Craig Emerson (Rankin, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Trade and Competitiveness) Share this | Hansard source

The fact is: in the last week, we have finalised the Malaysia-Australia Free Trade Agreement, which will provide 99 per cent duty-free access for Australian exporters into Malaysia. That will go through the parliament tomorrow or the next day. Last week, the Prime Minister and I were in Phnom Penh, where the Prime Minister participated in the launch of a Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement covering 30 per cent of the global economy. The Prime Minister and I participated in a meeting of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement parties. That was chaired by President Obama. Both of these are pathways to a free trade area for Asia and the Pacific. While we were in Phnom Penh, we promoted Australia's plan for the future—Australia in the Asian century, offering fantastic career opportunities for young Australians. That is our plan for Australia. Here is the contrast: we have got a government with plans and policies; we have got an opposition with fear and smear—two years of fear and now we are on to smear. The reason for that is that the Leader of the Opposition is a policy weakling. So much is he a policy weakling that there is Essential research out today that shows—

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