In Australia, Prime Minister Mark Carney continued his argument that middle powers should band together, saying Canada and Australia share the benefits of legitimacy and trust.
“Australia and Canada can’t compel like the good powers; but we will convene, we will set the agenda, shape the foundations, and organize and construct capability through coalitions that deliver results at speed and global scale,” Carney said in a speech on the Lowy Institute think tank in Sydney.
Carney hit on most of the same points as he did in his headline-making Davos speech in January.
“Middle powers have more power than many realize,” he argued.
Carney gave the instance of Europe, Australia, Canada, Japan and South Korea, saying that, combined, they’ve a bigger GDP than the USA and thrice the trade of China.
Prior to Australia, Carney visited India, and can next head to Japan on the third and final stop of his 10-day trip.
Carney said Canada and Australia are each wealthy in critical minerals and are working together to construct “the biggest mineral reserve held by trusted democratic nations.”
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Canada and Australia could partner on more defence projects, resembling those involving AI and aerospace, he said, adding that “right away, once we spend capital on defence, 70 cents of those dollars goes to the USA.”
Ottawa and Canberra signed an agreement last 12 months for Canada to purchase an Australian over-the-horizon radar system to be used within the Arctic.
The 2 countries are also working to construct links between the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the European Union, Carney said, adding that accomplishing that might create a brand new trading bloc of 1.5 billion people.
Carney is leading a push to get the European Union into some type of partnership with the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, or CPTPP, a large Pacific Rim trade bloc that features Australia. Canada is a member of the CPTPP and has a trade agreement with the EU.
Following his speech, Carney participated in a question-and-answer session, joking at times and at one point dropping the F-word.
It was as he was telling a story about his time as governor of the Bank of Canada throughout the 2008 financial crisis, in response to a matter about whether central bankers or politicians have more fun.
He was at a dinner with a bunch of other central bankers because the Bear Stearns investment bank was collapsing, with an hour and a half before the Asian markets opened, just for the chair of the group to spend most of a half hour describing the wine options.
“Central bankers have lots more fun, and the (politicians), we’re working on a regular basis. No fun, no rest for us,” he said.
Ahead of the speech, Carney held meetings with business leaders, including Simon Trott of the worldwide mining company Rio Tinto and Jack Cowin, CEO of the fast-food company Competitive Foods. He also met with the heads of investment funds, talking with Raphael Arndt, CEO of the Future Fund, Shemara Wikramanayake, CEO of Macquarie Group, and Kate Galvin, CEO of Victorian Funds Management Corporation.
Next, he’ll head to Canberra, where he’ll meet with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and address the Australian Parliament.
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