Well thank you for those generous comments.
I welcome, as well, the Mayor of Penrith here and other distinguished guests who are here.
My old mate Sally Fielke, and Gerard Dwyer is here somewhere – there he is.
He’s always a bit shy, Gerard. I notice that about the Union Movement, they’re always shy about putting themselves forward. But it is good to have the representative of the workers here and their trade union.
But this is an example of government working with the private sector, as James said.
We want to encourage and facilitate private sector action in the interests of our community.
And this facility here is good for jobs.
It’s good for productivity and economic growth.
It's good for the environment.
And it is good for Western Sydney.
This is a development that you can be really proud of.
People spoke, Lea and James, spoke about the Redbank facility that I got to open last year.
And as I came in here, I've got to say as an example of productivity, that has been replicated here.
It's always a mirror image, so some efficiency gains in the design has clearly happened here.
But this is an example of confidence in our national economy.
And I congratulate Coles.
I'm not someone who says that we should be out there getting stuck in to big business.
You know what big businesses do?
They create lots of jobs and they create economic growth.
And that's why my Government is very proud to be partnering with the private sector in so many areas of endeavour.
Because we recognise that our role is to create an economic environment to facilitate – the drivers of jobs will always be the private sector, and that's why it's so important.
From people who will make their lifetime careers working for Coles, be it in distribution, or working around the counter of our supermarkets.
Or working stacking shelves, driving the trucks that will take the goods to individual supermarkets.
Or whether it be our youngest Australians who, so many of whom, will get their start in life working part time – or they’re still at school – at Coles.
That's a great thing.
It teaches them how to move into the world of work, and is so important, as well, for the training that occurs.
This facility here is quite an extraordinary commitment.
It's a commitment to sustainability from top to bottom.
Starting on the roof, 3.5 megawatts of solar.
It’s good for the environment, but guess what, too? It’ll save money.
It’ll save money over a period of time.
That's the thing about the transition to renewables.
There's an upfront capital cost, but once your investment is made, it reduces costs over a period of time.
And what that does is enable cheaper costs to the customer.
Which is what my Government's very interested in doing given the need to address some of the cost of living pressure that we acknowledge is out there as well.
100 per cent powered by renewables from next year, but also recycling 100 per cent of cardboard and plastic waste.
You can only do that if you move to scale.
That's the only way that you'll achieve that sort of outcome.
Every bit as important, as well, is the work that you do – there's a Foodbank facility pretty close to here run by my old mate, John Robertson, and the relationship that Coles have in Western Sydney or in my electorate at Addi' Road – that contributes to make sure that we don't throw out a banana because it's the wrong bend, which I was astonished to find out, did happen.
Now, what we're making sure is that – bread that's 24 hours old, that a banana that's a different shape, a potato that looks a bit weird – is used.
Is used by people who need it, making an enormous difference as well.
But its Foodbank, or SecondBite as well.
It’s the organisations that have that important relationship with Coles.
What we see around us here is the benefit of new technology driving productivity.
Now, there's a bit of a debate, and a legitimate one, in our society about artificial intelligence, about robotics, about technology and what it will do.
And done right – we need to be vigilant about it – but done right what it can do is to liberate some of the – I think James or Lea gave the figures about how much and they did it more technically – basically, it stops people lifting up a whole bunch of really heavy stuff, which protects backs.
This is a good heath facility as well, and that is one of the things that automation can do.
Not just here, but I know because I've had the sneak preview at Redbank.
By using automation to make sure that the delivery occurs in the same order that the aisles are in at the supermarket at Blacktown or at Penrith or at Marrickville, you're also taking pressure off the workforce at those locations as well.
And one of the things we know is that people who are in manual jobs, by the time they get to my age their backs are really struggling, and it has an impact.
And so this is good for health and safety as well.
But it also is fantastic for customers, because it does provide that certainty of knowing that the goods that you want will be available where you want them and when you want them as well.
And will also lead – of course efficiency and productivity – lead to lower prices.
And we want that as well.
We want successful businesses, but we want to make sure as well that customers get those goods in to their trolley and in to their kitchen for as cheap a price as possible.
And efficient businesses mean that becomes more and more possible as well.
So congratulations to Coles.
This is an enormous investment by you.
And so I congratulate the leadership, both into terms of the day to day leadership and the CEO, but also the Board as well for having the courage to invest.
We’re talking about a one billion dollar investment in a couple of facilities.
That's a big call.
But it's a vote of confidence in our great nation.
Our great nation that – I do want to acknowledge as well the wonderful dancers who gave us a celebration of Arab culture here, which is so good.
As well, I want to congratulate Coles on the role that they continue to play in reconciliation.
That is important for our nation and for our sense of confidence as well, as we go forward.
So this is a great day.
Thank you very much for the honour of inviting me here today, as well.
As Prime Minister, I get to do some difficult things.
This is a fun thing, I’ve got to say.
This is a fun thing because it is an insight into where the world's going.
An insight into positive economic, social, environmental outcomes.
If we have the courage to not be frightened of the future, but to seize it.
Seize the opportunities which are there, which is what I want my Government to do, and what I want to do in partnership with the private sector.
So, congratulations to everyone involved.