Chris Crewther (Dunkley, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment. Will the minister update the House on how the government is creating export opportunities, especially in services, for Australian businesses such as franchises, and driving economic growth as part of our national economic plan that we proposed at the July election?

Steven Ciobo (Moncrieff, Liberal Party, Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Dunkley for his question. At the last election Australians had a clear choice between the national economic plan of this government and the lack of a plan of the Australian Labor Party. This government had a clear plan that was built on providing additional export opportunities for Australian businesses. We saw that those opportunities were not only confined to goods but also related to services. It is this government's clear-eyed vision around the transitioning Australian economy that is underpinning the policy we have taken forward—policy that will be crucial to ensuring jobs in the future, ensuring economic growth and ensuring that Australians have a higher standard of living tomorrow than they ever did under the previous Labor government.

A key part of our plan to provide additional export opportunities, which I know the member for Dunkley is passionate about, is the focus that we have on opportunities for services. The services sector represents some 70 per cent of Australia's GDP. Significantly, it employs around four out of five Australians. Yet it accounts for approximately only 20 per cent of our total exports. Herein lies the magnificent opportunity that the Turnbull coalition government is capitalising upon. We have made sure that Australia in the future is well placed to take advantage of growth throughout our region.

Currently, the Asian middle class represents around 600 million people, but it is rising. It is going to be three billion people, and the coalition government has put in place the framework to ensure that we can meet the demands, needs and investment opportunities for those three billion people in Asia's middle class. If you look at the last 12 months, for example, we see that the value of services exports has surpassed the value of metal ore exports, including iron ore, for the first time for quite some time. In fact, it has been some six years. In 2015, the value of our services exports grew by an impressive 10 per cent and the share of our services exports in our total exports has increased by over one-third in the past four years. This is a consequence of the free trade agreements that we have put in place with the North Asian powerhouse economies, that this coalition government is able to finalise.

But it also represents incredible opportunity. For example, the Australian Council for Private Education and Training said, 'Our guaranteed market access for Australian education providers under CHAFTA is paving the way for future job growth in this burgeoning sector. We also see extra advantages flowing to others. It is an opportunity for the future.' (Time expired)