Kevin Hogan (Page, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for the Environment. Will the minister update the House on how innovative businesses will create more jobs by exporting environmental services because of the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement?

Greg Hunt (Flinders, Liberal Party, Minister for the Environment) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am delighted to receive this question from the member for Page, who is a great practical environmentalist. He is somebody who is a tremendous local advocate for clean air and clean water and also a real advocate and fighter for jobs in his electorate and across New South Wales more generally. Both of these things come together in the China free trade agreement.

As members know, China has enormous air quality and water quality challenges. The great task of bringing hundreds of millions of people out of poverty comes with it challenges and pressures to do with air quality, water quality, land quality and pollutants. These are real issues that affect hundreds of millions of lives. That is why the Chinese energy efficiency, water quality and air quality market is, on the best advice that we have, worth up to a trillion dollars a year.

Mr Champion interjecting—

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

The member Wakefield is now warned.

Greg Hunt (Flinders, Liberal Party, Minister for the Environment) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is the most huge and unprecedented market for air, land and water environmental services in the history of the world. Against that background, Australia is well positioned. We know that we export about $1.6 billion worth of environmental goods and services a year. In New South Wales we have firms such as Envirolab, one of the Asia-Pacific's leading testing firms with regard to air quality, water quality and acid sulphates. They have the opportunity to move into this Chinese market. At the moment we only penetrate it to the extent of about $113 million a year. But in what is potentially a trillion dollar market, the bills passed today to enable the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement, as pioneered by the extraordinary trade minister, give us the opportunity to dramatically expand jobs in New South Wales and, indeed, in each state and territory of the country. We can become one of the world's great exporters of environmental services, environmental equipment and environmental testing.

What does the free trade agreement bring? It brings us preferred access in terms of our manufactured goods by removing the tariffs on Australia's environmental goods. It brings us preferred access in terms of our environmental services by opening up opportunities for Australian firms such as engineering firms in Tasmania and Solahart in New South Wales. We have other firms right across the country that can participate in this market. In so doing, they do two things. They provide jobs for Australians, they provide opportunities and they provide us with the ability to be a world leader and innovator. Even more importantly, perhaps, they offer an improvement in quality of life, air quality and water quality for hundreds of millions of people in China. Today is a red-letter day for Australia— (Time expired)