Andrew Robb shares his views on what makes an effective leader, from building trust and shaping culture to leading calmly through uncertainty and change.

In this speech to the Queensland Australia China Business Council, Andrew Robb reflects on the strength of the Australia-China relationship, highlighting the 10-year impact of ChAFTA and the significant growth in trade between the two countries.

Australia’s live-export supply chains have long been a cornerstone of regional stability, strengthening partnerships in defence, food security, animal welfare and economic cooperation across Asia and the Middle East. The decision to ban live sheep exports risks eroding decades of goodwill, damaging rural communities and weakening Australia’s strategic standing when we can least afford it.

A decade on from ChAFTA’s signing, the dramatic rise in two-way trade, from $98 billion to $330 billion, shows that free trade delivers shared prosperity. Our nations have proven that when economies complement one another and people-to-people ties remain strong, partnership flourishes despite shifting global headwinds.

Labor’s landslide election win was driven less by political strategy and more by voters seeking stability amid global uncertainty, particularly following Donald Trump’s disruptive tariff campaign. Despite Labor’s policy failures and declining popularity just weeks before the election, the global shock pushed voters to stick with the incumbent. The result is not an endorsement of Labor’s record but a demand for steady governance.

Letter to Zoe McKenzie MP Addressing Misinformation from Anonymous Sources.

Australia should not negotiate with President Trump. We should just ignore him. No gratuitous comments. No supplicant phone calls. No offer of concessions. No response to his illegal tariffs. We are a sovereign nation not to be bullied and intimidated.

President Trump has taken the world back to the 1930’s where depression, unemployment and
growing global conflict was turbo charged by the adoption of protectionist policies across the
developed world.