Address, Karratha Business Breakfast - Karratha, WA

PRIME MINISTER: Thank you Peter, and thank you Uncle David, for that wonderful welcome to country and can I also acknowledge the Ngarluma people, elders past and present, but like you, to acknowledge those emerging leaders that are coming through - not just here, not with the Ngarluma people, but right across the country, we're seeing that. And I know that must be very encouraging both to you, but I think it is to the entire country. If there are any servicemen and women here today or Defence Force veterans, can I say thank you to you for the incredible service you've given to our country and acknowledge that, and thank you on behalf of a grateful nation.

It's great to be here at the Pilbara. It's great to be here in the community of Karratha. And that's what I want to underscore - this is a city, this is a living city and a city with great aspirations and great vision. We're standing amongst some of that vision - the Red Earth said it and I can tell you, I've got red earth on my boots today, having been out at Fortescue, the Christmas Creek mine, and spending some time there with the many workers out there overnight and today. And Melissa makes an extremely important point, whether it's in that part of the resource sector, Peter, or many others that you mentioned so disparate and diverse here, based here out of Karratha. It has been the resources sector of Australia over the course of the last 18 months, and particularly here in Western Australia, that has underpinned, underwrote so much of Australia's economic performance over this most difficult time. Other sectors have been devastated. And that devastation, frankly, over the last 18 months and a bit longer hasn't just been because of COVID. We have had floods, we have had fires. And very sad to hear more recently, we've had cyclones and Melissa and I will be going down to Kalbarri later today and touring those most affected areas. But despite all of that, all the tempests, all the pandemics, the resources sector here in Western Australia, and particularly here in the Pilbara, has pushed on and underpinned what has been a remarkable performance by Australia more broadly, so that we can say today there are more people employed in Australia today than they were at the start of the pandemic. And we can say that also about Western Australia. And I think that is a great achievement of our nation over what has been one of the most difficult times we've faced in 75 years. So, we emerge strong from the pandemic and the recession that it has caused. What I appreciate about the Karratha community, as I said, is it's just that - this is not some fly-in fly-out town. This is not the mining town as those of us suburbanites from the east coast or other places might think of things like this. This is a living community with great resources, with a vision for where it wants to be in the future, for families to come and live and raise their kids and enjoy the best of life here in Western Australia. And that's our vision as well. That's why we've invested here, and when the former Prime Minister came and gave that, I was happy to be the Treasurer that gave him the cheque that he could bring. And our investment in regional communities all around Australia is something that I, and the Deputy Prime Minister as well, feel very, very strongly about. And Melissa as your representative, representing about two-thirds of the state of Western Australia, it's an enormous area for any other Member of Parliament to get their head around, particularly when you come here and you see it on the ground. But it really is about ensuring that vibrancy in these communities and it's really about ensuring the diversity of economic opportunities. And so whether it is the, sort of, the living city infrastructure you need in a place such as this, or it's the Headspace facilities that we were able to establish that Melissa championed to ensure that the important social services that are put into communities are there to sustain and support communities. There are different challenges here for mental health in particular that we'd see in a regional community like this, than we would see in the suburbs of Brisbane or other parts of the country. And so one of the marvellous things about Headspace is it does have that local understanding, that local knowledge and is integrated and works with the local community to address those very, very real anxiety and mental health challenges that younger people face. And so putting these services in place is a key part of what we do. I said to the miners this morning, as those miners went out onto the job this morning, that they weren't just going through their daily workday. Wherever you're working in Karratha today, wherever you're working in the Pilbara today - what that is enabling is the services that make the whole of the country stronger, those services, whether they be in our health system, our education system, whether our mental health supports, any of these things - all of this is a function of the wealth and the earnings that's generated, particularly by places like the Pilbara. And so, in many senses, those who are working in the resources sector are like our doctors and nurses or our teachers or others, because what they're doing is enabling those types of services to be able to be delivered on the ground, whether it's in individual parts of the country or more broadly. I am looking forward to mingling, but on some of those issues that you raised, I mean, and most recently the cyclone, I think it's been a reminder that people who live in Karratha don't need a reminder about cyclones, sadly, or many, many other things that you face.

We have gone through a period in this country where the resilience has been tested and a key focus of the Government, and you'll see more of this in the Budget and announcements in the weeks ahead, it's about addressing a lot of those practical issues. It's about understanding the environment in which we now live, and the climate which we now live. And there are things we can and must do to address Australia's climate challenges - taking actions on emissions reduction and taking action when it comes to ensuring that we meet the commitments that we make in these important areas. And here, whether it's hydrogen, which is, you know, Australia is becoming widely known as the country that is championing hydrogen into the future. And here in the Pilbara, we are already seeing that leadership, whether it's the projects I will see today or we're I've just been. And this is really important to make these commitments and make these changes in large resource heavy industry parts of our country. Because people would have heard me say earlier this year that I want to see Australia achieve net zero and to do that as soon as we possibly can and preferably by 2050. But what I have to be able to do, and what we have to be able to do, in meeting that challenge is demonstrate how we can do that and ensure that the heavy industry, heavy industries that exist in our country are part of that solution. And that they're there in 2050, and not just there, but stronger than they are today. I think one of the genuine concerns that people around the country have about those types of commitments is that they see it being achieved at the expense of the sorts of jobs and the industries, the big earnings that come from those industries that we see here in the Pilbara. My commitment is to ensure that we meet these commitments and at the same time and going further, continue to see a stronger, heavy industry, whether it's in manufacturing, whether it's the resources or the many other sectors that are so reliant on an energy economy. And our energy economy is changing, and we want to be part of the new energy economy and we want to translate the jobs and the economic performance of our heavy industries, particularly in resources to that new energy economy. And we want to position Australia for that time. And that's the conversation I'm having with Australia about these commitments. We have the smartest people in the world that are working on our energy future. We've got passionate entrepreneurs that are putting their own money and their own credibility and their own reputations behind projects like hydrogen. We've got the best scientists who are working with them on the ground and pursuing their ambition. Australia has a very proud record about how we're transitioning our economy and transitioning into a new energy future. But we're doing it a way, I think, which is different to the rest of the world. We're doing it in a very Australian way, a very practical way, finding smart technological solutions, which ensures that we can keep doing what we're really good at, and at the same time be a major energy presence in the future economy of the world. Now, that is good news for Karratha, I believe. I think that's outstanding news for Karratha, and the argument about achieving this and where it is achieved is not in the suburbs of Sydney, or the suburbs of Melbourne or Brisbane or indeed Perth. This is won- This is won here. It's won in our resources sector. It's won in our energy sector. It's won in our industrial sector. It's won in our manufacturing sector, and that's where I'm looking to work with Australians to get those solutions in place and we crack that, and the vision that you have for your community here in Karratha is a long term one, and it's an exciting one. And it's one that will only go from strength to strength and I can see the living city, Peter, that you have a vision for realised here.

So I just wanted to share that with you while we're here in the Pilbara. There are a few places like the Pilbara anywhere in the world, let alone here in Australia. And it is important in places like this, we understand the contribution that has been made and particularly over these last 12 and 18 months, but importantly, what will be made in terms of Australia's future, not just our economic future, but our environmental future. And I'm going to tell you, I'm more than overwhelmed and impressed by the commitment of the resources sector to be a partner in meeting these challenges - their resourcefulness, their innovation, their commitment is second to none. And so I'm looking forward to chatting with you, particularly about some of the more community based projects and things like that that are occurring here. There are many challenges. We will continue to build that resilience in the north of Australia and we will continue to work with communities to achieve that. And I'm looking forward to having those discussions with you in just a few moments. Thank you very much.