Paul Scarr (Queensland, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'm very pleased to rise to speak in relation to the Export Control Amendment (Streamlining Administrative Processes) Bill 2022. I think all senators in this place would note the importance of Australia's agriculture industry to our country's wellbeing. Anything we can do to boost that industry, to make it easier for our producers in the agriculture sector to export their wonderful products to the rest of the world, is a great thing and we should support it. In this context I should note that approximately 70 per cent of Australia's agricultural produce is exported. We need to ensure that these businesses, these producers, are adequately supported by fit-for-purpose systems operating as efficiently as possible. That is the intention underlying this bill and it's an intention which we on this side of the chamber fully support.

From my perspective, it is important that we place on the record the achievements of the coalition government during previous terms of parliament. It was part of a drive to build our agriculture sector to achieve its goal of reaching $100 billion of farmgate output by 2030. That was the goal—$100 billion of farm output by 2030—and we are tracking reasonably well towards achieving that goal. It's important that all of us in the chamber do everything we can to stay the course to achieve that goal.

During the time when the coalition government was in power, we saw $328.4 million in congestion-busting measures to slash red tape in the agriculture sector and $85.9 million, through the Agribusiness Expansion Initiative, to diversify markets. Most importantly, in my view, we now have in place trade agreements which cover approximately 80 per cent of Australia's markets. In 2013, trade agreements covered approximately 27 per cent of our markets, and that's been increased, as a result of the efforts of trade ministers under the coalition government, to nearly 80 per cent of our export markets. That's a wonderful achievement.

I note the government is progressing a number of trade discussions as well, and that's something which should attract the support of all members sitting in this chamber, because that's a good thing. It is a good thing for Australia's agricultural products to be exported to the world. It's a good thing for our rural and regional communities, but it's also a good thing for the customers of those products, the people who buy and rely upon those products all over the world.

The last point I would like to draw attention to in my brief contribution in this debate is the budget cuts that were made by the Labor government in its October 2022 budget, which were extraordinarily disappointing because, as I said, we need to support our agricultural producers in their efforts to export more of their product overseas. In that policy context, why would you take the axe to the Regional Accelerator Program, which was introduced by the coalition government? Why would you take the axe to a program that is meant to support current small and medium-sized businesses to get into the export market and contribute to the goal of $100 billion by 2030 which we've set our sights on? Why take the axe to a program to support those potential exporters? On the contrary, we should be supporting exporters, especially those in the small to medium-sized cohort, to take advantage of the opportunities that are there for them. They just need some assistance to seize those opportunities, and that will assist us in reaching that $100 billion target by 2030.

So from my perspective—and, I'm sure, from the perspective of others on this side of the chamber—we fully support this bill, but we also call upon the government to reconsider its slashing of the Regional Accelerator Program and to provide support, especially to small and medium-sized businesses, to achieve their dreams and realise their potential in the best interests of the Australian people and the Australian economy.

Bridget McKenzie (Victoria, National Party, Shadow Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

by leave—I rise to continue my remarks on the Export Control Amendment (Streamlining Administrative Processes) Bill 2022. In government we made it easier for businesses to navigate export systems and get product overseas, and we are immensely proud of our track record. Those achievements include delivering $328.4 million in congestion-busting measures to slash red tape and get products to export markets faster, and providing $85.9 million through our Agribusiness Expansion Initiative to diversify markets. In its first year, the initiative led to $418.9 million worth of export sales—great news for our ag industry. We finalised 11 trade agreements and lifted the share of trade covered by these agreements from 27 per cent under Labor in 2013 to almost 80 per cent with the inclusion of the UK and Indian trade deals.

We actively supported our exporters through the pandemic, through the International Freight Assistance Mechanism. This program supported more than 25,000 flights to 58 international destinations, carrying more than 399,000 tonnes of exports, worth more than $4.7 billion. That's a lot of numbers, but what it actually means is well-paid jobs right across this country, not just in our capital cities doing the manufacturing but also producing out in the regions. This program alone saved over 150,000 jobs in this country during COVID.

We launched the Trade Information Service to provide a single source of online information on how to export, including regulatory and border requirements. This initiative will save export businesses some 1,370 hours on average. We also appointed a Special Representative for Australian Agriculture, which has advanced our interests overseas.

It's worth recognising that in our last budget the federal coalition also committed an additional $100 million as part of our Regional Accelerator Program to go towards the Export Market Development Grant program, which would have helped our small- and medium-sized exporters in rural Australia to promote their goods in new markets. In their October 2022 budget, this Labor government abolished the Regional Accelerator Program, and with it that $100 million exporter grant program, as part of their $10 billion cuts to rural, regional and remote Australia.

The Regional Accelerator Program was intended to assist the regions to manage the transition to net zero, but it's exactly the thing this government has actually cut from those communities who will feel the challenges that a transition will bring and who might have had the opportunity to seize some of those opportunities. Has this government given any thought to those communities that are going to be left with the burden of the transition to net zero? It's not going to be in Kooyong. It's not going to be in the middle of Sydney. It's going to be in rural and regional communities where that burden will be borne.

Labor considered the Regional Accelerator Program rorts and waste. What a joke. I am talking about communities like Gladstone. I'm talking about communities like Dubbo, like Geraldton and like Alice Springs. They are the communities that this government thought weren't worthy of additional funds to assist in the transition into net zero. It's quite incredible. They're speaking out of both sides of their mouth. This Labor government has no vision for regional Australia, nor does it have the interests of regional Australia at heart.

To conclude my remarks: the federal coalition will always work constructively with the government of the day to support practical measures that will help strengthen our agricultural export sector. As a result of the work of the many dedicated public servants in the department of agriculture, who I've had the great honour and privilege to work with in my time in this place, the provisions outlined in this particular bill deliver on that front. Therefore, we're pleased to commend it to the chamber.

Perin Davey (NSW, National Party, Shadow Minister for Water) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This Labor government has not always been best of friends with, or supportive of, Australia's agricultural interests or our regional interests. Indeed, we've seen cuts to regional infrastructure. We've had very little progress on allowing seasonal workers to assist our horticulture industries in getting fruits picked and to market. We've seen the butchering of the distribution priority area classification system to get overseas trained doctors into our regions, where they are needed so desperately. And, time and time again, we've been about to see the introduction of Murray-Darling Basin legislation that could absolutely rip out the economic viability of our regions. So, it is good to finally see a piece of legislation come before us that will actually benefit our regions, and that is what we are seeing with this legislation.

Living in southern New South Wales, as I do, I know how important agriculture is. Agriculture makes up over 70 per cent of our export industries. I know the critical importance of getting access to and servicing our overseas markets for our agricultural industries: our cereal crops, our red meat industries and, importantly, rice—our wonderful, water-efficient rice industry, which feeds around 50 million people a year. The original Export Control Act 2020 provides the regulatory framework for the export of goods, including a range of agricultural commodities, some of which I've just spoken about. This amendment will enable more effective communications and administrative processes.

We on this side of the chamber will always support reducing red tape. It is suggested that this bill will help cut red tape markedly. Of course we support that. One area of great importance to the elusive red-tape-cutting goal is the collection and sharing of information. Rapid approval might be critical because we have a grain shipment on a foreign market wharf awaiting quarantine clearance or we have other perishable products that need clearance. We often need to share this information on international markets, and sometimes it is the difference between winning a market and having a market closed to us. It's often a case of 'who dares wins': who gets there first and who has the right information when they get there becomes the preferred customer. Australia hast high-quality produce, high-quality products, and we want to be the preferred customer.

Currently all information obtained or generated by people performing their duty or exercising their powers under this act are classified as protected, regardless of whether the information is commercially sensitive or not. This means that when information needs to be shared it has to go through a very slow and complex approval process. I'm advised that the provisions included in this bill will make that approval process more timely, more responsive and therefore more efficient, delivering less red tape. Also, importantly, there are offence provisions in this bill that would be applied if protected information is disclosed in an unauthorised way. Red tape reduction is often promised, but often there is a failure to deliver. I hope that in this instance the shortcuts, the smarter approval processes and the work, mean that business is given a faster road map to the markets.

In speaking on this bill I think it is very important to remember the valuable work the previous coalition government delivered in this area. The Liberals and Nationals, in government and now in opposition, know and respect the important place that agriculture plays in our economy, and that includes valuable industries like coal, gas and timber—all evil in the eyes of my colleagues on the Greens benches, the green dreamers who would appear to have no understanding of where the strength of the Australian economy lies or from where and from what industries our prosperous Australian lifestyle comes.

When in government, the Liberals and Nationals saw the importance of helping Australia's agricultural sector to strive for its ambitious goal of a $100 billion farm gate output by 2030. We provided $328 million to get export products to market faster, and this bill will add to that work. Our agribusiness expansion initiative provided grants for market expansion. We had an increased presence in target markets. We worked hard to improve technical market access. And we assisted more than 2,000 agrifood exporters each year. Importantly, we also facilitated finding new markets for our commodities that were horribly impacted by China's trade barriers. We invested $72.7 million to help Australian farming, forestry and fisheries exporters to expand and diversify their export markets in 2021 as part of our agribusiness expansion initiative. We matched grants for government and industry associations to work together on growing markets, and we provided additional technical expertise to open and expand markets. We produced dairy products for export that are renowned for quality. Our cereals are highly sought after, and our meat is second to none. Even when China put tariffs on barley we were able to find other markets, because our product is so widely respected.

We know, unlike so many of those on the other side of this place and some on the crossbenches, that Australia produces the best food and fibre in the world, and we grow enough food to feed more than 75 million people every year—across staples, niche products, and value-add and high-value products, like almonds; we produce it across the board. We know—and the Nationals remember—that every piece of legislation we debate in this place we consider with that lens: is it good for our industries? Is it good for our people? Is it good for our regions? Labor, on the other hand, showed its respect for agriculture by slashing the Regional Accelerator Program in their first budget. It was a program that was designed to help small and medium-sized exporters in rural Australia promote their goods in new markets. It was another—

Glenn Sterle (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! Sorry, Senator Davey, it being 1.30, we have a hard marker. I shall now proceed to two-minute statements.