Roundtable Lunch Hosted by His Excellency Mr Matthew Neuhaus, Australian Ambassador to the Netherlands on the Theme of ‘Developments in Renewable Energy’

Thank you, Ambassador, for your kind introduction, and for hosting this high level roundtable.

It is a great honour, as the representative of Queensland’s Head of State, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, to join you today.

The State of Queensland and the Netherlands share a special bond.

It was forged just over four centuries ago, in 1606, when Dutchman Willem Janszoon and the crew of the Duyfken became the first Europeans to sight the coast of what we now call Queensland, and to interact with Indigenous Queenslanders.

Dutch migrants helped drive the expansion of Queensland industry and trade in the 1800s, a legacy which continues today: The Netherlands remains a major export destination, particularly for Queensland’s primary resources, and a welcomed source of inbound investment in natural resource projects, agriculture and commerce. 

I am very grateful for the presence today of representatives from companies which continue to invest significantly in our State, for the mutual benefit of the citizens of the Netherlands and Queensland (and indeed all Australians).

The Dutch have also left a beneficial cultural imprint in Queensland, an aspect of our relationship I was delighted to recognise when I hosted Their Majesties King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima on their official visit to our State in 2016.

Today we are here to deepen and reaffirm those ties, and light a path to new opportunities.

The State of Queensland, with its established credentials as an energy exporter, is well positioned to meet the growing international demand for renewable hydrogen.

You will soon hear about the Queensland Government’s hydrogen strategy from Queensland’s Trade Commissioner in Europe, Ms Linda Apelt.

In the meantime, as Governor of Queensland, I once again thank you for taking the time to be here today, as we give further strength and substance to a relationship which greatly benefits Queensland and the Netherlands, and Australia and the Netherlands.