E&OE...........
Thank you very much Mr Scholz for your very kind words of introduction, Tony Staley, my parliamentary colleagues Senator Kate Lundy and the Honourable Greg Pearce, other distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen.
It is as you';ve been reminded, in this very building, this quite historic building in the experience of Australian industry, that on I think the 29th of January last year I launched the Backing Australia';s Ability programme which involved a $3 billion commitment by the Government to boosting technology, boosting science, boosting research and trying to capture for future Australian generations not only the technical but also the intellectual capacity of this country in so many diverse areas of innovation and technology.
One of the fascinating things I thought about your Association as I listened to your President describe it and trace it, is that it does represent in many ways the long journey of Australian industry from arguably its real beginnings in this very building on this very site in 1870 to the modern transformed manifestation which incorporates the best of the history of manufacturing in Australia, but also combines that with all of the leading edge technology which is available to companies in Australia and around the world in the year 2002.
I want to congratulate your Association on the way in which it has gathered together the various strands of manufacturing, the various strands of high tech, and how it has preserved as I say the best of what we inherited with all of the advantages and all of the opportunities of modern technology.
It is certainly a good time to be in business in Australia in 2002. We';ve rarely had stronger economic conditions. Only yesterday the International Monetary Fund reminded Australia that our economic performance is superior to that of just about every other developed country in the world, and the prospect of maintaining continued economic growth, around about four per cent per annum, is very much there for us to have if we maintain the stance of current sensible economic policies that have delivered low inflation, low interest rates, a secure and predictable investment environment.
That has come in no accidental fashion. That has come off the back of many reforms in many areas over a number of years. Most recently of course have been the transforming effects of the introduction of a new taxation system – difficult to do at the time but the benefits of that are now very much available and not least for our exporters because one of the great advantages of the new taxation system is that it took the burden of indirect tax off our exports. And the benefits of industrial relations reforms and one of the great things about the Australian economy through the 1990s and into the 21st century was of course our very superior productivity performance. Along with the United States, we had the best productivity performance of all of the major economies over the last decade and if we can maintain that kind of momentum, then we can continue to enjoy the rates of growth that we are experiencing at present.
Tonight specifically, I want to mark this occasion by announcing an important practical measure to help small and medium businesses in this industry to win export contracts or to expand their export businesses. The Government will open a national TradeStart office specifically for this industry and in partnership with AEEMA. AusTrade has signed the partnership agreement with AEEMA and I';m advised that AEEMA has already appointed its TradeStart officer to be based in Brisbane but assisting businesses right across the country.
TradeStart is the Federal Government';s information and advisory service for Australian exporters. We currently have 24 TradeStart offices and we aim to lift that to 50 by the middle of next year. In this year';s Budget we committed $21.5 million over four years to expand the successful TradeStart export assistance network, a small but important practical measure designed specifically to enhance the export potential and the export capacity of all of the small to medium sized firms under the umbrella of your Association.
Ladies and gentlemen, the final thought that I want to leave with you tonight is I hope seen as far and away the most important. And that is this – that in the globalised world in which we now live, a capacity to change and adapt is the most important single quality that I believe business men and women need. We can';t escape, nor should we endeavour to, the consequences of living in a globalised economy. There are enormous benefits to be derived from the globalised economic environment in which we live. But they';re only going to be derived and they';re only going to be converted to Australia';s national benefit if we continue to show to ourselves and more importantly to the world, the capacity to change and adapt.
And the overwhelmingly most important reason why the Australian economy has proved so strong and resilient and successful in recent years is that we as a nation, and more importantly, we as a people, have shown a capacity to change and adapt. And you only have to think of the experience of your own industry to understand how it has changed and adapted. How it has moved away from some notions that were regarded as sacrosanct only 20 years ago. How you';ve reached out and sought and won export markets, how you';ve converted high technology capacity to true and trusted manufacturing techniques. And it';s the capacity and the adaptability of Australians more than anything else that has delivered the strong economy that we have at the present time.
I think one of the great assets Australia has is that we have an adaptable people. Australian employees are sought all around the world because they have a capacity to adapt. We don';t have a view that the Australian way is the only way, but we do have a view that part of the Australian way is a capacity to adapt to new and challenging horizons and new and challenging opportunities. And your industry is a metaphor for that Australian capacity to adapt and to change, to embrace new technology. There is no nation on earth that has been a greater devourer, when you think of it, of new technology than Australia. And that';s one of the reasons why we';ve been successful in the modern world. It';s one of the reasons why your industry has changed and adapted, and why you';re making such a very important contribution to the strength of the modern Australian economy. I thank you for that. I congratulate in advance all of those who participated in the awards process and I look forward to the awards component of the evening later on tonight.
Thank you.
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