I begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on which we meet, and I pay my respects to Elders past, present and emerging.
It gives me great pleasure to be back in Townsville for this significant event.
I’ve been to every single Bush Summit since the first one in Dubbo in 2019.
It is a catalyst for an important conversation, and I thank News Corp for its commitment to keeping it going.
It’s a conversation about the challenges of the present.
It’s also a conversation about the possibilities of the future – a better future that we can make right here in Australia.
A future in which the mighty state of Queensland is pivotal.
At the heart of what we so loosely call the bush is a powerful truth.
And that is that the communities beyond the capitals, in all their variety, do so much to take the beautiful, audacious idea of Australia – and turn it into a reality that is even more extraordinary.
Regional Australians deal with challenges not known in the capitals – and the strength with which you emerge from them ultimately strengthens all of us.
With so much of the nation’s prosperity generated in our regions, we understand how important regions are in building a stronger Australia.
We also understand how critical it is for people and families across regional Australia to have the support they need, whether it’s access to quality services or relief from cost-of-living pressures.
Similarly, we know how critical it is that we get it right when it comes to the unique inheritance that is our natural environment.
Here in Townsville, our minds inevitably turn to what is one of the world’s greatest wonders: the Great Barrier Reef.
The Reef is a source of national pride and amazement. It is also a significant source of employment, generating 60,000 jobs.
There are few places more fitting to talk about it than Townsville, which is the national headquarters of Australia’s marine management and science.
The Reef belongs to all of us – now and future generations. That’s why the Government I lead is investing in it.
I am proud that as part of that investment, we are putting nearly $200 million into seven programs to boost efforts to protect and manage the Reef.
They will be about improving water quality and protecting the Reef, with flow-on benefits for biodiversity, ecosystem resilience and land management in Reef catchments.
The programs will:
- deliver projects in priority catchments to increase efforts to reduce nutrient runoff
- support healthy wetland habitats, protect Reef biodiversity and build ecosystem resilience
- support on-ground, community-led activities to improve water quality
- support job creation and economic recovery for Reef-dependent industries and regional communities.
For many who come to Townsville, their introduction to the Great Barrier Reef is right here.
Since it was opened by Bob Hawke in 1987, Reef HQ – the Great Barrier Reef Aquarium – has seen 4.5 million visitors pass through its doors.
Unfortunately, those doors have been closed since 2019. Funds allocated by the previous government weren’t enough for the full rebuild that was necessary.
That changes now.
A Labor Prime Minister opened it. I am pleased to announce that a Labor Government is helping save it.
We will rebuild the Great Barrier Reef Aquarium with an extra $100 million investment.
Bringing total funding to $180 million, work can now begin on rebuilding Australia’s most cherished living coral reef exhibit to educate visitors about the realities of the reef, and the responsibility we all share to look after it.
The additional investment will enable the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority to deliver a new purpose-built facility that will deliver global excellence in tropical reef education and provide immersive experiences.
It’s only right that Townsville, which plays such an integral role in the defence of our nation, should also play a part in teaching us to protect it.
And it’ll be great for the economy, too. The project is expected to create over 1000 jobs and give Townsville’s economy an enormous boost.
We look to the future with clear eyes, and a firm grasp of the present.
Today – and every day – my Government is working to help Australians who are under financial pressure.
We're boosting wages and delivering tax cuts, making sure that Australians can earn more and keep more of what they earn.
We're making sure Australians benefit from energy bill relief.
From cheaper childcare and cheaper medicines.
We’re partnering with states and territories to deliver 500,000 Fee-Free TAFE and VET places over 2023 to 2026, with around a third of enrolments located in inner and outer regional locations.
And we’re continuing to open Regional University Study Hubs – including across Queensland – to bring university closer to students in the regions. Because opportunity must be available to every Australian.
We’ve established the Housing Australia Future Fund to help deliver tens of thousands of new homes – including in regional, rural and remote areas.
The Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee supports eligible home buyers to purchase a home in a regional area with a deposit of as little as 5 per cent.
The Government is also committed to improving the health outcomes of Australians living in regional, rural and remote areas.
In the last budget, we allocated funding for a further 29 additional Medicare Urgent Care Clinics.
This will bring the total number of Medicare UCCs across Australia to 87. You can walk in any day of the week and all you need is your Medicare card, not your credit card.
Twenty-four are already open to patients in regional, rural and remote areas.
That includes one here in Townsville, which opened just before Christmas.
In that time, it’s already had 10,500 visits. Imagine the difference that’s made to the hardworking staff at Townsville University Hospital emergency department.
Imagine the difference that’s making for the people of Townsville.
Then replicate that across the country. That’s what we’re doing – and we’re not stopping.
My Government is making record investments in regional Australia, including $1 billion for regional grant programs over three years, to invest in much-needed community and economic infrastructure in the regions and $1.1 billion towards upgrading regional communications infrastructure across Australia.
We’re working to defeat the tyranny of distance and close the digital divide. To make it easier for those who already live in the regions, and to make the regions even more enticing – for individuals, for families and for business.
This is just one area where our pay rises for workers in essential services makes so much sense.
Whether it’s for early childhood educators or aged care workers, higher wages make it easier to recruit staff and keep them – and the services they provide make it easier for residents to stay.
It’s about building communities and strengthening them, making our regions as viable as they are beautiful.
That includes ensuring our regional communities are safe.
The Federal Government supports our state and territory counterparts and their law enforcement agencies through the provision of resources, technical assistance, and co-ordination functions.
Crucially, we’re boosting investment in our Northern Bases to ensure Townsville strengthens even further its vital role in the defence of our nation
Part of ensuring the health and strength of communities is acknowledging that just as each community is unique, each community contains a diversity of views.
A core job of government is to listen to those views – all of them.
Nor are communities static. As people move to our regions, we have to understand the shifting pressures – and invest in services accordingly.
And we keep building.
We’re committed to a 10-year infrastructure investment pipeline to deliver a sustainable program of nationally significant transport infrastructure projects across Australia.
We’re helping farmers and their communities prepare for the next drought and build climate resilience with the Future Drought Fund program.
We’re also building resilience into Australia’s future as a renewable energy superpower.
As we work to harness more and more of the sunshine Australia has in such abundance, farmers and solar farmers alike are finding mutual benefits.
Of course, there’s always room for improvement. Community consultation has to get better. Developers need to do better. This is all within reach.
Meanwhile, many of our farmers, producers and miners are already feeling the benefits from the resumption of Australia’s trade with China.
This is the result of a lot of careful, patient and deliberate work to return to a more mature relationship between our two countries.
It’s not without challenges, but we agree where we can, disagree where we must, and engaging in the national interest.
The numbers speak for themselves.
From April 2023 to April 2024, Australia exported around $15 billion of previously affected products to China – including coal, cotton, barley and wine – compared to $1.5 billion during the same period the year before.
Keeping the focus more local, China was Queensland’s biggest export market in 2023-24, with over $5 billion of previously affected products sent to China.
The ripple from every ship heading from our shores towards a Chinese port helps lift a community. A region. And ultimately our nation.
And as we work to get more exports heading out, we’re keeping a close eye on what imports are coming in.
The Government has invested record new biosecurity funding of more than $1 billion over four years.
This will ensure that, for the first time in Australia’s history, we have a sustainable biosecurity funding model to protect our agricultural industry, our natural environment and our way of life.
As we work to get things right in the present, my Government is investing in a Future Made in Australia to bring new jobs and opportunities to communities across the country.
Making our future here in Australia is about making the most of our nation’s potential and making sure everyone shares in the benefits.
The National Reconstruction Fund will help support, diversify and transform Australian industry and the economy across priority areas.
As just one example, my Government is investing $70 million right here in the Townsville Hydrogen Hub. This will create over 200 jobs including roles in construction, trades and engineering.
There’s no reason for us to remain the last link in the global supply chain with all the risks that carries in a more uncertain world.
With a confidence underwritten by Australia’s track record of achievement and innovation, we know we have what it takes to make things here.
Regional Australia is home to the resources the world needs. We know we can turn them into the products that the world wants.
We can continue the great story regional Australia has long been writing by building an economy where manufacturing is every bit as strong as mining.
An economy built with confidence on the skills, talent and hard work of our people.
An economy where Australian researchers and innovators can commercialise their ideas here and turn discovery into industry.
And in doing so, we can bring a new generation of secure, well-paid jobs.
The bright lights have never been the preserve of the big capitals – our vision for a Future Made in Australia is about every part of Australia.
Making the most of our natural resources, protecting our natural assets, making the most of our people's potential.
And making sure that as we seize those opportunities, we share them with people and communities right across our nation, right across our regions.
A better future for the bush is a better future for all Australians.