Speech at Climate Adaptation 2026, Newcastle

Adaptation leaders and practitioners.

It’s my pleasure to welcome you all to Climate Adaptation 2026, here on the land of the Awabakal and Worimi peoples.

I’m sorry I’m unable to be with you in person, as Parliament is sitting this week.

But I'm grateful to have the opportunity to share remarks via this video.

I want to thank the NESP Climate Systems Hub and the NSW Government for hosting this conference and for choosing Newcastle as the venue.

Newcastle is showing characteristic regional leadership on climate adaptation, using regional collaboration to turn climate risk awareness into practical action.

They’ve done great work investing in coastal resilience, flood risk management, and long-term adaptation planning – and I applaud that.

The theme of this year’s conference, ‘Growing knowledge, empowering change,’ is one that resonates strongly with the approach of the Australian Government and certainly with my work at the intersection of climate change and emergency management.

Since last year’s conference, the government has released the National Climate Risk Assessment and the National Adaptation Plan.

That means Australia today has a more comprehensive, detailed, and focused national evidence base and analytical capacity for understanding climate risks and for building resilience than ever before.

On coming to government we committed to that outcome, we funded the Australian Climate Service with $23 million to deliver that capability because it is essential.

Taking that work forward, we’re broadening our effort to other means by which government can promote and enable adaptation action.

That includes further building the tools for assessing and responding to climate risks.

It means strengthening governance.

It means supporting First Nations-led climate adaptation.

And of course supporting adaptation finance.

The National Climate Adaptation Action Agenda represents the next key instalment in our guiding work.

It will help us identify practical opportunities to boost adaptation outcomes.

It will also complement the work already being done by other governments, the private sector, civil society, and across our communities.

This work draws on the knowledge and expertise of people from right around Australia.

Including people like you: researchers, practitioners, First Nations peoples and leaders, and of course community and government representatives.

Let me take this opportunity to thank you for all your valuable and wholehearted contributions. They matter. They make a difference.

Across the country, there’s a growing body of work showing that effective adaptation is being achieved on the ground.

Indeed, the Australian Adaptation Database that the NESP Climate Systems Hub is presenting at this conference offers some pretty good insights into this space.

It provides an opportunity to share lessons, to highlight successful approaches and to identify avenues though which we can seek to scale action.

I know Newcastle and surrounding regions boast great examples of ongoing adaptation initiatives supported by Australian Government funding, things like:

•    the Disaster Resilience Capacity Building for the Hunter and Central Coast project
•    the Heatwave Hub by the University of Newcastle, and
•    the Hunter Street Bridge flood resilience upgrade.

And in Queensland, there’s the Torres Strait and Northern Peninsula Area Climate Resilience Centre, funded with $15.9 million from the Australian Government.

Led by First Nations people in their communities, this centre is delivering a regional response to climate change and funding local adaptation initiatives.

This includes building a network of regional leaders, traditional owners, and climate resilience officers to drive community-led responses to local challenges.

Challenges that include sea level rise, heat, flooding and other climate risks.

It’s a great example of how First Nations leadership shapes the design and delivery of adaptation in areas where First Nations people are best placed to do so.

It also reinforces the broader significance of First Nations peoples' adaptive practices and enduring knowledge systems, which I know is the focus of research by the NESP Climate Systems Hub’s Indigenous Partnerships team.

That work will be showcased here on Thursday to highlight Indigenous-led adaptation partnerships that combine Indigenous knowledge and climate science.

Friends, there’s a clear and consistent message coming through this work and many other efforts across Australia.

Adaptation works best when communities lead the way, drawing on local knowledge and priorities for Country, culture, wellbeing and prosperity.

It’s a message that I’m sure will resonate throughout this conference over the next three days – and as a mantra that will cast forward and shape the incredibly consequential work that defines our shared endeavour.

Again, thank you for allowing me to make an appearance and I wish you all a very productive and stimulating conference.