Speeches
Monday, 13 April 2026
Investor Roundtable Hong Kong
I join you today on what is my second visit as Governor of South Australia; though my connection with Hong Kong extends further, having lived and worked here earlier in my career.
Many of you here have been at the forefront of Hong Kong’s deepening economic engagement in Australia.
Your investments in South Australia, and Australia broadly, have been significant over many years.
And it is South Australia’s positive story which I would like to open with today.
You have joined today because you represent companies with significant and ongoing investments and engagements in South Australia, or giving consideration to position forward investment priorities through a South Australian lens.
As a partner, South Australia provides great opportunity as a test-bed state, an agile environment with the ability to move quickly and connect the right people to resolve shared challenges.
South Australia’s economy continues to grow more strongly than that of any other Australian jurisdiction, with a straight run of rises in consumer and business confidence, business conditions, capital investment and expenditure, and record high employment.
All occurring amidst unprecedented geopolitical uncertainty.
In opening today’s discussion, I would especially like to share with you South Australia’s key priorities in the renewable energy sector, and how we can work together towards a clean, green future.
I have read with interest the varied investments a number of your companies hold across Australia’s energy sector.
South Australia is a global leader in the clean energy transition, with government investment in the green economy seeking to capitalise on our endowment of natural resources, not least of which is our coincident wind and solar, and valuable mineral deposits.
Many of these advantages are concentrated in South Australia, particularly around our Upper Spencer Gulf region.
Since 2007, we have transformed our energy system into one of the highest renewables grids in the world, surging from 1 per cent to 78 per cent renewable generation – one of the fastest transitions achieved in a developed economy.
We are also highly prospective for copper, magnetite iron ore, graphite, nickel, uranium, cobalt and gold – critical to global decarbonisation and electrification.
We are focused on creating a stable platform for energy-intensive industries such as green iron, hydrogen and critical minerals processing.
We also sit at the centre of Australia’s freight network, with direct rail, road, pipeline and fibre connections to all mainland states.
All of these factors point to increasing opportunity between Hong Kong and South Australia to support the clean energy and decarbonisation transition, not only in Australia but across the region.
And South Australia’s connectivity is extending more than ever far beyond Australia’s shores.
Adelaide is becoming increasingly globally connected, through the return of previous airline routes, and the establishment of new connections, including into China (China Eastern into Shanghai, which complements China Southern’s Adelaide-Guangzhou route) and the United States (United Airlines into San Francisco).
And, of course, we have been delighted to see the return of Cathay Pacific’s direct connection between Adelaide and Hong Kong, which is certainly of interest to Mr Young.
This direct connectivity not only supports South Australian exporters to get their world class products, including premium food and wine, to consumers across the globe; it is also driving the visitor economy in South Australia.
In the year to December 2025, total visits from China into South Australia were 51,000, comprising 38,000 visitors from mainland China, and an additional 13,000 visitors arrived from Hong Kong (SAR). In terms of expenditure, Chinese visitors to South Australia rank first, while visitors from Hong Kong rank fourth, signifying the importance of this market to the South Australian visitor economy.
As of 31 January 2026, Adelaide was served by a record 12 international airlines flying to 11 destinations, increasing to 13 airlines and 12 destinations from 21 June 2026 when China Eastern commences Shanghai service.
It is a vote of confidence in South Australia’s place in the world, and speaks to our natural partnership with Hong Kong.
These strong credentials, combined with South Australia’s stable regulatory environment, make us an ideal investment partner and investment destination market with companies like yours.
Our state presents a compelling investment environment and welcomes the opportunity to explore new avenues for collaboration between our two regions across these critical sectors.
I look forward to today’s discussion.