Peter Whish-Wilson (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

Mr President, this is a dog whistle. This is nothing short of an attempt to wedge the Greens, because we have been doing some fantastic work on behalf of a lot of people in this country on so-called free trade deals. Unfortunately, Senator O'Sullivan, through you, Mr President, there is no such thing as a free trade agreement. The Greens believe in fair trade, that is fair trade for cattlemen, fair trade for producers in this country, fair trade for workers and fair trade for the environment.

We are the only ones who have been raising issues on what is in the national interest. What is in the national interest of these so-called free trade deals? We are not anti-trade all. Let us make that very clear. The Greens support fair trade. Unfortunately, as the Senate has recommended, the parliamentary system, the treaty process in this country, is broken and desperately needs reform. There is no evidence at all that these so-called free trade agreements are going to benefit agricultural producers. This is purely a dog whistle. (Time expired)