Patrick Secker (Barker, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is addressed to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade. Would the Deputy Prime Minister outline to the House how trade between Japan and Australia is creating jobs and keeping our economy strong, particularly in my electorate of Barker? Are there any plans to further strengthen our economic relationship?

Mark Vaile (Lyne, National Party, Minister for Trade) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Barker for his question. Japan is Australia’s best customer as well as the largest economy in East Asia, and therefore incredibly valuable to Australia’s export industries. Many of those emanate from the member’s electorate. Next year, 2007, will be the 50th anniversary of the signing of the commerce treaty between Australia and Japan. Since that treaty was signed the economic relationship between our two countries has grown dramatically, and that has helped underpin a lot of the jobs growth in Australia. It is a well-known fact that one in five jobs across the economy relies on an export industry for its creation and existence. Just out of interest, in the 2005-06 year merchandise exports to Japan rose by 24 per cent to $30.98 billion, underpinning many Australian export industries and jobs in the Australian economy. For example, Japan is our largest market for coal and aluminium, our largest market for beef, our largest market for dairy products, our second largest market for horticulture, our second largest market for seafood and our third largest market for manufactured goods and tourism. As you can see, over the 50 years of that relationship the Japanese market has continued to grow and provide many jobs in our economy.

Inbound Japanese investment in Australia is also quite significant. It directly provides employment for about 50,000 Australians and indirectly provides employment for about 200,000 Australians. Members may be aware that the government has been in consultation and has been engaged in a feasibility study with the Japanese government into the prospects of launching a negotiation on a free trade agreement between our two countries. We have agreed to move this process forward a little bit faster so it can be concluded by the end of this year, at which time both governments can make a decision whether to move ahead with the FTA negotiation. It is not just about improving and providing new market access into an incredibly valuable market for Australian exporters but it is also about consolidating our position in that market.

Members may like to know that for the last year or so Australia has exported about 91 per cent of all Japanese beef imports. We have dominated that part of the Japanese market for a range of reasons, but underpinning all that have been a lot of the reforms that we as a government have introduced, whether they have been waterfront reforms, taxation reform, removing $3 billion worth of taxes off the back of our export products or reforms in the workplace that have made us more competitive and more efficient in the international marketplace and have helped maintain our presence in that market. The government will continue to pursue every opportunity we can to expand our economic relationship with Japan so that it delivers as it has done over the last 50 years.