Tim Wilson (Goldstein, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

The wonderful electorate of Goldstein is full of many enterprising and entrepreneurial individuals. We may not have a particularly industry-filled electorate—in fact, our major centre of industry is around Bay Road in Sandringham—but we are allied to incredible industrial communities in and around areas such as Moorabbin, Braeside and Dandenong. A lot of the people who work in and own businesses and industry that help grow the potential of this great nation are in Goldstein—people who invested through their hard work and labours over many years to build the economic potential of this great country. Recently I was in parts of Braeside and Moorabbin, looking at die casting businesses as one of many businesses that are investing in the future and building the industry of our great country. Also within the Goldstein electorate there are thousands of people who own small businesses and work in the services sector as professionals who are also making an incredible contribution to building Australia's future.

That's why trade has always been at the centre of what Goldstein residents are concerned about. How can we create the potential and the opportunity that we need to make sure that future generations can have jobs, that we can create the wealth for our community and those beyond it, and that we can create the jobs that Australians need? That's why there's always been such a strong trade focus, and that's why there's so much enthusiasm and interest in the potential for the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the new plurilateral trade agreement amongst 11 country partners across the Asia-Pacific rim. Of course we all know the long story behind the TPP. It was an agreement that was negotiated or attempted to be negotiated amongst many of the countries in our region. Unfortunately, a rise in popular sentiment towards protectionism has led some countries to back away. Ultimately, they are the ones who will suffer the consequences from not engaging the global marketplace.

I said in my first speech that we, as a country, are not an island continent producing finished goods. That is not who we are. That is not who the countries in our region are. That is not even what the United States is today. We are part of a global supply chain, producing and exporting goods and services to the world. So the opportunities that sit at the heart of free trade—free and open market access to the countries in our region—enable us to harness and take opportunities in that global supply chain to create economic benefits, and not just for us but globally, to increase economic and environmental efficiencies, and to use the productive capacity of our population and humanity to improve wealth and opportunities for everybody.

Under the TPP-11, we know there are incredible opportunities for people who live in Goldstein as well as across the great nation that we live in. We have increased market access to beef; we'll see reductions in tariffs from countries like Japan, Canada and Mexico, which will eliminate tariffs altogether within 10 years. We'll see an increase in our market potential and market access for wine in Canada, which is going to remove its tariff regime, which will be enormously beneficial for our wine exporters, including those in the great state of Victoria in places like the Yarra Valley and the Mornington Peninsula—and some members in this place may be familiar with their tipple. We'll see an increase in dairy market access, particularly in Japan, which will eliminate a range of tariff measures on dairy products, including cheese, as well as in many other countries, like Mexico and Canada, which are going to do the same on different types of dairy goods. Sheepmeat and all tariffs will also be eliminated. The potential for our resources and energy sector to increase their market access to many countries will also be realised.

Particularly around the suburban areas of Goldstein, we have a high number of factories that produce manufactured goods and finished goods—particularly, as a consequence of the former car industry, component manufacturing. There are people creating economic potential from the resources of this country, including, increasingly, from high-skill, high-value manufacturing. It was fantastic to see that, under the TPP-11, there will be tariffs eliminated on Australian exports to most countries worth an estimated $14 billion in 2016-17. So sitting at the heart of the TPP are opportunities for Goldstein and for those who want to invest and create a better growth environment in Australia. It sits at the heart of the job opportunities that we're all going to enjoy tomorrow.

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