Tanya Plibersek (Sydney, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Hansard source

Labor supports the passage of the Export Market Development Grants Amendment Bill 2014. The Export Market Development Grants Scheme encourages small and medium Australian businesses to develop export markets, supports small and medium export businesses by reimbursing up to 50 per cent of expenses related to export promotion and provides up to seven grants to each eligible applicant. In this current period of economic transition, it is critical we continue to develop and support measures that open up export opportunities for new and existing export businesses. Labor has a proud record of supporting trade as a way of boosting economic growth and supporting our local industries. In fact, the Export Market Development Grants Scheme was originally a Labor initiative, established by the Whitlam government in 1974. The Export Market Development Grants Bill 1974 was introduced by the then Minister for Overseas Trade, Dr Jim Cairns, on 28 November 1974. In introducing the bill, Dr Cairns noted that existing export incentives provided the bulk of benefits to large companies. The then government wanted to provide more support to small exporting firms and decided 'the emphasis in a new export incentive scheme should be on market development.' Like many initiatives of the Whitlam government, the Export Market Development Grants Scheme, with its emphasis on small business and new markets, has endured.

The bill before the House aligns the Export Market Development Grants Scheme rules to a revised level of scheme funding, and implements some technical and simplification changes. The bill will also: increase the number of grants available to be received by an applicant from seven to eight; reduce the minimum expenses threshold required to be incurred by an applicant from $20,000 to $15,000; reduce the current $5,000 deduction from the applicant's provisional grant amount to $2,500; prevent the payments of grants to applicants engaging an export market development grant consultant assessed to be not a fit and proper person; and enable some grants to be paid more quickly. Some of the measures in the bill are similar to measures contained in an amendment bill introduced by the former Labor government but not passed prior to the dissolution of the last parliament. In particular, we note that the new 'fit and proper person' provisions in the bill largely adopt the provisions in the lapsed amendment bill previously proposed by Labor. These provisions add to an important quality check on those seeking to access government funding and obtain a fee for doing so. The accompanying guidelines will provide useful information to consultants on the level of conduct that is expected. The guidelines will also guide the assessment of the Austrade CEO, whose decision will also be subject to administrative review.

While affirming Labor's support for the bill, I also want to express our disappointment with some aspects of the reform proposed by the current government. Labor recognises that Australia's future prosperity will be underpinned by our engagement with our region. By the end of this decade, our region is expected to overtake the combined economic output of North America and Europe. Businesses will have access to expanded and emerging markets, with Asia set to become the world's largest consumption zone by 2030. That is why Labor implemented a policy agenda which supported Australia making the most of the emerging opportunities of the Asian century. The Labor amendment bill introduced in the last parliament sought to realign the Export Market Development Grants Scheme to support small businesses exporting to East Asian and frontier and emerging markets. It is disappointing to see that the Abbott government has walked away from these proposed changes. I certainly believe that it must be possible to find a way to leverage this public investment to further the nation's strategic objective of a much deeper engagement with our region. Not only has the realignment of the scheme been abandoned; the government has scrapped the Australia in the Asian Century white paper engagement process as a whole—the whole thing has basically been sent to the National Archives.

Labor recognises that Australia is already deeply invested in global affairs. We also recognise that taxpayer dollars should be allocated in a way which provides our businesses with even better access to markets which are expanding at a very considerable rate and which gives those business every opportunity to compete in the region.

The Abbott government's failure to embrace Labor's realignment says much about its lack of understanding of our region and the tremendous opportunities that we have. Jettisoning a policy agenda which sought to deepen and strengthen our relationships with our neighbours in Asia is not just short-sighted—it is reckless.

While concerned that the bill fails to focus the scheme on emerging markets in our own region, we recognise the important financial support these grants provide, and the bill will act to provide certainty for business ahead of the new financial year. Accordingly, Labor supports the bill.

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