Christopher Back (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak to the report of the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade References Committee on Australia's relationship with Mexico. 2016 marks the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Australia and Mexico. It is interesting that at this time Australia is the 12th largest economy in the world and Mexico is the 13th. But most macroeconomic consultants suggest that by 2050 Mexico may in fact be in the top 10 countries in the world. In fact, the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation have recently indicated their belief that it may end up being No. 6 in the world.

Australia enjoys excellent diplomatic relations with Mexico on its own but also as part of the Mexico-Indonesia-Korea-Turkey-Australia alliance, the MIKTA alliance, which our own foreign minister has been very, very active in promoting. It is an alliance of like-minded countries in similar economic circumstances and it is certainly one which we have a keen interest in seeing extended.

Also, Mexico is one of those countries in the Trans-Pacific Partnership. That is critically important to Australia because, along with Peru and Chile, Mexico is a Central American country. Mexico already enjoys excellent economic and trade relations with Canada and the United States through the North America free trade agreement.

I commend my colleague Senator Alex Gallacher, who actually chaired this references committee. Senator Gallacher led the way on what was in fact the last recommendation of the report, recommendation 13. The committee recommended that the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and Austrade work with the Export Council of Australia to develop a suite of practical, user-friendly tools to assist Australian small to medium enterprises, especially services companies, to understand and utilise the TPP.

Mexico produces three million motor vehicles a year, and two major automotive manufacturers are at this time building facilities in which each of them will produce another million cars. So by the end of this decade they will be producing five million cars a year. When I was in Mexico in January of last year in what I hasten to say was a self-funded study tour I learned at that time of the very high regard in which Australian vehicle component manufacturers are held by Mexico. We know that there is already some investment by Australian companies, but, as we cease vehicle manufacturing in this country, there is obviously an opportunity for there to be greater involvement by Australian vehicle component manufacturers. I am very pleased to say that, during the hearings and the inquiry that we had on this subject, meetings were convened in Melbourne and Adelaide with vehicle component manufacturers to help them understand the capacity of the market in Mexico.

The areas of higher education are of great value to Australia and to Mexico, and several of our recommendations went to this. The ease with which Mexican students are able to apply for visas to come here—undertaking the medical examinations—was an area that, through our report, we urged the various agencies of the Commonwealth government to address. There are opportunities for our universities in the research sector. There is already some work being done, and I think have spoken of it in the past. I was invited to the Mexican Geological Survey, down in a city called Pachuca, where they were able to tell me that they had been mining copper in the hills around that area for some 3,000 years. They showed me wonderful maps of the metalliferous states of Mexico at a one-in-50,000 magnification, which was useful for exploration purposes, and they told me that the software that they used to develop those maps came from Geoscience Australia and the CSIRO. They are already well aware of the opportunities that present.

I met with senior management of Pemex, the Mexican government owned petroleum company. Under recent changes introduced by the President, they have been directed to establish the Pemex University, specifically in the oil and gas world. They were talking to us about the opportunities for Australian universities—the University of Queensland, my alma mater, and also UWA and Curtin University in Perth. Since that visit in January last year, there has already been representation from our own Austrade personnel in Mexico, together with Mexican higher education personnel here in Australia, to examine those opportunities. Equally, there are opportunities in the VET sector—the vocational education sector—and, again, the Mexicans recognise Australia's capacity in this space.

From a trade point of view, the committee has urged that the necessary agencies and business interests examine the opportunity of a direct flight from the east coast of Australia to Mexico. At the moment, most people have to go through the United States and, as we know, you cannot transit through America. You must get a visa to go into America and the costs are prohibitive. Those of us from the west coast of Australia in particular would know the effort that it took to convince Emirates, Qatar Airways and other airlines to look at direct flights into Australia.

In a previous life in business, I remember arguing, saying that there was a tremendous demand. It had nothing to do with what I had to say to them, but Emirates did start with three flights a week. Within about 18 months it was about seven flights a week. There are now 14 flights a week from Perth into Dubai—and, of course, we have Qatar Airways and others. From a business and tourism point of view, the prediction would be that, if we could develop those direct flights from Australia into Mexico, it would be a tremendous opportunity to boost trade and tourism into our country.

The last of the recommendations about which I will speak went to an urge to increase the representation in the embassy in Mexico City, particularly that associated with Austrade. For example, I learnt in January last year that, so important is the relationship between Mexico and the United Kingdom, their policy is a minister a month from Britain into Mexico to talk about opportunities in education, in trade and in exchange. The President of Mexico, Enrique Pena Nieto, was invited to the UK last year. He was given the royal treatment, literally. Our committee urged that Australia significantly increase the level of Austrade commitment. We have a wonderful Austrade commissioner in Mr Chris Rodwell, but he needs to be replicated. Indeed, I have been informed in recent times that the government has heeded the recommendation of the committee, and there is now better representation from Mexico. Our embassy in Mexico deals with Cuba, Panama and other countries in the Latin American area, so there are tremendous trade opportunities.

Whilst it is the case that, at the moment, we look north—and Asia is a tremendous opportunity—we need to be looking 30 to 40 years out. There are those who have a great view of India, in terms of its potential—and, having worked in that particular region, I have some reservations in that space. Others speak of Africa, and I have no doubt the opportunities are there in Africa into the future. But we should not ignore Latin America. We should not ignore Central America, and Mexico is a tremendous opportunity for Australia, particularly in this 50th year of our relationship. I know that the Mexican ambassador here in Canberra is working hard for an exchange of the Indigenous peoples of Mexico with those of Australia in art and culture during this year.

I thank the chamber for the opportunity to point to that report and its recommendations. In our planning into the future, we should perhaps use the agencies of the TPP. But, in general terms, we should not ignore our opportunities in Central and Latin America.

Question agreed to.