For decades, we’ve seen how technology can help overcome geography. Some of the world's most advanced remote operations centres are here, and industries have learned to use connectivity and innovation to turn one of Australia's greatest challenges, distance, into a competitive advantage.
That's why I'm particularly excited about the Perth-Sydney route on the Aura Network going live today.
Starting in Perth, our high-capacity fibre network stretches across the country, passing Kalgoorlie, Woomera, Port Augusta, Broken Hill, Dubbo and Orange before reaching Sydney. The Aura Network will allow significantly higher data volumes to move between major cities, while giving communities along the route the ability to connect into it too.
Planning for this route started in March 2022, and as the longest route in the network its completion is a major milestone in the delivery of Australia's largest terrestrial intercity fibre network. But more importantly, it strengthens the digital connection between Western Australia, the eastern states and international markets at a time when demand for connectivity is changing faster than ever.
We've released new research from Oxford Economics that highlights the scale of the opportunity ahead.
The report estimates WA's digital economy could grow from $16.8 billion today to around $89.1 billion by FY40 under an accelerated digital adoption scenario. It also shows the Aura Network could contribute billions of dollars to the state's economy and support thousands of jobs in the decades ahead.
When I speak with customers, those numbers feel very real.
Increasingly, the conversations aren't just about connectivity. They're about AI. Cloud. Data centres. Cybersecurity. Resilience.
And what we're seeing is that all of those conversations lead back to the same place: infrastructure.
AI may capture the headlines, but AI is not just a software story. It's an infrastructure story. Every AI application depends on data moving between people, systems, data centres and clouds quickly, securely and reliably. As AI adoption accelerates, demand for that infrastructure is accelerating too.
That's why we made the decision to invest ahead of demand.
Today, more than 9,000 kilometres of fibre has been built as part of the Aura Network, with six routes already ready for service. The network is designed to provide greater resilience and route diversity, while helping connect the data centres, cloud regions and international gateways that increasingly underpin Australia's economy.
But one of the things I find most exciting isn't found in our capital cities.
It's what this infrastructure can enable in our regions.
Whether it's a mining company operating autonomous equipment in remote WA, a regional business adopting AI-powered tools, or a future technology investment that hasn't even been imagined yet, access to high-capacity digital infrastructure will increasingly shape where opportunities emerge and where investment flows.
And that matters because digital opportunity shouldn't stop at city boundaries.
The launch of the Perth-Sydney route is an important milestone. But like all infrastructure projects, what matters most isn't what we've built. It's what people will build on top of it.
