Remarks - New York

ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Well, thanks so much for the warm welcome back here to Blackstone. We were able to meet during last year’s UN General Assembly, and I want to thank you, your team, for all the other investors who are joining us here today. I have a very simple message, which is Australia is open for business. We are a great place to invest. We have economic growth that is higher than that of every advanced economy in the world, except for the United States at the moment. We have employment growth that is the highest of any country in the advanced world. We’ve created now, I think it’s a bit more than 1.3 million jobs since we came to office just four years ago. We have, of course, AAA sovereign credit rating, and that has recently been reconfirmed by two of the agencies as well who spoke about our fiscal policy, as we’re all aware, because of actions we’ve taken, we’ve got debt down by $200 billion since we made to reduce two budget services and reduce deficits compared with what we inherited. Our business investment is booming. It’s up to 12.7% of GDP, which is the highest it’s been in nearly a decade. And as Steve said, one of the big attractions that we have as well is, of course, our sovereign funds, our superannuation funds, as we call pension funds, called in North America, which at four and a half trillion Australian dollars is a substantial pool of funds, many of which is being invested here. Some anticipated over this period, $500 billion in the United States, but presents an opportunity as well to partner with Australian businesses. I was with Robin Khuda on the night that Blackstone bought Air Trunk, a great success story, a great example too of Robin is a remarkable success story from very humble beginnings to create a business that’s innovative, and particularly, I think, and this is one of the big advantages that we have, along with our stable political legal system, is our location. We’re located in the fastest growing region of the world in human history, just to our north. We provide a base for investment in Australia, but as a launching pad into the growing middle class to our north in Asia, and we have prioritised engagement through our Southeast Asia Economic Strategy to 2040. That investment and that two-way processes as well, where we see Australia as being a base for a financial centre for other investment as well, and of course we have all the resources under the ground and in the sky that will power the world in the 21st century, and that opportunity for renewable power manufacturing, including issues like green metals and others, presents us with an opportunity. And a bit like this great city of New York, I’ve got to say, our multicultural aspects as well. We have folks from all over the world who are connected with every part of the world as well, and that provides a big plus for us as a nation as well. So thank you so much for the welcome. Thank you for your investment in Australia, which is very substantial individual presence there, and we welcome it. We have also, in our recent budget, we have made a number of changes to streamline foreign investment. We passed new environmental laws to allow for much speedier approvals and clearer guidelines to benefit sustainability, but also to benefit business and productivity by getting faster yeses or noes, faster processes. And all of that is driven by the fact that we are. If we have something that we need that we can’t provide for ourselves, is all of the capital that we need as well. So we welcome investment in Australia. Welcome the opportunity, particularly over — we’re getting lunch as well, which is a bonus. I was expecting just a meeting when we first proposed, but it’s actually a great way as well to get to know each other. So thank you.

PM&C acknowledges the traditional owners and custodians of country throughout Australia and acknowledges their continuing connection to land, water and community. We pay our respects to the people, the cultures and the elders past, present and emerging.