Sarah Henderson (Corangamite, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak Export Market Development Grants Amendment Bill 2014. I know that the member for Bendigo was wanting to say that she commends the bill to the House. This important bill will help small and medium sized businesses such as those in my electorate of Corangamite to reach their export potential and to become self-sustaining exporters.

This is another part of our strong plan to grow jobs, to drive investment, to build a strong and prosperous economy and a safe, secure Australia. I might just reflect on the contribution by the member for Bendigo. I do commend the member for Bendigo for being so upbeat about manufacturing and the opportunities for jobs in her electorate. She spoke about the many different, exciting industry sectors in her electorate in defence, horticulture, wine, olives, cheese and even television production. She talked about growth and prosperity and about the future of more jobs in her electorate, and I have to say that it is terrific to see a member on the other side talking up the economy and being positive about jobs, manufacturing and the future of manufacturing. Some of her colleagues—and her more senior colleagues—might take a lesson from the member for Bendigo, because I think we have seen far too much spin and deception and far too much negativity about the very bright future that we have in manufacturing in this country.

The scheme before the House today helps small businesses by refunding up to 50 per cent of export market expenditure to help bring export markets within reach, as well as by supporting innovation. That is what we must encourage—innovation, investment, support for small business and the opening up of new export markets. I have one issue with the member for Bendigo in relation to comments about the Asian century. She obviously is not cognisant of the fact that our opportunities with Asia and the Asian century is one of the five pillars of what we see as our economy. Our links with Asia and our capacity to grow our markets with Asia are fundamental to the growth of our economy.

We recognise how important new export markets are to our economy, particularly in Asia; to business; to jobs; to investment; and to innovation. And in just a matter of months our government has finalised a free trade agreement with Korea. Under the Korean FTA, tariffs of up to 300 per cent will be eliminated on key Australian agricultural exports, such as beef, wheat, sugar, dairy, wine, horticulture and seafood, as well as in the resources and energy sector and across other aspects of manufactured goods. This is a great indication of how hard we are working, and it is unfortunate that the previous Labor government was not able to conclude such an important agreement with Korea, which opens up so much opportunity.

I have joined a coalition task force on supporting horticulture, which is a great initiative by the member for Casey. Several weeks ago we met with various sectors of the horticultural industry, and I am very pleased to report to the House that there was incredible enthusiasm for our free trade agreement with Korea, and of course for the work of the member for Goldstein, the Minister for Trade and Investment. Our minister did what Labor failed to do year after year: he concluded the negotiations, he secured a deal and he ensured that Australia is open for business across the nation and, importantly, to the critically important market of Korea. Independent modelling by the Centre for International Economics shows that agricultural exports to Korea would be 73 per cent higher after 15 years of the free trade agreement's operation. And we are also well advanced in progressing negotiations on a free trade agreement with China as well as with Japan—further evidence of our determination to ensure that as a nation we are open for business across Australia and throughout the world.

As we have heard from the Minister for Trade and Investment, the changes proposed in this bill will do a number of important things. They will provide an additional $50 million to this program over four years, giving effect to the funding boost we outlined in the 2013 Mid-year Economic and Fiscal Outlook. This comes after Labor slashed the Export Market Development Grants scheme by $25 million when in government. That is a sorry reflection on the previous Labor government's commitment to exports, and I am very pleased to say that we are reversing that and we are investing in exporters, because we understand how important exporters are to our economy.

Of course, this was the decision of an utterly dysfunctional government—a government that spent much of its six years in office undermining each other, dragging down two prime ministers, and racking up debt and deficit like we have never seen in the history of Australia. Just to remind the House—and we have heard this mentioned plenty of times before—let us not forget these figures. Over the forward estimates we are heading towards cumulative deficits of $123 billion, and we are $667 billion in debt. And we are paying the price for Labor's policies: we have now hit six per cent unemployment, which was forecast by Labor.

The bill will also see the threshold of expenses required before a firm becomes eligible for a grant reduced from $20,000 to $15,000—making it much more accessible—and the number of grants available to eligible companies will be increased from seven to eight. So what we are seeing with this additional investment in the scheme is new pathways to sustainable jobs and long-term job creation.

In my electorate of Corangamite we have seen some great examples of the EMDG scheme at work. Carbon Revolution, based at Deakin University in Waurn Ponds in the heart of my electorate, is a wonderful example of an exporter that has benefited from a grant under this program. Carbon Revolution received a $40,000 grant under the EMDG program and is now taking its innovation in carbon fibre wheels to the world. It was with great pride that several weeks ago I joined industry minister Macfarlane, Premier Napthine and manufacturing minister Hodges in Victoria to announce a $5 million grant under the Geelong Region Innovation and Investment Fund as part of a $23 million project delivering 150 new jobs. Here is an example of a company investing in advanced manufacturing and taking its innovation to the world—and it is a wonderful plan they have. They are currently producing about 4,000 carbon fibre wheels, and their projections are that that will move to producing 50,000 wheels per year. Their foresight in developing this incredible technology has been buoyed by the pronouncement of one German auto manufacturer, which has declared that the future in auto manufacturing—and certainly in wheels—is in carbon fibre, because they assist in producing more fuel-efficient cars.

So what we are seeing in my electorate of Geelong, assisted by the wonderful innovation and the strong industry links that Deakin University is building right across the region, is a great story in advanced manufacturing. So, when Labor talks about our government not supporting manufacturing, I do not think they are doing their homework. It was wonderful to hear the member for Bendigo talking about the great things that are happening in jobs and manufacturing in her electorate.

The Geelong region has a proud history as a manufacturing hub, and yes we have been hit hard by job losses in recent times, but we have a very bright future. We are working very hard to bring new, emerging industries and advanced manufacturing opportunities to our region. Building our capacity in exports is a very big part of that story.

There are other very important Corangamite exporters who have benefitted from the EMDG scheme. They include the Victoria Centre for Advanced Materials Manufacturing, in Waurn Ponds, which received some $98,000; POD Active, in Torquay, which received $46,000; Hard Technologies, in Waurn Ponds, which received $30,000; Rake Clothing, in Torquay, which received $5,500—and of course we know that Torquay is the wonderful home of Rip Curl, a fantastic business in my electorate; Anyhow Pty Ltd, in Torquay, which received $5,500; and ARMS Reliability, in Ocean Grove, which received $1,500. We have many wonderful businesses in my electorate, right across agriculture, in advanced manufacturing and in services. Deakin University is at the centre of so much of what we are doing now in industry and manufacturing.

The Prime Minister will visit three very important nations in April: South Korea, China and Japan. As we know, the negotiations on the South Korean free trade agreement are at an end, and that is a wonderful story. The negotiations with China and Japan are also progressing very well. These countries represent 40 per cent of Australia's total two-way trade in goods and services, valued at some $250 billion. The future prosperity of Australia, and other countries in our region, depends on increased trade and investments. And, of course, our exports are so critical to how we develop these markets in the future. As a government we are working very hard to develop these export markets to give exporters these important opportunities, to open up new markets, to increase trade, and to take our innovation, products and services to the world.

I commend this bill to the House.

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