Zhi Soon (Banks, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

It is my pleasure to rise in support of the motion of my friend the member for Hunter. Building on the long history of cooperation between Australia and Europe, we are taking our relationship to the next level and creating significant benefits for our economy.

With the visit last week of the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, this Labor government has done what Australian governments of both persuasions have been trying to finalise for more than a decade—that is, to conclude negotiations for a comprehensive, balanced and commercially meaningful free trade agreement. This is a-once-in-a-generation deal that opens the doors of the EU's 450 million consumers and $30 trillion economy to more Australian businesses and producers that have effectively been closed for decades.

As a former diplomat who worked on international trade agreements in my career prior to coming to this place, I can confidently say: this is a landmark deal in the history of trade for our country. The Australia-EU free trade agreement will strengthen our economic and strategic partnership with the EU—a global power that shares our values while bringing significant economy-wide benefits to Australia. It will help diversify our trade relationships, unlocking a massive high-income market. It will eliminate EU tariffs on Australian goods, benefiting our exporters. It will lower the cost of input sourced from the EU, benefiting our manufacturing sector. And it will create new opportunities for our services sector to do more business in Europe.

I want to look at some of the sectors of our economy that are set to benefit the most from this free trade agreement. Firstly, this deal is a win for our farmers and our agriculture industry. As the beneficiary of an agricultural education and as someone who has spent plenty of time with the sheep farmers in my partner's family, I'm pleased to see the Australian farmers and producers being able to access new opportunities for many of their products. The agreement will eliminate EU tariffs on agricultural products, including wine, tree nuts, horticulture, honey, olive oil, wheat, barley, cereals, processed foods and most dairy and rice products. For Australian beef producers, it means up to half a billion dollars of new access per year; $218 million of new access for our lamb producers; and our fishers will see the removal of tariffs on various products, some as high as 26 per cent. This deal is a win for farmers and our agriculture sector.

Secondly, this deal is good for our energy and resources sectors, eliminating tariffs on our exports and giving greater certainty for investors. EU companies, including battery manufacturers, have indicated that removing tariffs on our critical minerals will make Australian exports more competitive and increase demand. Attracting foreign investment is critical to the success of our energy transition, and this deal opens the doors with modern investment rules providing certainty for investment in both directions.

Finally, our service sector is the biggest winner as well. In 2024-25, our services exported to the EU were valued at $9.7 billion. By making it easier for Australians to travel and move within the EU, by creating new opportunities in financial services, education, tourism and communications, and, by streamlining the process for recognition of professional qualifications, this agreement will further build our service sector presence in Europe as access becomes easier for Australian service suppliers, investors and professionals.

It seems, though, that not everyone in this place recognises the value of this deal to our nation's economy. Not everyone can see the value of hundreds of millions of dollars for agricultural products, nor the value of critical minerals exports. But, on this side of the House, we have put in the work to close a deal that has been in the works for more than a decade, unlocking billions of dollars to the benefit of our economy. This government is focused on building income for our country.

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