra - where I'm heading after this – now exports to around 30 wine markets around the world.

Last week, Dr Craig Emerson was appointed to lead an independent impact analysis of the wine and grape sector's regulatory options.

This is part of the $3.5 million support package announced by the Government in June, to be delivered by Wine Australia, to support the long-term viability of the sector.

And we're extending support for wine producers to grow domestic sales and promote agritourism by supporting the Wine Tourism and Cellar Door Grant Program – with applications for this year now open.

Across the board, we are focused on helping Australians in regions – trying to help manage the cost of living, helping build regional economies and opportunities, helping ensure we have markets to export to.

These are the big things we can do as a government.

But I'm also mindful of the smaller things too.

I am always looking for ways to showcase our state to the world.

As a foreign minister from South Australia I have hosted ministers and leaders from a number of countries including China, Germany, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Tuvalu and the UK – among many others.

The Bali Process Ministerial Conference brought representatives from 45 countries to our state.

Last year I brought the entire diplomatic corps to Adelaide and the Adelaide Hills region.

Ambassadors or heads of mission from almost 80 countries. To showcase our wonderful state to the world.

All of that helps is part of our sincere persistent effort to drive interest in our state.

To help open doors – and open minds to the opportunities that await.

And that is something I will keep doing every day I have the privilege to serve in this role.