Australia is a stable partner

I'm Brad Carr, NAB’s Executive for Geopolitical Risk, and we're really fortunate this week to be hosting Tim Adams, CEO and President of the Institute of International Finance, or IIF.

Tim, what a world at the moment.

The year that we're having in 2026, we've seen conflicts, we've seen Mark Carney's statement about a rupture in the established global trade order.

As you get around and you speak with obviously financial leaders around the world, what's top of mind for you?

We're moving from an old world order, which is one of integration, of multilateralism, one of where the system would optimise for efficiency.

We're moving to a new world order where we're going to optimise for redundancy, resiliency, for strategic autonomy.

We're going to see more spending on defense, more spending on infrastructure, more spending on energy independence, and more political independence and a new configuration of political arrangements as the world moves more deeply into the 21st century.

Resiliency, redundancy, I guess if we take those themes and we think in the context of the current Iran conflict, I guess here from Australia, we look very much at the Strait of Hermos and the disruption to oil and gas, fertiliser, helium.

Is that the right sort of way to be thinking about these events and their criticality at the moment?

Well, I think the Gulf is reminding us that the world is a dangerous place, that it is an inflection point in from the old world to the new world, the new world again of redundancy and strategic autonomy.

Many of these supply chain inputs are things I really didn't think about before.

And it's a recognition of how integrated the world economy is, but how we need to defend ourselves or move to a much more autonomous, much more resilient world.

And so Tim, lastly, you've been in Australia this week.

You've spoken at the Fin Review’s Summit.

You've been around speaking to people across the local industry.

What really stands out about Australia for you at the moment?

Australia is a stable place in a stormy environment.

You produce what the world wants and needs, energy, a variety of different critical minerals.

I think you're an important strategic partner in so many different respects, whether it's in national security, regional security, defense cooperation.

I think this is Australia's moment, and I think Australians should be celebrating the future.

I think it's going to be quite bright.

Tim, thank you.

It's always delightful to host you here in Australia.

I know you spend most of your life on a plane, but safe travels.

Always great to be here.

I look forward to coming back and thank you very much.

It's a big world out there, a lot to see.