Angus Taylor (Hume, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Will the Prime Minister update the House on the benefits to the economy of the free trade agreement between Australia and China? Are there any threats to the jobs and growth that will be created by this agreement?

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I do thank the member for Hume for being amongst those at the Bellvale cattle yards near Yass this morning in his electorate. They were there to talk about the benefits of the China free trade agreement—benefits the agreement will bring to hundreds of thousands of businesses right around our country. Let me just remind the House, and particularly members opposite, that under the China free trade agreement tariffs on Australian beef will drop to zero within four years. Already, in the process of trying to do this free trade agreement, we have seen enormous improvements in our beef sales to China. China has gone from 12th to third as an export market for Australian beef. Meat and Livestock Australia estimates that the China free trade agreement alone will be worth $11 billion to that particular sector by 2030.

We understand that trade means jobs, and more trade means more jobs. Once upon a time even the Leader of the Opposition appeared to believe that, because, when President Xi was in this chamber late last year, the Leader of the Opposition said, 'We believe in open markets and liberalised—

Government Members:

Government members interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Members on my right!

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

driving economic growth, expanding the middle class, raising living standards and eradicating poverty. We believe—

Mrs Griggs interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Solomon is warned.

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

in bilateral agreements.' Not only did he support the free trade agreement, but then he tried to claim credit for it. But his mates in the labour movement—there's the CFMEU going around trying to sabotage a deal that will set up this country for the future. Let me tell the Leader of the Opposition and his mates in the CFMEU: under this agreement there are no changes to Australia's labour relations laws and no changes to 457s. Investment Facilitation Agreements mirror the provisions of Labor's—

Mr Taylor interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Hume.

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Enterprise Migration Agreement. A campaign of xenophobic lies is being master-minded by the CFMEU and this Leader of the Opposition is silent in the face of racism—silenced in the face of racism by the CFMEU. I say—

Mr Sukkar interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Deakin is warned.

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

the Leader of the Opposition should be a bit less two-faced on this free trade agreement. He was two-faced on the North American free trade agreement; he tried to sabotage that one as well. This is an opposition which needs to say where it stands. This government knows where we stand on jobs and growth. Where does the Leader of the Opposition stand?

Government members interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Members on my right will cease interjecting.

Tanya Plibersek (Sydney, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Last year the Prime Minister promised to retain labour-market testing. Can the Prime Minister explain—

Ms Scott interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Lindsay is warned.

Tanya Plibersek (Sydney, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

why the memorandum of understanding between the Chinese and Australian governments on his new investment facilitation arrangements states 'There will be no requirement—

Ms Henderson interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Corangamite is warned.

Tanya Plibersek (Sydney, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

for labour market testing to enter into an IFA.'

Mr Hockey interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Treasurer will cease interjecting.

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Because it goes on to say that there will be labour market testing before people are actually employed.

Honourable Members:

Honourable members interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Members on my left and on my right will cease interjecting.

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This from a shadow foreign minister—

Ms Butler interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Griffith is warned.

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

who wants to create a terrorist picnic in Syria by dropping food parcels. She does not understand this agreement, which is absolutely vital for the future of our country. I have a very simple challenge for the opposition: do you support the China free trade agreement? It is a very simple challenge: do you support the China free trade agreement? When President Xi was in this country—

Mr Butler interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Port Adelaide.

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

they supported the China free trade agreement. Do they support it now? Or, yet again, is the Leader of the Opposition two-faced?

Ms Chesters interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Ballarat is warned.

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

He says one thing in one context and a different thing in another context. He doesn't have the guts to tell President Xi that he is ripping off Australia. Now he is trying to say to the CFMEU: 'Go for it. Go for it, CFMEU!' The campaign from the CFMEU—

Mr Hutchinson interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Lyons.

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

is a campaign of racist lies—

Mr Christensen interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Dawson is warned.

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

the Leader of the Opposition should be man enough to disown it.

Tanya Plibersek (Sydney, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I seek leave to table the document.

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is leave granted? Leave is not granted. Members on my left will cease interjecting. The member for Melbourne Ports is warned.

Rowan Ramsey (Grey, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Treasurer. Will the treasurer update the House on how the free trade agreement with China will benefit jobs and growth throughout Australia?

Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There is no doubt, as the member for Grey knows, that as a result of the free trade agreements we are negotiating, and have negotiated, there are going to be more jobs and better paid jobs for more Australians. There is no doubt about that. If we can open up the markets and if we can get other countries to remove the taxes they place on our goods and services, it means that we can get more of our produce over into their markets and that creates more jobs and greater prosperity for everyday Australians. The China-Australia Free Trade Agreement ultimately means more jobs for Australian producers in agriculture, more jobs for Australian engineers, more jobs for Australian health workers, more jobs for Australian financial advisers and more jobs for Australian manufacturing workers.

I ask myself: why are the Labor Party opposing this? Why would the Labor Party so emphatically oppose something that is going to create more jobs and better paying jobs for everyday Australians. Their record is terrible at job creation. Do not forget under Labor 200,000 jobs were lost in just six years.

Dr Chalmers interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Rankin is warned!

Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

And do not forget that under Labor job growth—

Mr Conroy interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Charlton is warned!

Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

when we came to government, was a pathetic 3,600 a month. Last month we had 38,000 jobs created in Australia.

What is the motivation of the Labor Party? I look no further than Penny Wong, the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate. Penny Wong has been putting out a number of press releases saying that the government is being misleading on the China free trade agreement and she says, 'There is no requirement for labour market testing.' I am a bit perplexed by this. Penny Wong is now the chief critic of the China free trade agreement, but I was sitting next to her down the road when the China free trade agreement was being signed. She was so excited she was throwing a bread roll in the air. She was cheering on the China free trade agreement and she recognised how important it was for the future of Australian workers, but now her language has changed. Why would that be so? I went to her CV and I saw that while Penny was studying she was working for the CFMEU.

Government members interjecting—

She was admitted to the bar, she continued her work with the CFMEU and she was elected an organiser and industrial official. The old CFMEU—

Government members interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The members on my right will cease interjecting.

Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

has tentacles everywhere.

Ms Henderson interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Corangamite has been warned twice!

Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The union leaders are more concerned about their jobs than the jobs of everyday Australians. We are standing up for the workers— (Time expired)