Address at the EvokeAG 2025 conference

Good morning - I’d like to begin by also acknowledging the Traditional Owners of the lands on which we’re gathering today and pay my respects to elders past and present.

Thank you to the AgriFutures team and their Chair, Cathy McGowan AO and Managing Director, John Harvey for their advocacy and passion for improving innovation in our Ag sector, and for organising such a fantastic event.

I’m told this is the first time evokeAG has been held in Queensland. I’m a little biased being a Queensland Senator, but Queensland is home to some of the best AgTech innovators in the country.  

It’s been fascinating to get a better understanding of the truly ground-breaking work research teams are undertaking, here in Queensland and across the country, since being appointed just over six months ago.

I hope today’s event helps showcase our cutting-edge sector to the Asia-Pacific region, and around the world.

“Common ground” is a really fitting theme for this year’s event, because now more than ever our cross-sector challenges require collaboration between - and within - industry and government to tackle them.

These are important discussions that we need to have. But we can’t magically provide any simple answers to the big challenges we face.

And that’s because the four program threads – economics and trade, innovation and future technology, sustainability and environment, and workforce and skills, don’t have any simple fixes. We must work together and share the knowledge and resources we have.

This is what makes evokeAG so valuable, and why our government thinks it’s so important to support events like this one through our $12.3 million Regional Trade Events Program.

This week is an invitation to producers, farmers, and the brightest minds and innovators from across the food production supply chain, to come together to share and listen to experiences, pitch new ideas, and to ask the right questions about the future of Australian Ag.

I hope that each of you take something positive away from the week’s speakers that you can put into action out there on the land.

As some of you may know, I also look after the Regional Development and Education portfolios, a job that over the last few months alone has taken me all over Queensland to Toowoomba, Townsville, Mt Isa and towns like Karumba up on the Gulf of Carpentaria and then down visiting farms and producers across Victoria and Tasmania.

And at each of the farms I’ve visited, I’ve seen an industry that goes beyond old stereotypes – one that’s continuing to innovate, and to adopt cutting-edge sustainability practices into their daily operations.

Our agricultural industry has a strong reputation for doing more with less and being adaptive to new challenges. 
It’s these traits that have proven to be highly efficient, competitive and reliable all around the world.

And we’re committed to ensuring that Australian Ag remains at the front of Australia’s innovation agenda through strong public and private investment.

When it comes to making an impact, our 15 RDCs invested around $1 billion in the past financial year alone to support research, development and marketing on priority issues directed by the industry bodies.

The importance of this partnership between government and industry cannot be understated.

It’s fundamental to the delivery of new technology and knowledge into the Australian food system.

And it’s an important driver of productivity growth, competitiveness and the future sustainability of Australian farms.
In fact, our researchers at ABARES have found that every $1 spent on agricultural R&D yields an almost $8 return for farmers over a 10-year period.

This investment is a big reason why Australia’s primary industries have such a strong outlook for 2025, which is set to increase by 7 per cent on last year to more than $88 billion.

And when we add fisheries and forestry to that total, the forecast value grows to $94.3 billion - well on our way to reaching the goal to become a $100 billion industry by 2030.

Our government will continue to focus on research and innovation to take our industry to the next level – for trade, sustainability and economic success.

Because while our innovative farming sector is key to our global reputation, it’s the reliability of our exports that make our country’s produce so successful overseas.

As global population grows, demand for food rises with it, along with calls for higher quality food from our trading partners.

We export over 70% of our produce – and these exports are crucial to our national economy and play a massive role in delivering food security to the rest of the world.

That’s why since we came to office, our government has been committed to fostering positive relationships and strengthening ties with our neighbours, despite increasing global headwinds.

And this approach has secured some big wins for producers.

We’ve recently secured a free trade agreement with the UAE - our largest trade and investment partner in the Middle East, building on the UK and India free trade agreements which have been ratified in our first term.

These agreements mean more international market access for Aussie export goods such as grains, fresh produce, and seafood.

After inheriting $20 billion worth of disruptive and costly Chinese trade impediments on lobster, wine, red meat and barley, we’ve managed to get them down to under $500 million – putting billions of dollars back into the pockets of our industry.
We know there’s more to be done, but the stabilisation of our relationship with China is delivering real outcomes for our Ag sector.

These trade outcomes mean more job opportunities for Australians in agriculture, and in turn, an economic boost for regional communities.

But as all of you here today demonstrate, innovation in agriculture is ever changing and looks very different to what it looked like even a decade ago.

Just last month, I announced the AgConnections program, a partnership with universities, including the University of Queensland here in Brisbane, aimed at attracting more students into Ag.

Some see a career in agriculture as something that’s only for those who live in the regions, or for those whose family own land that can be used to operate an Agribusiness.

Breaking down misconceptions of the industry, and encouraging the next generation to pursue a career in our diverse and rapidly changing sector.

I know Cathy, John and the Agrifutures team are focused on this – along with so many in the Ag space.

We’re also committed to getting the right people, with the right skills into vacancies within the sector as quickly as possible. 
That’s why we’ve established the Agricultural Workforce Forum - who met again yesterday - to bring government, unions and industry together to find solutions to current workforce issues.

Then there’s the ongoing delivery of our commitment to reform the migration system through the introduction of the National Innovation Visa and the Specialist Skills in Demand Visa, with both opening late last year.

These visas are designed to bring in more skilled workers to meet our innovation aspirations across the Ag space. 
But it would be remiss of me to attend an event such as this without mentioning a tech feature that is on the minds of everyone here today – artificial intelligence.

AI is a game changer, we know that. But there are clear signs that it’s also going to change how we farm too – ranging from decision-making tools to pest surveillance, and will also further adapt the skills we need.

That’s why we have to ensure AI is both safe and enabling.

This has been a major priority during our first term, and we’ll soon begin consultation on our National AI Capability Plan, to boost productivity and capitalise on Australia’s AI advantages.

The plan has four objectives: grow our investment in AI, strengthen our AI capabilities, boost our AI skills, and secure our economic resilience so AI works for us, not the other way around.

It’s good to see some of that AI-driven AgTech that could support the growth and success of the sector is on show here this week.

But producers can’t capitalise on AI, if they can’t even connect to the internet.

We can’t be serious about encouraging producers to adopt and invest in new technologies if the digital connection on their property is simply not up to scratch.

So, instead of waiting for an improved NBN connection at their farm gate, we’ve also announced the third round of the On-Farm Connectivity Program.

This latest $20 million investment is aimed at ensuring more farmers can connect the technology they need.

Past rounds of this program have been heavily subscribed, so Minister Rowland’s department will be consulting on how to improve the program before opening the round.

We always want to make sure that we’re acting and collaborating with the sector.

That includes on climate change.

While Australian food products remain in high demand around the world, we are seeing an increasing number of customers and importers looking for sustainability credentials – and today an overwhelming 86 per cent of our exports go to markets with net zero commitments.

As a government we need to address these demands so we can remain competitive and profitable on the global stage.

Together with industry, we’re developing the first Ag and Land Sector Plan, to chart the sector’s transition to economy-wide net zero by 2050.

And committing $302.1 million through our Climate-Smart Agriculture Program to ensure the sector remains productive and competitive through this change.

This will be a massive task, but one that will be worth it, because through these challenges, agricultural sustainability presents huge opportunities for our producers, as well as the communities they support.

This is just a snapshot of what we’re doing together to support AgTech innovation.

There is no doubt tech provides an exciting opp for the Ag sector to grow and become more productive to attract a new generation of workers. Let’s not miss this opportunity.

Thank you again for the opportunity to speak today.

I encourage you all to connect with one another, be open to new ideas, ask tough questions, and look for ways we can find common ground so our multibillion-dollar sector can continue to go from strength to strength.

I wish you all the best for EvokeAg 2025.