Ten days ago I was making my sixth visit to Asia as Australia's Prime Minister.
I visited Kranji War Cemetery and there reflected on the Singapore of 1942 and the Singapore of 2012.
How a nation could so radically transform itself in the space of just one lifetime.
Singapore is now a powerhouse of Asian growth - a hub for investment, education, transport and regional diplomacy. Since 1942 its population has grown from 1 million to 5 million.
Their living standards today are, on average, more than ten times higher and average life expectancy has increased by almost thirty years.
Today's Singapore would have been unimaginable in 1942.
Singapore's rise is richly symbolic of Asia's extraordinary rise, a story that could be told in a thousand ways but for which I will just give you one compelling statistic.
In 1992, China and India, accounted for less than a tenth of world gross domestic product. In the two decades since, in a growing global economy, that has doubled.
Of course, Australia has also been transformed since World War II to become a dynamic, prosperous and diverse nation in which we pride ourselves on maintaining our unique blend of prosperity and fairness.
At the time of the fall of Singapore, Asia represented a threat to the Australian identity.
Over the decades since our engagement with Asia has become essential to our identity. Our relationships with the diverse nations of the region are positive and successful.
In 1950, Australia's goods exports to Japan, ASEAN and other major Asian countries were around 13 per cent of all of Australia's goods exports.
Today, China, Japan, Korea, India and our ASEAN neighboursabsorb around three quarters of our merchandise exports.
For all of us, the speed and reach of these changes are unprecedented.
But if you think the change we have lived through already in our region and in our nation is amazing, then, hang onto your hats, because so much more change is still to come.
Today, for example, 30 per cent of global output is created within 10,000 kilometres of Australia's shores.
That may double by 2050.
The number of “middle-class” people in the region is projected to rise from around 500 million today to 3.2 billion by 2030.
By 2030, China and India alone are forecast to account for 35 per cent of global energy demand.
The number of internet users in Asia and the Pacific tripled between 2005 and 2011, from 344 million to more than 1 billion.
Every day, the number of people living in Asian cities grows by more than 120,000.
I want Australians to understand what all this change will mean for our nation and for them.
Adapting to the Asian Century requires a response from every level of Australian society.
That is why I decided to commission a White Paper on Australia in the Asian Century.
Australia needs to plan for that future and seize its opportunities.
I wanted to see a growing national debate and dialogue about the impact of what is happening across our region and about how we, as a nation, should respond.
So I welcome this summit and the work of the Global Foundation.
And for your summit and for our nation, it is important to understand how we are already preparing for success in this century.
Our program of national reforms is designed to improve our readiness to sustain and share prosperity.
They begin with skills and education: developing the human capital of all Australians.
150,000 extra Australian students are now studying in Australian universities as a result of our new plan for higher education.
We are introducing a world-class national school curriculum, empowering local school principals, rewarding teachers who increase their effectiveness in the classroom.
Last month we delivered a national skills reform to help more Australians to gain qualifications and provide up-front loans to help them with the cost.
We are delivering a clean energy future for Australia, with the carbon price commencing on 1st July this year and major investments in renewable energy.
We are investing in infrastructure around the nation for roads, rail, ports and public transport.
Through the Minerals Resource Rent Tax we are spreading the benefits of the mining boom, investing in infrastructure that will help mining regions to grow.
We are rolling out the National Broadband Network, delivering high speed broadband to the whole of Australia and creating the means to connect and innovate.
We are delivering other policies to support innovation across our economy, like the reshaped R&D Tax Credit, the instant asset write off for small businesses and long term investment in research .
And we are maintaining the right fiscal policy by working to return the Budget to surplus in 2012-13.
There is no clearer sign of a strong economy than a surplus.
Yes, it requires hard decisions.
But a surplus provides an essential buffer in case the global economy deteriorates.
And it gives the Reserve Bank room to cut interest rates when it judges appropriate - as we have seen this week. That is good news for Australians.
Throughout this period, we have pursued a relentless focus on jobs with 700,000 jobs created in Australia in the last four years. In last year's Budget we delivered reforms to help more Australians into work, through better support and clearer responsibilities.
And we have pursued improved front line services for Australians including better hospitals and now a new National Disability Insurance scheme.
I will never endorse the perspective that Australians are too greedy, or view themselves as entitled to too much and that we should be content to see front line services slashed to the worst levels available in other countries in our region.
Our vision for our nation is not about this race to the bottom. Rather, it is all about improving the lives of Australians today and Australia's readiness to succeed through this century.
There are good reasons for optimism about our ability to do this.
In part that optimism comes from Australia's endowment as we grapple with the challenge.
This endowment is much more than our natural endowment.
It includes what we built together in the Hawke and Keating era, our open economy and strong economic institutions.
The White Paper process is about guiding us to seize the opportunities that are now opening up.
But we need to be aware that other countries are competing for those same opportunities.
And Asian economies themselves continue to move up the value chain, developing new capabilities of their own.
Asia has recently overtaken Europe in the share of world R&D it performs.
In 1998 China performed twice as much R&D as Australia; in 2008 it performed six times as much.
Four of the five top performing school systems are located in our region, not in America or Europe.
And we know all too well that painful structural change is occurring in the Australian economy and creating strain in some parts of our nation.
Australian businesses must find opportunities in conditions where the dollar and terms of trade will remain high for the foreseeable future.
They will not do that by simply doing more of the same, or by slashing costs and quality.
They will need to offer products and services with distinctive value, based on real areas of comparative advantage.
Indeed, the 21st century business model is likely to be very different from the successful business models of the last quarter of the 20th century.
In some cases, Australian businesses will be able to access large Asian markets through export, including through regional supply chains.
In others, the business opportunities will be secured by establishing enterprises, including business partnerships, in Asian countries.
Already some Australian firms are showing how these things might be done.
Just weeks ago, we saw the venerable Australian law firm Mallesons merge with a Chinese peer, King & Wood, to create a new legal powerhouse centred in Asia.
It is the first alliance of its type in the world, combining a Chinese and Western law firm that will cooperate across mainland China, Hong Kong and Australia.
A few weeks later, GM Holden here in Australia (struck an agreement to design and engineer two new car models for manufacture in China by Shanghai GM, a joint venture with government-owned Shanghai Automotive Industry Group.
These are developments that were rare ten years ago and are still unusual today.
But in the decade to come, they need to become absolutely routine.
How we achieve that is what the White Paper is about.
So let me refer to a two areas that I hope will be part of your discussions tomorrow and beyond.
First, Australia's potential to become a regional food superpower.
Just as we have become a minerals and energy giant, Australia can be a great provider of reliable, high quality food to meet Asia's growing needs.
In doing this, we are not just an exporter of commodities, but a partner in growing international markets and a provider of higher value products and services for the global food industry.
Joe Ludwig, our Minister for Agriculture, is developing a national food plan.
I know the Global Foundation has been working to support this process and I welcome further dialogue on how Australia can best take these opportunities.
At the same time, Craig Emerson is working from his trade portfolio to develop new agricultural partnerships between Australia and China.
As I said, it's not just about more exports. It is about developing the systems and services that add extra value to them and participating in the development of a market-based solution to food security across the region. It would involve
Building our food processing industry so that it can supply Asia's growing consumer markets and developing the research, technologies and logistics that strengthen irrigation, grow higher yield crops and improve safety.
Second, White Paper consultation has demonstrated that cultural literacy and understanding, or Ken Henry describes as ‘Asia-relevant capabilities' are vital to Australia's prospects in this century.
When I last visited South Korea in March, I met a young Australian woman who is studying at Yonsei University in Seoul. She had decided that it was a great way to prepare for the career she hoped to have in Australian diplomacy.
I agree. We need to encourage even more Australians to study and work in the region and maintain their connections over their lifetimes.
Australia already possesses great specialist expertise in Asian culture, history and geography through our universities, and leading firms.
And we have a dazzling array of Asian-Australian communities living here, with many different linkages across the region.
We need must broaden and deepen these ' Asia relevant capabilities' across the whole of Australian society.
We also have an incredible network of Australians living and working in countries of the region. As the internet and new digital technologies accelerate, we should be using them to gain even more value from this diaspora.
Finally, in all of this, we do not forget that every nation approaches this century from the perspective of their own interests and values.
Australia is no different.
Our commitments to peace and prosperity, and our alliance with the US is a bedrock of our security and our region's.
And as we progress our agenda for engagement and collaboration, we remain clear about the essential importance Australia's military capability and alliances in this century.
Just as important is our continued commitment to building strong partnerships and friendships with the other nations of this region.
We will maintain an Australian Defence Force able to protect our interests and help maintain the peace and stability of our region.
We will also continue to review and update our own capabilities.
That is why I announced earlier today that we are bringing forward the next Defence White Paper to early 2013 and that we are taking the next steps in the submarine program.
Friends, we can and should face the Asian Century with confidence, optimism and strength.
We are plotting our path to success. But success never flows easily. It depends on making the right decisions now.
As Prime Minister, I remain determined to make us a nation that works together to put ourselves in that position to succeed.
A nation able to realise the opportunities in front of us.
I thank you for your preparedness to join me in designing and detailing how we can achieve that strength and prosperity in this Asian Century.
Thank you very much.