Speeches

p>Mr Speaker, in just two weeks time the Government will provide an important opportunity for a broad group of Australians to help chart the next steps forward in Australia's tax reform journey.

Mr Speaker, honourable Members are aware that the global economy has been through one of its most difficult periods in recent years, starting with the sub-prime crisis in the US, the collapse of

Thank you for the warm welcome. It's a pleasure to be here this morning talking about the transition to a clean energy future for our economy.

Thank you for that welcome – what a tremendous honour to be here tonight representing the Prime Minister, along with Minister Nick Sherry, talking to a group that is just so crucial to our natio

The trans-Tasman rivalry is something that is well known. Gold versus black. VB versus DB. Jonathan Thurston versus Benji Marshall. The Reds versus the Crusaders.

Thank you Professor Garnaut for your words of introduction. And thank you to the Crawford School at the ANU for inviting me to speak at the 2011 China Update.

Mr Speaker, it was less than three years ago that the world was witnessing an unprecedented meltdown in the global financial system.

p>Like every speaker at these conferences I'm faced with the choice between taking a very specific topic – like I did about eight years ago when I talked about transfer payment design and in 2008 w

Thank you delegates for welcoming me back here today to a conference that brings back so many memories for me.

Thanks very much to the members of the International CEO Forum for having me here today. This is now the fourth year I have had the opportunity to address this forum.

Six months ago when asked to describe ourselves, many of us would have answered quite plainly: 'I'm a cane farmer', 'a truck driver', 'a building labourer', 'a teacher', 'a nurse' or 'a doctor'.

Thanks Laurie [Wilson] for that introduction and thanks for welcoming me here so soon after my post-Budget speech.

It is great to come out to Perth after spending days on end stuck in Budget preparations over the past few months.

It is great to be back in Adelaide and have the opportunity to talk to you about our Budget.

It's always good to join the Per Capita circle. A lot of people have said Australia needs more think tanks – you're almost unique in having set one up.

It is a great pleasure to be here in Sydney, a city that brings together more than any other the broad range of employment opportunities that our economy presents.

Thanks very much Simon [Penrose, President of the Brisbane North Chamber of Commerce].

Thanks for that very warm welcome and thanks Laurie [Wilson, President of the National Press Club] for that introduction.

Introduction Thanks for that very warm welcome and thanks Barton [Green] for those words of introduction.

It is a real pleasure to be here to launch this paper by Chris Barrett, Australia Scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Centre for Scholars, and to be doing so with Australia's Ambassador