Bridget McKenzie (Victoria, National Party, Minister for Emergency Management and National Recovery and Resilience) Share this | Hansard source

We know that much of Australia's economic output is as a result of the hard work, ingenuity and commitment of the men and women who live and work in remote and regional Australia. Our investments in infrastructure, connectivity and resilience support these communities to prosper not only in the short term but for many years to come. Eight of Australia's top 10 exports are produced in regional, rural and remote areas. Ag exports alone have grown from $306 billion a year when we came to power in 2012 to $476 billion in 2019-20. Australia's resources and energy export industry has grown from $178 billion when we came to power to $310 billion in 2020-21. That represents a 74 per cent increase over this period. Sovereign manufacturing, from food manufacturing to defence manufacturing, are also growing at record levels. Our government economic management and regionalisation strategy is making a significant contribution to our economic growth. (Time expired)