Phillip Thompson (Herbert, Liberal National Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Defence) Share this | Hansard source

by leave—Thank you for the opportunity to make a short statement regarding two committee reports. The free-trade agreement between Australia and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a result of many years of hard work and negotiation by the former coalition government. This is an incredibly important initiative, which will have a positive impact on local jobs in Australia by opening up more opportunities for exporters and more and cheaper options for Australian consumers purchasing goods from the UK. As the former trade minister said in the last parliament, it's the most liberalising agreement signed by Australia with a major trading partner outside our agreement with New Zealand. It will liberalise trade between our two countries, creating jobs and opportunities for both our citizens.

As the committee's report highlights, the Australia-UK trade relationship is dominated by investment. Last year, the UK was Australia's second largest source of foreign investment, with 17.4 per cent, after the United States. The UK was also the second largest recipient of Australian foreign investment, with 16.2 per cent, after the US.

The report also highlights that the free trade agreement will contribute to diversifying Australia's trade and will guard against the risk of discriminatory trade blocs; put pressure on the multilateral system to further liberalise and broaden the range of issues that the multilateral system engages with; and remove barriers on pending trade in goods.

The outcomes of the agreement are wide-ranging for both Australia and the UK. The key outcome is the reduction in tariffs. Currently, 89 per cent of Australian goods are exported to the UK duty free. On the agreement's entry into force, this will rise to over 99 per cent, making this free trade agreement worthy of its name. Australian households and businesses will save around $200 million per year. Beef and sheep tariffs will be eliminated after 10 years. Tariffs on sugar will be completely eliminated over eight years. This is a really good free trade agreement. I want to thank the committee for their hard work and the recommendations that we've been working on together, and I thank the secretariat, who have put the report together. They have done a fantastic job.

I'd also like to make note of the Australia-India Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement, signed on behalf of Australians by the former coalition government, which will strengthen our relationship while making Australian exports to India cheaper and creating new opportunities for workers and businesses. Tariffs will be eliminated on more than 85 per cent of Australian goods exports to India, rising to almost 91 per cent, valued at $13.4 billion over 10 years. Australian households and businesses will benefit from 96 per cent of Indian goods exports entering Australia duty free. India is the world's fastest growing major economy, with 1.4 billion consumers, and this agreement opens up more opportunities for local businesses in the Indian market.

Overall, this is a good deal for Australia, and that's why the committee has recommended, with the support of opposition members, that we take binding treaty action. There are many winners from this agreement, including agriculture, high-value-wine producers, horticulture, resources and pharmaceuticals. Of course, as with any agreement, there are some sectors that are still subject to higher tariffs than others. The committee noted in the report that, while there are beneficial outcomes for some key Australian exports, such as coal and liquefied natural gas, the high tariffs on vegetables and wheat remain mostly unchanged.

It was made clear to the committee that the Australian wine industry was somewhat disappointed by the tariff outcomes for that sector. Australian Grape & Wine told the committee that several central and state taxes 'make the market unattractive and unprofitable for most'. They said that, while the Australia-India Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement provides some gains for high-value producers in the Australian wine industry, 'these taxes and charges discriminate against foreign produced alcoholic beverages in an effort to support local producers'. It is pleasing to note that the Australia-India Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement was described to the committee as 'an "early harvest" agreement' in advance of the comprehensive economic cooperation agreement. As such, the opposition put forward an additional recommendation:

The Committee recommends that the Australian Government strongly pursues greater market access for the Australian wine industry in future Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement negotiations.

I thank the committee members for agreeing to this additional proposal, and I encourage the government to move quickly to ensure the agreements can enter into force by the end of 2022.

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