David Gillespie (Lyne, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the Customs Amendment (Japan-Australia Economic Partnership Agreement Implementation) Bill 2014 and its cognate bill the Customs Tariff Amendment (Japan-Australia Economic Partnership Agreement Implementation) Bill 2014. These two bills are being enacted to meet our obligations under the various chapters of the recent Japan-Australia Economic Partnership Agreement and to enable changes to the Customs Act 1901 to achieve that.

I commend these bills to the House because this agreement has massive positive implications for our economy and our nation and for Japan as well. This agreement builds on the original agreement on commerce that was signed in 1957 by the Prime Minister of Japan at the time, Mr Kishi, and the Australian minister for trade at the time, 'Black Jack' McEwen. Our current trade minister, Mr Robb, has done an excellent job in achieving this agreement, the second in the trifecta of international trade agreements.

What does this trade agreement mean for the Lyne electorate? In the Lyne electorate there are many agricultural exporters, manufacturers and service providers, but it is the agricultural exporters who employ the most people who will be affected by this agreement. They employed many, many people who put food on the table for their families, pay wages and pay taxes to the government. With more trade comes more job security, because the jobs of one in four people in regional Australia are underpinned by foreign trade. A stronger economy at home will be a result of increased agriculture exports. We export to Japan $66.5 billion in goods and $4.3 billion in services. Japan has $131 billion invested here and we have $50 billion invested within Japan.

Tariffs on goods going into Japan mean the landed price of Australian goods is higher and make our products less price competitive compared to our competition. Dropping and reducing tariffs makes our products much more competitive. As a result, producers in the Lyne electorate and in broader Australia will benefit. It is not just the producers at this end who will benefit, consumers will as well. We all buy a lot of electrical goods and cars that come out of Japan. Admittedly, the tariffs remaining on Japanese goods coming into the country are not great, but five per cent on the price of a modern car is a significant reduction, and we as consumers will all see the benefit of that.

The Lyne electorate produces some of the best grass-fed and grass- and grain-finished beef in Australia. Currently the tariff is 38.5 per cent. Eventually that will fall to 19.5 per cent. That makes the $1.4 billion trade of Australian beef even better value to Japan, particularly relative to our competitors from North and South America. That means that there will be better prices at the rails at the cattle sales in Wauchope or Taree or Gloucester, eventually, because there will be more competition for Australian beef from exporters. There will be better prices and volumes for the Wingham Abattoir, the biggest employer in the Manning Valley. There will be better prices for marbled Hokubee beef, which is produced in Wauchope, when it is exported into Asia, particularly into Japan. These better export prices will eventually mean greater competition, more volume of trade and better prices at the farm gate. In addition to beef, cow hides can now enter Japan duty free. Again, that means stronger demand for the product that comes out of Wingham beef, a stronger local economy and a much more secure position for its 380 employees.

Between the Hastings and Manning valleys, Hannam Vale and Johns River areas and the Comboyne Plateau there is almost 30 per cent of the milk supply of New South Wales being produced. Most of this enters the daily fresh milk market, but extra supply can go into the export market. As a result of this trade agreement, the market for milk protein concentrates casein and lactose, which currently amounts to $53 million annually, can grow. We have duty-free quotas for cheese which can also grow.

On the North Coast of the Lyne electorate, we have a lot of wood products from North Coast Timbers and the mills at Herons Creek or up at Telegraph Point or down at Pambula, such as fibre boards, particle boards and structured and laminated timber, that can all go into the Japanese market. As mentioned earlier, with this free trade agreement, Australian produce is much more price competitive. That means there will be greater demand for Australian product and better product prices at the farm gate.

Wine production in the Lyne electorate has been going into the Japanese market for many years. Just down the road from where I live, the very prestigious Cassegrain Wines have been producing quality wine that has been served on the Shinkansen for up to a decade. They are part of the $42 million trade of wine exports into Japan, particularly the premium end of the market, such as restaurants, as well. The 15 per cent tariff will drop immediately to zero for bulk wine being imported into Japan. Bottled product will have the tariff drop slower. This will allow this industry to be so much more competitive relative to wines from France and Chile.

Also we have macadamias and avocadoes on the Comboyne Plateau and at Redhill and Telegraph Point at the north end of the Lyne electorate that feed into both the domestic market and the Australian export market. This is $16½ million worth of macadamias that feed into the Japanese market, most of which come from 400 producers on the North Coast. That market will grow as well. It is quite a small tariff, but every bit of price reduction means our product is much more competitive.

We do not have a lot produced seafood in our area, but there is a significant crustacean and lobster market which feeds mainly into the local market. But if other big producers in the domestic market are now exporting to Japan, it means our product from the North Coast will be that much more competitive. Whole new opportunities will come into play with this free trade agreement, so I wholeheartedly support these two bills.

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