Craig Emerson (Rankin, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Trade and Competitiveness) Share this | Hansard source

I cannot reasonably give a commitment that, by the end of this parliamentary session, answers to all questions will be provided. There are constraints here on the available resources of the department. I have said in good faith that we would seek to provide answers where it is reasonable. Where there are questions that involve matters of cabinet-in-confidence or that cannot be answered for reasons of national security and such, answers will not be provided—and that would be the response that I would get if the coalition were in government.

In relation to the Australia Network, again, I will seek to provide some information on that. I would be surprised if the Australia Network were spending a lot of money working out how many people watch the network, but if they happen to have that information I will provide it to you.

There are some other unanswered questions that I would like to deal with. The Deputy Leader of the Opposition, in the previous bracket of questions, asked about trade negotiations with Japan, Indonesia and so on. What is happening in Indonesia—and I think it is quite a good idea—is that they are, to use their term, 'socialising the idea'. So we have the business communities of both Indonesia and Australia working collaboratively, identifying the opportunities through the negotiations and going to other stakeholders, including members of parliament in Indonesia of all political persuasions, to argue directly to them that this is a good idea. Rather than us negotiating an agreement and then unveiling it to the business community, we actually have the business communities of both countries being champions of the agreement. I think that is a model that is worth considering for the development of trade agreements between countries.

In relation to Japan, the most recent document that our trade relations are based on is the 1957 Australia-Japan Agreement on Commerce—and I give credit to the coalition at that time; Menzies and McEwen negotiated that agreement. But it is now a little dated! I think we can do better than that. The Japanese have shown renewed interest in a free trade agreement with Australia and, obviously, we have been pushing that for a long time. They have a lot on their plate, including the reopening of nuclear power stations and trying to get an increase in the consumption tax through the parliament. However, during my recent visit—and I thank the Deputy Leader of the Opposition, with whom I was paired—the Japanese themselves, voluntarily, before I could even begin to speak about the desirability of completing negotiations for a free trade deal, said that to me. So that is a good development. They see that there is real merit in their engaging more in the region, looking outward. Again, Australia is a top priority for Japan, as it is for China.

So we continue to work hard and to invest in these agreements. The earlier part of the visit to seven countries over 19 days that I just completed included the actual signing of our free trade agreement with Malaysia. We got very strong support from industry generally and—of interest to you, Mr Deputy Speaker Scott—from rural industries in particular.

We are in the business of opening up markets. The 'Asian century' can provide enormous opportunities not only to our traditional minerals and energy exports; I think we can also make agriculture a new economy. With an expansion in the number of people on earth from seven billion to nine billion by 2030 and the rising middle classes of Asia, I think our beef producers, our dairy producers and our horticultural producers have great prospects.

I can also confirm that, just yesterday, it was announced that Australian horticultural produce will continue to flow through Tanjung Priok, which is the main port in Jakarta. There was an announcement of a suspension and a termination that would come into effect on 19 June; that does not apply to Australia because we negotiated hard and well with the Indonesian government. We have a country recognition agreement in place and as a result Australia will be exempt from that suspension, which is good news for our horticultural producers. It is an example of the good personal relationships between ministers and a good, warm relationship between Indonesia and Australia.

Proposed expenditure agreed to.

Sitting suspended from 13:05 to 16:00

See this speech in context