Address to the European Australian Business Council boardroom lunch

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Acknowledgments omitted

It is always a pleasure to be part of dialogues such as this, and to get a chance to talk about the many ways the priorities of business and government intersect.

Last time I addressed your members was in May last year when former Labor leader Simon Crean was still with us.

Simon had been part of my entire journey through Australian politics. He was leader when I joined the party and I met him for the first time when I arrived in Canberra at the start of my career in public policy.

I always admired him for his conviction and for having the interests of working people at heart. And in the years after politics, I admired him still for the energy with which he sustained his passion and interest in public policy. Something he did right to the end.

Simon was a great role model for me personally. Just as he was a courageous advocate for this organisation and for boosting Australia's trading ties around the world.

Earlier this year I had the privilege of attending Government House as Simon was posthumously awarded a Companion of the Order of Australia award. Part of the King’s Birthday 2024 Honours List.

I was there, alongside his wife Carole, as the Governor-General awarded him the highest civilian honour you can get in the Australian honours system. An honour I know he would wear proudly if he were still with us today.

All of which is to say, Simon is on my mind today.

And one of Simon's highest priorities was to get a free trade agreement with the EU done. Like you, the government is disappointed it has not happened yet. But we remain committed to a deal that delivers benefits - across the economies of Australia and the EU. And not just any deal either – it must be in Australia’s national interest.

We want a comprehensive, ambitious and fair agreement. One that will deliver commercially meaningful outcomes for Australia, and strengthen Australia and the EU - both economically and strategically - well into the future.

This agreement must include new, meaningful market access for Australian agriculture.  Negotiations will continue, though they may take some time. One day I hope that we will reach an agreement with our European friends.

Notwithstanding an FTA, the EU remains an important partner for Australia and will continue to be a significant market and investor for Australian businesses. We will continue talking to groups like EABC and hearing your views.

We will also engage with our European counterparts wherever we can to further the interests we share. Whether that is boosting tourism and trade, driving the net zero transition, investing in a Future Made In Australia, or working side by side in the Indo-Pacific.

I know the Prime Minister was pleased to meet with President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. First at the NATO summit in Lithuania last year, and again at the G20 Summit in New Delhi last September.

At the G20 he also met with Charles Michel, President of the European Council, bilaterally. The Prime Minister has met with a range of European leaders, including German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin last year.

Over the past year, we have had visits to Australia from the presidents of both Lithuania and Malta. As well as a visit by the Ecumenical Patriarch of the Greek Orthodox Church just this month.

These meetings matter. They build confidence and trust. They show that strengthening Australia's global economic and security relationships is a sustained focus and that a strong relationship with Europe and the European Union remains a high priority.

Europe And Australia

I want to change pace a little now from Prime Ministers and chancellors and presidents to Farmer Phil. Phil owns a sheep farm near Collie in Western Australia's South West.

It has very green grass. And a mist that settles low into the fire break tree lines that criss-cross the rolling hills. It looks more like Western Europe than most parts of Western Australia.

Phil himself has a firm handshake, a loud laugh and the sort of smile that can make anyone feel welcome. I visited his farm one morning in the depths of Collie winter. As Phil laughed, little clouds of mist puffed upwards.

You might now be thinking, what on earth does Farmer Phil have to do with Europe and Australia working together to develop shared economic prosperity?

My answer is: absolutely everything.

Visit To Paris

First of all, the invitation to Phil's farm had come a month earlier, from Paris.

Just a few months ago, I was in Europe, travelling on behalf of the Minister for Trade and Tourism. I was there to strengthen Australia’s trade and tourism, including the launch of direct flights between Perth and Paris.

I have got to say, as a West Australian, it was pretty much a dream come true. These flights turned my home city of Perth into Australia's new gateway to Europe.

And they could not have taken off at a better time. Just as Australians were heading to Paris to cheer on our Olympic and Paralympic athletes.

The new flights are a game changer - for Europe and for Australia. Because they not only help Australians maintain our close ties overseas, they also make our market more accessible to the world.

In Paris, I also took the opportunity to connect with a number of French businesses, business leaders, and learn more about their business interests in Australia. From infrastructure, to tourism, to the clean energy economy.

I met with leaders from manufacturing companies, Michelin and Alstom. Travel companies PVTistes and Accor. And clean energy company Neoen.

Across the board, I heard the same thing: they have discovered immense opportunities on Australia's shores.

Neoen has a particularly compelling story to tell. And it is the reason I ended up on the hills of Phil's farm that cold morning.

In Paris. I met with the company's Deputy CEO, Romain Desrousseaux, and its director of International Development, Louis de Sambucy.

Romain and Louis told me that across Neoen’s vast global network of solar, wind and storage investments, Australia is their largest market, and offers more opportunities to expand. They have plans to almost triple the size of their battery storage in Collie.

That battery currently sits on a parcel of land owned by Phil and his wife, Marilyn, where they farm sheep.

Once completed, Collie’s battery will be the biggest of its kind in Australia and is going to make a huge difference to the state's power grid. Providing Western Australians with reliable and cheap energy they need.

Soon after returning from Paris, I found myself at that very farm. In hi-vis and steel caps. Alongside Neoen’s, locally-employed workforce and a very proud Farmer Phil. Looking out over one of the largest, most impressive batteries I have ever seen.

It is extraordinary.

And better yet, it is representative of the transition we are seeing right across the country. Places with a proud coal mining history. With primary industries and miners working side by side with global investment. Transforming for a clean energy future.

Helping turn Australia into a renewable energy superpower, modernising our industrial base, and doing so with the backing of private sector investment, often from places like Denmark, Spain and Italy, to name a few.

In Collie, grandparents told me about the pride they feel when they tell their grandchildren they are working on Australia's clean energy future. That was not always the case.

The Coalition did nothing for Collie's energy transition future when they were in Government. No wonder the Leader of the Opposition has to hide from the people of Collie when he visits with his nuclear proposal.

The transition is crucial and it is our shared responsibility. All of us recognise the world is changing, and we need to evolve, too.

If we get this transition right, it will mean a healthy environment and a healthy economy, and all the opportunities that come from both.

Net Zero Transformation

But these opportunities will not seize themselves. Analysis from the International Energy Agency predicts clean energy investment will need to triple globally by 2030 to get there.

Australia and Europe can - and must - work together. Russia's war in Ukraine has highlighted how vulnerable our supply chains can be, and European nations have taken significant steps to reduce their reliance on Russian energy.

Australia can help Europe meet that need. The European Green Deal, which recently evolved into the ‘Clean Industrial Deal,’ is Europe's counterpart to our own Future Made In Australia. Our visions could not be better aligned, nor our strengths more complementary.

The proof is in our bilateral commitments. In May this year, Australia and the EU inked a new agreement on critical minerals.

The agreement acknowledges a dual reality. Australia has some of the largest deposits of critical minerals on Earth, which our European counterparts need.

We have also progressed our work with Germany and the Netherlands to develop renewable hydrogen.

Including last month's announcement Minister Bowen and his German counterpart. A $660 million deal to guarantee European buyers for Australia's hydrogen producers.

We have also recently reached agreement to evaluate our energy partnership to an Energy and Climate Partnership. Deepening Australia and Germany's collaboration on hydrogen climate action and energy efficiency and security.

Our Future Made in Australia agenda is about connecting global capital to local opportunities. So if it is going to work, even greater investment from our European partners will be critical.

Clearly, we are on a strong footing already. On solar and wind alone, investment by European companies comprises 20 per cent of projects feeding into the Australian grid. But we would like to see that figure grow, and I would like to see it reflect the breadth of the renewable energy sector and the vast opportunities there for the taking.

The net zero transition has been my focus today, but it is just one area of mutual cooperation among many. As a bloc, the EU is already the second largest investor in Australia and our third largest two way trading partner, after China and Japan.

So it is in our mutual interest to continue creating the conditions for business to thrive. By streamlining Australia's own trading system, easing pressure on supply chains and making it cheaper and easier for those who want to do business here.

Security And Strategic Partnerships

As well as, of course, upholding the global rules-based trading system that benefits us all. Contributing to a secure, safe and prosperous Indo-Pacific is an important aspect of this. And it is work Australia and our European partners are committed to doing.

Whether it is our cooperation on defence through joint exercises and sails, defence industry cooperation or support for Ukraine. Or the work we are doing on climate, the digital economy, connectivity or protecting our oceans.

Increasing strategic partnerships with the region, particularly through our close engagement with NATO is key. We understand that the future prosperity and security of the Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific regions are fundamentally connected.

The Albanese Government is unwavering in its support to the people of Ukraine in the face of Russia's unprovoked and unjustifiable war. Australia is working closely with our partners to support Ukraine to end the war on its own terms and maintain pressure on Russia.

Following last fortnight’s announcement to provide 49 M1A1 Main Battle Tanks to Ukraine, our military assistance to Ukraine since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion is now more than $1.3 billion, and overall support is more than $1.5 billion.

We stand with the NATO countries as they navigate rising tensions and aggression in their region and Australia is the largest non-NATO contributor of military assistance to Ukraine.

Just last month, the Foreign Minister met the new Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha in New York. Minister Sybiha expressed his deep gratitude for Australia’s ongoing support to Ukraine.

Australia wants to work with Europe to deepen our cooperation to address shared challenges and ambitions.

We are committed to working together towards a peaceful and stable world.

Conclusion

On so many fronts, Australia and Europe are intertwined. We are like minded and trusted partners. Our economies are complementary, and we have a big agenda for cooperation ahead.

Domestically, the Australian Government has always been clear about who we are and where our priorities lie.

Making Australia a healthier, more secure, more sustainable, cohesive and prosperous place to live. Fighting inflation and easing cost of living. Driving the transition to a net zero economy. And securing our place in the world.

All of this against a global environment which is restless, uncooperative and with millions living through active conflict, including many in Europe.

We do not seek to pretend every policy challenge the government faces is simple, nor are the decisions we take straightforward. But navigating complexity comes with the job.

As Simon Crean would say, it's about ‘joining the dots.’

Yes, our economic agenda is ambitious. But no less than this moment demands, and no less than Australia deserves.

The EABC plays such a fundamental role drawing Australia and the nations of Europe closer. Leveraging each other's strengths, and investing in a better future for us all.

So that Phil can continue to take pride in what his land does for Western Australia. So that the next generation of Europeans and Australians sit just a flight away from each other's business hubs. And so the grandparents of Collie can be proud to tell their grandkids what they do for a living.

These things are all connected, and all the result of close ties between Europe and Australia.

It has been a pleasure to talk to you today.

Thank you.