Can I start by adding my acknowledgement of the Gadigal people of the Eora nation as the traditional owners of this part of Sydney.
I’m very pleased to be here at the Asia Society, which of course has always helped put that critical focus on the importance of our region to Australia’s security and prosperity.
Opportunity Asia
I’d like to begin with a story that captures the scale of the opportunity before us.
Last month I visited Manila, to lead an Austrade delegation on transnational education.
While there we visited the offices of Macquarie who had an incredible view over the city from Manila Bay on one end to Laguna Lake on the other.
And on that lake that you will find an enormous, square-shaped flotilla under construction.
That flotilla is a planned floating solar farm. The farm is expected on completion to generate around 1,500 megawatts of electricity, boosting the Philippines’ renewable energy capacity and, of course, guaranteeing a stable electricity supply for nearby communities.
It’s the product, in part, of a $1.5 billion investment made by Macquarie, via its BlueEnergy Philippines business.
It’s a project that did not exist even a few years ago.
And yet today it stands as a symbol of what is possible when Australian capital, regional ambition and shared climate goals come together.
We see similar momentum in education.
Australian universities are expanding their presence across Asia through joint campuses, research partnerships and skills programs that are helping develop the next generation of engineers, health professionals and digital specialists.
These partnerships are long‑term investments in human capital, in shared prosperity, and in the deep people‑to‑people links that underpin trust.
These stories are not exceptions.
They are signals of a much larger trend.
It’s a trend that reflects the extraordinary economic transformation underway across Asia.
Asia is the world’s fastest‑growing region.
By 2030, it will be home to two‑thirds of the global middle class.
The region’s digital economy is expanding at remarkable speed, with ASEAN alone projected to reach one trillion US dollars by 2030.
Urbanisation continues at scale, with hundreds of millions of people moving into cities and demanding new infrastructure, new services, and new technologies.
Developing Asia’s infrastructure needs exceed 1.7 trillion US dollars every year.
It’s a figure that speaks to both the scale of the challenge and the scale of the opportunity.
For Australia, this is a story about our future.
It is a story about where our businesses will find new markets, where our universities will build new partnerships, and where our workers will find new opportunities.
It is a story about how we secure our prosperity in a world that is changing rapidly.
That is why the Government commissioned Nicholas Moore to prepare Invested, our Southeast Asia Economic Strategy to 2040.
It provides a clear roadmap for how Australia can deepen trade and investment ties across the region.
And it sets out practical steps to unlock capital, build capability and strengthen commercial partnerships.
The Albanese Labor Government is delivering on that strategy.
We have ‘Deal teams’ across Southeast Asia, identifying and facilitating investment opportunities for Australian investors — and, so far, more than $1.2 billion in new Australian investment has been supported through the Deal teams.
We have Business Champions from across industry, who are using their experience and influence to promote trade and investment between Australia and Southeast Asia. They’ve led more than twenty missions to the region.
Our trade architecture across the region is strong, with a range of comprehensive strategic partnerships, and we are constantly looking to upgrade and maintain the effectiveness of our agreements and architecture.
We have the Southeast Asia Investment Financing Facility, which provides $2 billion in loans and equity and insurance for Australian investments in Southeast Asia, particularly in clean energy and infrastructure development.
Two‑way trade with Southeast Asia increased by 3.2 billion dollars last year to reach 195.7 billion dollars, and Australian investment in Southeast Asia grew to 105.9 billion dollars.
These are real outcomes, delivered in partnership with business and with governments across the region.
A future made in Australia is also a future made in the region together.
Hundreds of thousands of Australian jobs are already linked to trade with Southeast Asia.
Our economies are deeply complementary.
Australia brings strengths in energy, critical minerals, education, agriculture and services.
Asia brings scale, manufacturing capability, digital innovation and rapidly growing consumer markets.
Together, we can build supply chains that are more resilient, more sustainable and more competitive.
India will be the world’s third‑largest economy by the end of the decade.
Two‑way trade between our countries already exceeds 50 billion dollars.
Our Roadmap for Economic Engagement identifies priority sectors including clean energy, education and skills, agribusiness and tourism.
India’s demand for energy, skills and technology aligns with Australia’s strengths.
Australia’s need for scale, innovation and investment aligns with India’s capabilities.
The next five years will be even more consequential than the last.
We are also strengthening the architecture that supports trade and investment.
Our economic partnership with Indonesia continues to deepen, particularly in skills, energy and digital trade.
And we are expanding cooperation across clean energy, critical minerals and advanced manufacturing.
The message is clear - we see the potential in Asia, we have a plan for deeper engagement, we are delivering that plan, and we are getting results.
Stable Asia
Australia’s prosperity depends on a stable, predictable region.
More than eighty per cent of our seaborne trade passes through Asian waters.
The vast majority of our minerals exports, including iron ore, LNG and critical minerals, travel through the region.
And over three quarters of our refined fuel comes from Asian partners.
Korea supplies nearly a around a quarter of our diesel imports.
Malaysia supplies more than ten per cent of all refined fuel.
China supplies almost a third of our aviation fuel.
And Singapore supplies around half of our petrol imports.
Our economic security is inseparable from the stability of our region.
The conflict in the Middle East has affected global energy flows.
Shipping routes have been disrupted, insurance costs have risen, and volatility has increased.
But because of our strong partnerships in Asia, we have been able to minimise the impact.
Shipments continue to arrive. Supply chains remain open.
And we have received assurances from ministers across the region that flows will continue.
Just as Asia relies on Australia for energy security, through our LNG, iron ore and critical minerals, we rely on Asia for refined fuels, manufactured goods and essential inputs. This is partnership.
On 23 March, the Prime Minister and his Singaporean counterpart released a Joint Statement on Energy Security.
They reaffirmed their support for the continued flow of petroleum oils and diesel between our countries.
And there was agreement to notify and consult each other on any trade disruptions.
This is what trusted partners do.
It reflects decades of cooperation, shared interests and shared values.
Australia, together with Japan and Singapore, led 66 WTO members to adopt the world’s first baseline set of global digital trade rules at the 14th WTO Ministerial Conference.
I was proud to be there on the ground in Cameroon, representing the Albanese Labor Government and the Australian delegation.
These interim arrangements establish a pathway to bring the WTO Agreement on Electronic Commerce into force, delivering more predictable and consistent rules for businesses and consumers.
It is a major step forward for open, rules‑based commerce, and it demonstrates the leadership role that Australia and our partners can play in shaping the global economy.
Australia is working with partners across the region to uphold the rules, maintain open markets, and ensure the stability on which our economies depend.
We are committed to a region where no country dominates, where all countries have the freedom to make their own choices, and where prosperity is shared.
Growing Together
For decades, education has been one of Australia’s greatest contributions to regional development.
Hundreds of thousands of students from Asia study in Australia each year, building skills, forming lifelong connections and strengthening the human capital of our region.
Australian universities are expanding their presence across Asia.
And through programs like the Australia Awards we are supporting the next generation of leaders across Southeast Asia and the Pacific.
Last month, I joined a transnational education mission to the Philippines.
It was a reminder of how deeply valued Australian education is, and how central it is to our shared prosperity.
The demand for Australian qualifications, Australian expertise and Australian partnerships continues to grow.
Migration plays a central role in strengthening people‑to‑people relationships, improving cross‑cultural understanding and building shared prosperity.
As global competition for talent intensifies, Australia’s migration system is a critical enabler of business engagement with Asia.
The 2025–26 Migration Program is set at 185,000 places, with the Skill stream representing 132,200 places, seventy‑one per cent of the program.
This reflects the need to address ongoing skill shortages while ensuring migration complements, rather than replaces, domestic training and employment.
The Skills in Demand visa, introduced in 2024, underscores the depth of our ties with Asia.
This year alone, more than 25,000 visas have been granted to workers from the region, led by India, the Philippines, Nepal and China.
These workers fill critical roles in healthcare, trades, technology, engineering, aged care, hospitality and advanced manufacturing.
They also have a clear pathway to permanent residence, supporting long‑term workforce integration and economic collaboration.
Australia’s points‑tested skilled migration program provides a fair, transparent and flexible way to attract the skills our economy needs.
It allows rapid adjustment to labour‑market demand and is supported by global outreach through the Smart Move Australia platform, which has been viewed more than 4.8 million times.
To support trade and commercial engagement with ASEAN partners, Australia has expanded long‑validity visitor visas for business travellers, allowing eligible applicants to travel for up to five years.
For low‑risk, high‑frequency travellers from ASEAN and Timor‑Leste, the Frequent Traveller stream offers visas of up to ten years.
These measures make it easier for business leaders, investors and innovators to move across borders, build partnerships and pursue opportunities.
They reflect our belief that mobility is not just an economic enabler, it is a strategic asset.
This is what growing together looks like - shared skills, shared knowledge, shared opportunity and shared prosperity.
The story of Australia’s future is the story of our region.
Opportunity Asia - the fastest‑growing region in the world, where Australian businesses are investing, expanding and succeeding.
Stable Asia - a region whose security and predictability underpin our own economic security.
And Growing Together - through education, migration, trade and investment, building shared prosperity for decades to come.
We are more secure with Asia.
And we will grow, together, with Asia.
I look forward to our discussion.