Ben Morton (Tangney, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Prime Minister, will you advise the House on the importance of trade and investment to the government's national economic plan—specifically, on the importance of expanding strategic ties with Singapore?

Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the honourable member for his question. Of course, he comes from the great state of Western Australia, which is so close to Singapore and so connected to Asia and understands perhaps as well as any part of Australia, if not more, how important this relationship with Singapore is to our future. We are living through a time of technological change and opportunity—a time in which there is significant disruption in established industries but also enormous opportunities. We have to recognise, as the Singaporean Prime Minister has done today and in his public addresses previously, how important it is that we do not turn inwards and that we do not go down the road of shallow populism, of protectionism and of trying to hide under the doona and pretend the modern world is not upon us. Far from increasing living standards, protectionism will deliver lower growth, fewer jobs and less investment. It is not the answer to Australia remaining a wealthy, prosperous and generous economy.

Our economic plan has as its foundation open markets and free trade. Our big export trade deals—undertaken, committed and entered into under the coalition—have secured the future of thousands of Australian jobs and businesses. The China-Australia Free Trade Agreement alone, which the labour movement opposed vehemently in a very vicious advertising campaign, is creating regional jobs and opportunities right around the country. We will continue to seize on those opportunities.

Tomorrow's signing of the enhanced Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with Singapore, as honourable members have heard, will deliver substantial mutual benefits, not least from the more than $2 billion investment by Singapore in expanding Defence infrastructure in Queensland made available to Singapore for training. Prime Minister Lee's visit to Australia marks the importance of the friendship between our two countries, one that began, as we have heard today, on the battlefields of World War II. Our countries are natural partners. We are both committed to and have embraced free trade. There are critics and enemies of free trade in our midst, but both of our nations know that free trade and open markets are the key to continued prosperity. And underpinning that prosperity is a steadfast solidarity in the cause of peace, and, above all, as we said earlier today, in the battle against Islamist terrorism, an issue that is fresh in all of our minds today on the anniversary of the Bali bombing in 2002. We work closely together on all those elements—trade, the economy, security—together, arm in arm, Australia and Singapore, advancing the interests of our two great nations.