Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Back for his very important question. The Australia-China Free Trade Agreement will be a key driver of our future economic success. It will be giving Australian exporters better access to a key market—the second largest economy in the world, our biggest trading partner already. This free trade agreement will give Australian exporters better access to that market by bringing down the cost of providing products and services into that market, and by doing that it will help Australian exporters be more successful and help them to employ more Australians. Senator Wong does not seem to be taking this very seriously at all. Senator Wong should be embarrassed, and under the weak leadership of Mr Shorten the Labor Party is standing in the way of stronger growth and more jobs that would inevitably flow from the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement.