Shadowing Practice: CEO opening remarks: 2026 Macquarie Australia Conference | Macquarie Group - Learn English Speaking with Video
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I thought I'd start first with Australia before going into how Australia might respond to these specific issues of conflicts in the Middle East and what's happening with AI.
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And, you know, I think the reason a lot of you, especially the global investors here in the room, is Australia is considered a good market to invest in.
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It's a very strong, stable, secure market; we have a functioning democracy, we have strong rule of law, we have good separation of powers.
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But in addition to that, in terms of the fiscal situation, we're in a good position.
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Last year, our GDP growth, Ric I think you were telling me, was 2.6 per cent here higher than the US at 2 per cent.
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But, we also, in terms of our fiscal position, have a net debt to GDP at the federal level is only at 20 per cent, which is incredibly low when in countries like the US, Japan, are over 100.
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And also the fiscal deficit is tiny.
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We actually were in surplus for many years until the pandemic response and stimulus, but we had a 1.3 per cent federal deficit.
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The UK is at 4.7 per cent.
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The US is over 6 per cent.
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So, we've got a lot of capacity on the fiscal side to respond.
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Also, on the monetary side, while our growth was one of the highest in the world, our inflation rate at 3.4 per cent in the developed world also was one of the highest, I think the US was only a little bit less at 3.2, but obviously so our central bank, the RBA, having to lift interest rates in response to this inflation; another rate hike expected later today.
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But what that does give us as well is capacity on the monetary side to respond if the economy needs it.
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Now, in addition to that, strong, stable economy, the fiscal and monetary, we also have here the great advantage of our superannuation system started back in the early 90s, but one of the strongest systems in the world.
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We're at $A4.5 trillion of savings now, in this market and that's the fourth largest in the world, for us not being the fourth-largest economy.
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And the good thing about that is the money gets heavily weighted to investing domestically.
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So over 20 per cent of it is in these Australian listed markets and also its long-term liability.
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So you can take a longer term perspective, when we look at investments, whether it's in listed or unlisted stock.
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So that is also great advantage I think that Australia has.
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We also, in terms of our location, are located in the fastest-growing part of the world.
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And, you know, even though China's growth was at 8 per cent, now and has fallen to 5, it's a very strong growth rate, and it's a region needing a lot of what we have to offer.
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So we're blessed with a lot of natural resources, and also tertiary education, these sort of exports, we have a big customer up there.
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So I think the backdrop before looking at these two specific issues is that we are generally a very well-placed, resilient economy, and especially in times of turmoil, one that people turn to.
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But turning them to the issues playing out at the moment, and obviously the Middle East conflict is the first of those that I mentioned.
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The big question there is: what is the duration of this?
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Because the market, I think, is assuming it will resolve swiftly.
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And you can see that in the fact, as I said, economies, global equity markets are still very strong, driven by things like AI infrastructure investment, and the oil curve is in backwardation.
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So people are expecting this to smooth quickly, but it's very uncertain.
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What Australia is proving, actually, particularly just over the last few weeks, it's evolving, that we, being a country with small demand and being a wealthy country.
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The government is managing to work with the private sector to source what commodities are available for us.
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So, on the energy side, you know, working with companies like Ampol and Viva - Aussie listed companies to procure the energy we need.
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And at the moment, our reserves for diesel, petrol, jet fuel, they're sitting at above where the conflict began.
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So showing we can respond equally in terms of fertilisers, Incitec Pivot has been able to deal with partners in Asia and Indonesia to source us urea and Export Finance Australia is supporting in that, so the government is stepping up and giving them a backstop, if the price comes off in the forward curve, to cover them in terms of what they've had to commit in payment.
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We also benefit from the fact that we're sourcing a lot of these commodities from Asia, where they source from the Middle East, they refine, they deliver to us.
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And we, because we have LNG, we have a bit of a position as well to prioritise our needs and we can diversify literally getting things from places like Nigeria.
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So I think Australia is well positioned through this and we're not likely to have an availability shock.
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What we’re likely, probably to have, is a price shock, if this situation persists.
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Technology is driving change even faster than it ever has before - agentic AI - and it's very hard to call who the tech winners and losers are going to be.
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But one thing that is certain is that the demand for compute is going to surge, not just in Australia, but in all communities, and that is going to mean demand for infrastructure is going to surge.
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So yes, it's data centres, but it’s also fibre optic networks, cabling.
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It's things like energy, it's cooling.
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It's also critical minerals for things like chips, batteries for grid storage, lithium, copper, rare earths.
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These are things that demand is also going to pick up in, and Australia is well positioned to deliver on that.
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We also have some great tech companies, and they are positioned well with large, diverse customer bases - the sort of things that will position them to succeed.
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Proprietary data that can benefit from AI and enablement for development, you know, entrenched, user models, etc., that they have with their customers, deeply entrenched.
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So there'll be some that'll do well and as you listen to them in detail over the next three days, hopefully you pick up a lot of insights.
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I guess overall, you know, again, in terms of AI, while there's challenge, there's opportunity and especially as you look at Australia, there's opportunity for Australia in terms of generally how this country is positioned, in terms of where we are, in terms of energy and our ability to respond, and that indeed possibly step up and help respond to the rest of the world’s needs, and in terms of AI and what we have to offer.
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Now to deliver on this, obviously all the corporate you be hearing from have got to work on this.
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We've got to come together and we have to come together with government as well and it's great to see the government thinking a bit more medium term about things we need to do to attract that capital, competing with the rest of the world.
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Regulatory issues, permitting, all of that; the nimbleness of the economy, catalysing capital from government, looking to partner with private sector on that.
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And on behalf of Macquarie, I just wanted to say a huge thank you to everyone coming here to present as a corporate, but also to come and listen and to share perspectives and hopefully contribute to the health of the Aussie market as well as to your own businesses.
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So thank you very much and I wish you a great three days.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This C1 speaking lesson is built on the video “CEO opening remarks: 2026 Macquarie Australia Conference”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: term, Australia, cent, respond, fiscal. This video has 52 sentences and 1304 words to shadow. The speech runs for 7:22. The speaker talks at a natural 177 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. 86% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start.
Key vocabulary in this video
The 15 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| entrench verb | /ɪnˈtɹɪnt͡ʃ/ | To cut in; to furrow; to make trenches in or upon. |
| surge noun | /sɝd͡ʒ/ | A sudden transient rush, flood or increase. |
| commodity noun | /kəˈmɑdəti/ | Anything movable (a good) that is bought and sold. |
| deficit noun | /ˈdɛfəsɪt/ | Deficiency in amount or quality; a falling short; lack. |
| agentic adjective | /eɪˈd͡ʒɛn.tɪk/ | That behaves like an agent: able to express or expressing agency or control on one's own behalf or on the behalf of another. |
| backstop noun | /ˈbæk.stɒp/ | An object or a person put in the rear or in the back of something to reinforce, hold, support. |
| backwardation noun | /bækwəˈdeɪʃ(ə)n/ | A situation in a futures market where the price for future delivery of a commodity (the forward price) is lower than the price for immediate delivery (the spot… |
| compute verb | /kəmˈpjuːt/ | To reckon, calculate. |
| diversify verb | /daɪˈvɝ.sə.faɪ/ | To make (something) diverse or varied in form or quality; to give variety to (something) to distinguish by numerous aspects or differences. |
| domestically adverb | In a domestic manner. | |
| enablement noun | /ɛnˈeɪ.bəl.mənt/ | The act of enabling. |
| nimbleness noun | /ˈnɪm.bəl.nɪs/ | The quality of being nimble. |
| permitting verb | /pəɹˈmɪ.tɪŋ/ | Used in an absolute clause to indicate that the statement modified by the clause (typically an expression of intent) will only be fulfilled if not impeded by… |
| prioritise verb | UK standard spelling of prioritize. | |
| procure verb | /pɹəˈkjʊɹ/ | To acquire or obtain. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| step up verb | To increase, augment, or advance, especially by one or more steps. | |
| come together verb | /ˈkʌm tʊˈɡɛðɚ/ | To assemble; to congregate; to combine. |
| pick up verb | To lift; to grasp and raise. | |
| start back in verb | To resume insulting, confronting and/or shouting at someone. |
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | is considered · are located · are positioned |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | has fallen · has been |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 13 contractions and reduced forms, such as we're, we've, I'd. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: backwardation /bækwəˈdeɪʃ(ə)n/, superannuation /ˈs(j)ʉːpəˌɹænjʉːˈæɪʃn̩/, tertiary /ˈtɜː.ʃi.ə.ɹiː/
- Long words — get the stress right: commodity /kəˈmɑdəti/, backwardation /bækwəˈdeɪʃ(ə)n/, diversify /daɪˈvɝ.sə.faɪ/, enablement /ɛnˈeɪ.bəl.mənt/, tertiary /ˈtɜː.ʃi.ə.ɹiː/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like entrench, surge, commodity.
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.