Speech

Address by: Leith Doody, State Manager Victoria and National Leader Corporate Partnerships, Austrade
Event: Greater Toronto Marketing Alliance Business Mission to Australia, dinner
Location: Melbourne
Date: 11 May 2006

• Mr Richard Kolher (Canadian Consul General in Sydney)
• Major Robert MacIsaac (Burlington)
• Mayor John Gray (Oshawa)
• Councillor Gloria Lindsay Luby (Toronto City Council)
• John Benjamin (CEO, Longreach Capital)
• Ladies and gentlemen

Thank you for the opportunity to speak at this dinner for the Greater Toronto Marketing Alliance Business Mission.

Austrade’s Managing Director, Peter O’Byrne, had wished to be here to be able meet with you but was unfortunately called away at the last minute. He asked me to pass on his apology and also his best wishes to you.

This mission is the latest in a series of missions between Toronto and Australia:

• Last October Austrade took an Australian delegation to Toronto to investigate development opportunities around the waterfront;
• TEDCO and Gowlings visited Australia last June;
• and in the last two years the GTMA has received several Australian delegations in the ICT industry.

This reciprocation is a welcome sign of our strengthening ties in trade and investment.

Of course, Canada and Australia have long had a close relationship:

• both our countries have grown within the Commonwealth, with complementary systems of government and a high standard of living;
• and we share close people-to-people ties.

Nearly 2000 Australian companies export to Canada every year, with top performing exports including wine, various minerals, medicines and meat (lamb and beef).

Australia’s merchandise trade with Canada has remained relatively steady for the past five years.

• Australian goods exports to Canada totalled A$1.76 billion in 2005 and imports from Canada a little higher at $1.86 billion.

We also share strong trade in services:

• Canada took in A$491 million of Australian services in 2005 – this is up five per cent on the previous year’s figures.
• Australia imports about $640 million in services from Canada.

If our trade links are strong, our investment links are even stronger…

Canada has substantial investment in Australia, particularly in the energy sector, food processing, engineering and telecoms.

• The stock of Canadian Foreign Direct Investment in Australia was valued at A$8 billion in 2004…
• …this made Canada the seventh largest investor in Australia.

Canadian firms, such as Placer Dome, Alcan, McCain Foods, and Bombardier, employ Australian talent in their thousands.

Australia has investment in Canada in a number of sectors:

• Australia’s BHP Billiton is a leading producer of diamonds in Canada;
• Macquarie Bank has a stake in the 407 toll highway;
• one of Australia’s most successful franchise operations, the Baker’s Delight and COBS Bread chain of bakeries now spreads throughout Australia, New Zealand and Canada;
• Melbourne-based Computershare is a large part of Canada’s electronic share management market;
• and of course last year Charles Sturt University opened a campus in Burlington, and 112 students are currently enrolled in the Bachelor of Primary Education Studies.

Many of the participants here tonight are seeking to establish closer business ties and real business opportunities, including investment, in the Greater Toronto Area…

…I think this is a very good decision.

Toronto is well and truly established as a world-class city. There is multiculturalism, business and technology to rival the best in the world…

There is also immense potential for further development…

• There are considerable opportunities for ICT throughout the GTA (Greater Toronto Area);
• There is sustained economic growth, low inflation and strong employment;
• Population growth is rapid;
• And there is unprecedented commitment from government.

Austrade is proud to play a role in facilitating this development.

We are committed to helping connect Australian and Torontonian companies and investors – over the long term.

Like Toronto, Australia has a dynamic business culture and excellent R&D infrastructure.

Australian ICT is renowned internationally for its quality and innovation. There are around 30,000 specialist ICT businesses in Australia, at last count generating an income of around A$80 billion.

I mentioned Computershare earlier…

• Iress Market Technology is also involved in share market trading technology – and has recently made an agreement with Reuters Canada to use its electronic trading systems on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

There are also opportunities in bio-informatics – which is the use of specialised ICT companies to cater to the massive data and computational needs of biotechnology research and drug discovery. Biodiscovery Toronto would be a natural partner for research-based life science clusters that use bioinformatics – such as Bio21 in Melbourne.

Australia also has world-leading expertise in planning, funding, developing and managing waterfront projects.

Currently underway in Melbourne’s Docklands precinct is a 220 hectare urban renewal project that will double the size of the city’s centre over the next 10 to 15 years. Seven kilometres of waterfront are being developed for a combination of residential, commercial, retail and leisure activities – including public-private partnership projects such as Telstra Dome and the new ‘Digital Harbour’.

• ‘Digital Harbour’ is an innovation cluster currently underway, that is designed to facilitate the international commercialisation of Australian technology.
• Telstra Dome, which was completed in 2000, played host to the rugby competition in the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games earlier this year.

Public-private partnerships are a well developed area in Australia, and we are delighted to share our experiences with our Canadian counterparts.

Last month the Victorian Premier, Steve Bracks, visited Canada and spoke to business on this subject. The Victorian Treasurer, John Brumby, last year also went to Canada and spoke on this subject.

In preparation for the 2014 Commonwealth Games bid by Halifax, Nova Scotia, representatives from Halifax came to Melbourne to observe the management and functioning of the Melbourne Games. While they were here they also participated in Corporate Hospitality and business networking events organised by the Austrade and Victorian Government program – Business Club Australia.

Reflecting the importance of the Australia-Canada relationship, Canada was the curtain-raiser event for the series – attended by Richard Kohler (Canadian Consul General to Australia), John Landy (Governor of Victoria) … and the Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade (Mark Vaile).

As well as economic, trade and investment links, Canada and Australia have something else in common – a free trade agreement with the United States.

NAFTA and the Australia-United States Free Trade Agreement make it even easier for Australian businesses to service the US market from a location in Toronto – while taking advantage of Toronto’s own economic opportunities and its lower business costs …

There is also potential for our two countries to leverage the free trade agreements we don’t have in common – for example Australia’s agreements with Thailand and Singapore, and Canada’s agreements with Chile, Costa Rica and Israel.

Another positive indication for trade ties is the establishment in October last year of the Canadian Australian Chamber of Commerce.

The future is bright for business between Toronto and Australia.

I would like to thank Longreach Capital for its involvement in this Business Mission – and for organising this dinner. Longreach Capital is a valued client of Austrade, who I understand may be planning to open an office in Toronto later this year. I look forward to working with them on this initiative.

Thank you again for the opportunity to speak this evening.

I wish everyone here a productive and enjoyable stay in Melbourne.

Thank you