Introduction

I'm delighted to be here in Singapore and to have the opportunity to speak at this luncheon. It's particularly gratifying to be able to highlight to a Singapore audience a major project being undertaken in Australia - the completion of the rail link between Adelaide and Darwin. It's great to see my colleague Tim Fischer here, in his role as Special Envoy, also supporting the project.

And, as a loyal South Australian, I want to commend the State Government for getting us all together here in Singapore so that we can highlight the benefits that the rail link will bring, not only to Australia, but to other countries in the region - and especially Singapore - as well. I'm proud to say that our State is home to some of Australia's most innovative and clever exporters. Some of them are in my own electorate of Mayo. For example, there's Springs Smoked Seafood at Mount Barker - which employs 70 people and exports its product here to Singapore, amongst other places.

I have three themes in my address today: firstly, I'd like to give you a Federal Government perspective on the completion of the Adelaide to Darwin rail link, including its potential as a new trade route to Asia; secondly, I want to talk about our bilateral relationship with Singapore, focussing on the increasing interaction between our two economies and the bilateral Free Trade Agreement that we are currently negotiating; and thirdly, I want to reiterate Australia's advantages as a great place for Singaporeans to invest in.

Completing the Adelaide to Darwin rail link

The Federal Government in Australia is a firm supporter of the rail link, and is committed to providing A$165 million towards completing it, with the rest of the necessary money coming from the Governments of South Australia and the Northern Territory, and the private sector. The Prime Minister, Mr Howard, was in Alice Springs to turn the first sod in the completion of the rail link last week.

This is, without doubt, one of the biggest infrastructure projects in Australia's history. I'm told that completing the rail link will require the construction of 120 bridges and some 2.3 million concrete sleepers, which gives you an idea of the massive scale of the project.

And, of course, this a great example of cooperation between Federal and State Governments and the private sector in Australia. It shows how the Federal Government in Australia can assist the States in their pursuit of economic development that will benefit the nation as a whole.

A new trade route to Asia

There are a number of important benefits that will result from the rail link's completion, but perhaps the most dramatic for this audience will be the opening up a new trade route from Australia to Asia. There will be a railway right down the whole length of the Australian continent to Adelaide, where it will connect with rail links to the rest of Australia, including the south eastern areas which are our economic heartland. And, through integration with maritime transport operations at the new Port of Darwin, the completed rail link will connect with the rest of the world, and the Asia Pacific region in particular.

In the international marketplace of today's world, rail is seen as an increasingly competitive mode of transport for many products, especially bulky products and those that are time-sensitive. New industries can develop after the rail link is completed. Live fish exports, for which sea freight is too slow and air freight is too costly, is one that has been suggested. The mining sector should also benefit, and time-sensitive, high value freight such as car parts, chilled meat, computer components, fruit and vegetables, and wine should too. Horticultural cargo is another obvious beneficiary - that is an industry already doing well overseas for South Australians in particular.

Overall, this new link will give to Australia's rail network a continental scale that will be of great benefit to trade. And tourism will benefit too, especially when The Ghan, the famous rail service to the centre of Australia, is able to extend that service to Darwin.

Singapore, is, of course, a major international port and maritime transport hub and this new route will add to its network of transport links. Your nation will be well placed to take advantage of this new opportunity to develop further its trade with Australia. What it will mean, in essence, is that businesses in Singapore will be able to get supplies of products sourced from Australia more quickly and cheaply and, in the other direction, get quicker and cheaper access to markets in Australia for their exports.

That sounds like a win-win situation to me! And it will be very welcome as a further contribution towards the development of our strong, mutually beneficial commercial relationship.

The Singapore-Australia relationship

I've just come from a meeting with your Prime Minister, Mr Goh, and that has reminded me once again how very strong, broadly based and productive our bilateral relationship is. That, I would have thought, is about as positive as you ever can get about a bilateral relationship!

We are both outward looking countries prepared to take on with confidence the challenges facing all nations in today's world. And our cooperation and links extend across a wide range of sectors, not only trade and investment, but also including defence, education, civil aviation, tourism, immigration and cultural relations. Historical ties and similar legal and political structures provide a secure underpinning to our cooperation. The recent, very successful Singapore-Australia Joint Ministerial Committee meeting held in Canberra confirmed how close our ties have become.

One of the best recent examples of our cooperation is found in Singapore's ongoing support for East Timor. Singapore's valuable participation in the INTERFET operation in 1999, its contribution to the UNTAET PKO, and the critical role it played as President of the United Nations Security Council in January 2001, during renewal of UNTAET's mandate, have all been greatly appreciated by Australia.

People-to-people ties are an important part of our relationship. Singapore is the largest source of overseas students to Australian campuses, with some 19,700 students in 2000. (I should note that it was only just ahead of Hong Kong, with 19,600 students, Malaysia with 18,600, and Indonesia with 17,900). Singapore is also our 5^th largest source of short-term visitors, with 276,000 last year.

Increasing interaction between the Singapore and Australian economies

The economies of Singapore and Australia are interacting more and more. In fact, Singapore is our largest trade and investment partner in ASEAN - and our 7^th largest trading partner overall.

Australian merchandise exports to Singapore in 2000 were valued at A$5.9 billion (our sixth largest export market) and our imports from Singapore were worth A$3.7 billion (our ninth largest source). Investment levels are also growing - in both directions. In June 2000, Australian investment in Singapore was valued at A$9.6 billion, while Singaporean investment in Australia was worth A$19.8 billion. The Federal Government would welcome more investment from Singapore in Australia.

Business-to-business links are close. And the possibilities for strategic collaboration between our two business sectors have been highlighted by the recent agreement between the Singapore and Australian Stock Exchanges on common trading platforms.

So, we already have a strong base for using the benefits that will come from completion of the Adelaide to Darwin rail link to increase our trade and investment levels. The business prospects for further growth are good. And our Governments are all committed to putting in place the right kind of framework to enable that to happen.

A bilateral FTA

As you know, Prime Ministers Goh and Howard announced on 15 November 2000 that our two national Governments had agreed to start negotiations on a bilateral free trade agreement. And we've made good progress in this endeavour since that time. Negotiations have been going well, and it's pleasing for me to note here today that there has been strong support for the FTA from Australian business and State and Territory governments.

Both sides are committed to negotiating a comprehensive agreement, one that will liberalise trade in both goods and services. We want to cover the whole spectrum of our bilateral trade as a means of building up our bilateral commercial relationship further. This will help us to grasp the opportunities flowing from greater integration of our two economies, in areas like research and innovation, the new economy and the information society.

I'm excited by the prospect of achieving this FTA, as I believe that Singapore and Australia have much to offer each other, and there is much that we can do together in business that will strengthen our economies and benefit the region as a whole. Singapore is showing leadership on free trade in the ASEAN region through its pursuit of bilateral FTAs, and we are pleased to be part of that process through this negotiation.

Australia - a great place to invest in

Australia is a great place to invest in. We have a stable political system, and a fine physical environment and lifestyle. We have a welcoming attitude to foreign investment, and an enduring Government commitment to the provision of high quality investment services. Our foreign investment rules are flexible and transparent.

Australia is an open economy with high levels of growth and low levels of inflation. Our fiscal and monetary policies are well managed. Our regulatory environment is open and efficient. It's a great place to do business in.

Our labour force is multilingual, highly educated and skilled, and computer-literate. People work hard, they are committed, and there is a low rate of industrial disputes. Wages are competitive, and labour productivity is high.

Overall, Australia is a cost competitive location. Property and construction costs are low, as are research and development costs. Transport and utility costs are also competitive.

Australia is rapidly improving its capability and international reputation in the area of new technology - the so-called New Economy stakes. I was particularly pleased to see that the prestigious Economist Intelligence Unit recently placed Australia at No. 2 - behind only the US - on its new "e-readiness" rating-list of 60 countries.

This backs up a finding by the OECD that Australia has increased its efficiency through innovation and the use of new technologies - with the OECD correctly noting that it's the use, rather than the production, of ICT that's important to economic growth.

Ours is a country with great potential, and one that is putting in place the means to deliver on that potential.

Conclusion

You may have realised that I am a great enthusiast where Australia's bilateral relationship with Singapore is concerned. And today's function makes me even more enthusiastic about it.

The opportunities that will open up as a result of the completion of the Adelaide to Darwin rail link, and the level of interest you are showing in those opportunities by your attendance at this function today, are very encouraging.

This rail corridor will play a most important role in the trading futures of both Australia and Singapore, as well as other nations in the region. And it will be an important symbol of Australia's commitment to, and engagement in, the Asia Pacific region.