Renowned Labor policy wonks former prime minister Kevin Rudd and NSW Treasurer Daniel Mookhey have taken centre stage at an elite gathering of international investors and local business leaders to promote Sydney as a global financial hub.
Australia’s ambassador to the United States Kevin Rudd and NSW Treasurer Daniel Mookhey at the Citi A50 Sydney Investment Summit.Credit: Photo: Janie Barrett
Rudd, now Australia’s ambassador to the United States, and Mookhey had a “fireside chat” at the high-powered Citi A50 Sydney Investment Summit at the Sydney Opera House on Thursday. It follows a comparable “super summit” hosted by Rudd in the US this year that aimed to boost US-Australia investment.
The pair agreed Australia could do much more on the international stage to leverage its vast pool of superannuation savings which now totals more than $4.5 trillion.
“The story of Australian super is not well known,” said Mookhey.
Rudd said Australian super funds already invest about half a trillion dollars in the US and that is projected to rise to $1.5 trillion by 2035. He argued this could form a “whole new pillar” to the Australia-US relationship.
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“The bottom line is this financial services relationship is large and getting larger,” Rudd said. “So how do we therefore, together as federal government and state governments … leverage the scale of that relationship to Australia’s greater advantage,” Rudd said.
Mookhey said Sydney’s highly educated population, sophisticated financial sector, world-class universities, stable political system and strong public institutions underpinned its credentials as a global financial centre and investment destination. The city’s strong links to Asia, including through its large diaspora communities, was another important advantage.
“We’ve got a very good story to tell,” said Mookhey.
