My question is to the Minister for Regional Development, Local Government and Territories. How will our free trade agreement with the European Union help support regional and rural communities?

Thanks to the member for Leichhardt, a real advocate for Australian produce going worldwide. Our negotiations with the EU on this free trade agreement have concluded, and the outcome sends a clear signal to regional and rural Australia that the Albanese government has their back. This agreement eliminates the vast majority of EU tariffs on agricultural products, and it will provide Aussie farmers and producers with new opportunities to access a market that has effectively been closed for decades. With this deal, we're backing Aussie producers, farmers and, more importantly, regional communities. Export success is good for local jobs, and it's good for regional economies like the wine industry in the Hunter, the pineapple growers of North Queensland, the seafood industry of the Spencer Gulf and the critical minerals sector in the WA Mid West.

I want to commend the Minister for Trade and Tourism in the other place and the entire negotiating team for getting this agreement across the line. This has been hard fought, and it will get more Aussie produce into the massive market of Europe. Under this agreement, market access for beef will rise 700 per cent to 35,000 tonnes, and sheepmeat will rise 430 per cent to 30,000 tonnes. We'll have these volumes reviewed in five years time. This agreement will support Aussie farmers and regional communities by eliminating tariffs, and it will help make our regional exports more competitive while supporting local employment because regional jobs rely on global demand for our products.

Let me break it down a little bit for those opposite. Cherry festivals and growers are part of what is becoming a booming agritourism industry in Australia. It supports whole towns and jobs as a result. Through this deal, we'll see more cherries exported around the world, and that will mean more local jobs, additional local tourism and a big win for local economies. These are the real-world consequences of our approach to free and fair trade and highlight why this agreement is good for regional and rural communities. So I encourage those opposite to support the European free trade agreement. It's good for regional communities. It's good for regional economies. Unlike those opposite, I won't talk down the importance of cherry festivals in places like Young. They are just as important to towns like that as any other form of tourism. Agritourism is super important, and on this side of the House we understand that.

I ask that further questions be placed on the Notice Paper.