Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That the Senate take note of the answers given by the Minister for Finance and the Public Service (Senator Cormann) and the Minister for Resources and Northern Australia (Senator Canavan) to questions without notice asked by Senators Wong and Kitching today relating to the Indonesia-Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement and to the Minister for the Environment (Ms Price).

On the Indonesian free-trade agreement, can I say that the Prime Minister's visit to Singapore has now exposed in full the utter debacle created by Mr Morrison's desperate decision to trash decades of considered, bipartisan foreign policy to try to win a few votes in Wentworth—and didn't that go well! We learnt in Senate estimates that the decision to consider moving the Australian embassy in Israel wasn't taken to cabinet; that it wasn't based on any proposal from DFAT; that the foreign minister, Senator Payne, was given less than 48 hours notice; and that the media was briefed before the Australian Defence Force. Mr Turnbull warned that it would prompt a very negative reaction from Indonesia and he was right. This decision from Mr Morrison is harming our economy, costing jobs and damaging one of Australia's most important relationships. Mr Morrison himself in Jakarta in September said that the agreement:

… will open the door to a new era of opportunities for Australian and Indonesian business. Whether in agriculture and manufacturing, services or investment, this new agreement lays a foundation to realise the economic potential of our partnership.

It will create jobs and it will create wealth for both countries.

He said that the agreement would be signed within months, and media were briefed that it would be signed this week on the sidelines of the EAS in Singapore. Now it is sidelined. Why? To quote the Indonesian trade minister, the delay is 'because of Palestine', and he has made it clear that the agreement will be delayed until this is fixed.

Under this trade deal, 99 per cent of Australian exports to Indonesia will be tariff free—exports like frozen beef, sheep meat, feed grains, steel coil, citrus products, carrots and potatoes. But now, because of Mr Morrison's short-sighted, ill-considered decision, Australian farmers, Australian manufacturers and Australian workers will suffer. But this isn't just about trade. Indonesia is a critical relationship to Australia, but it is fair to say that our bilateral ties struggle to reach their full potential.