Andrew Wallace (Fisher, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is again to the Prime Minister. Will the Prime Minister outline to the House what steps this government is taking to secure Australia's economic future in the Indo-Pacific, in particular with our regional partners and, in particular, once again, with Indonesia?

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Fisher for his question and his interest—as all members around the chamber are interested. It was a historic occasion earlier today as we welcomed the President of Indonesia to give his historic address, and what a fantastic address it was. The synchronicity and the synergy of the thinking between Indonesian and Australian policy when it comes to engaging in the Indo-Pacific could not be tighter. We've celebrated 70 years of our diplomatic relations, and there is such a bright future ahead of us that we're able to share in today—no better demonstrated than by both the Leader of the Opposition and I being able to say, 'Thank you,' to the President of Indonesia for the support of their own defence forces in reaching out to Australia during our terrible black summer of bushfires. We thank them again.

The comprehensive economic partnership that we've been able to arrive at with Indonesia, which I was able to sign back in 2018 and which has now been ratified by both of our parliaments, is just one of many agreements that our government has been able to conclude, ensuring that there are more and more opportunities for Australian exporters at a time when they need those opportunities and when they need options to expand their business and to support the growth of the Australian economy. This agreement has a plan of action with shared commitments across a whole range of issues not just in the economic sphere but also in investment, defence, security, counterterrorism, people smuggling, maritime cooperation, education and a shared commitment to the peace and stability of our region. In that, Indonesia is an absolutely critical partner, as the author and the architect of the ASEAN adopted Indo-Pacific concept. Nations have now signed off, as I said. This is one of the agreements that means we've gone from around 26 per cent of our exports being covered by trade agreements when we came to office to 70 per cent being covered. That is a massive leap forward. We aren't finished there. We're taking that to 90 per cent in the years ahead with the program we have.

Australian farmers, businesses and investors are now well placed to access the opportunities of an influential and an increasingly affluent $1 trillion Indonesian economy, which will only grow and grow into the future. Ninety-nine per cent of our goods exports by value will enter Indonesia duty free. Monash University will be the first foreign campus to be established anywhere in Indonesia, and that has been ushered in as a result of this agreement. Working holiday visas available to Indonesians will increase from 1,000 to 4,100 immediately and will go up to 5,000 in the future. For our tourist industry at the moment, that will be particularly important. There's defence cooperation. There is a new understanding, from our most recent discussions, to engage with Indonesia on the future of energy and fuel sources to ensure that their economy and ours can grow together with sustainable fuel sources and energy sources into the future.