Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Trade) Share this | Hansard source

The government understands that there are some Australians who have concerns about agreements of this nature, hence the types of questions we saw before. But it is important to understand, as I was outlining earlier, the scale of potential benefit that can be accrued both to our economy overall and to individual businesses in the various sectors that will benefit.

As I indicated, this is one of the most comprehensive trade deals ever concluded for Australian farmers, manufacturers, service providers, small businesses and exporters. It encompasses some 11 countries, close to 500 million consumers and a combined GDP of approaching $14 trillion. Ultimately this agreement is going to provide greater market access for a number of Australian companies and exporters in Senator Bushby's home state of Tasmania—companies such as Ashgrove Cheese, one of Tasmania's and, indeed, Australia's largest family owned and operated dairy producers, located in Elizabeth Town, which is surrounded by dairy farms and is in the heart of the dairying and cropping region in Northern Tasmania. This small family business has publicly recognised the benefits of this agreement and other agreements to their business in terms of exporting dairy products from Tasmania to the world. Anne Bennett from Ashgrove said, 'This agreement provides advantages to win in new marketplaces.' And, of course, they are not alone. Many other businesses will benefit and, through their benefitting, so too will Australians in terms of job opportunities that are created.

The TPP creates Australia's first trade agreement with countries such as Canada and Mexico, giving Australian exporters preferential access to two of the world's top 20 economies for the first time. Another Tasmanian example of a business that will benefit from this is SED Shellfish Equipment. SED Shellfish Equipment is a small business with 12 employees based in north-west Tasmania. It's already a firm that has a footprint in terms of engagement in Mexico and Canada, and they will find that easier and better under this agreement.