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

May I begin by saying what a pleasure it is to welcome Dr Gau Hucheng to the parliament today. I note also the presence of our good friend Ambassador Ma, and our own ambassador, Frances Adamson. Dr Gau has brought his delegation with him, and it is a pleasure to welcome all of them here today.

China is one of Australia's most important partners and friends on the world stage. Labor has a long and strong friendship with China. That is why we are so pleased to welcome this delegation today, including the Minister of Commerce in the government of the People's Republic of China. I want to also thank the Minister for Trade and Investment for his statement.

On 17 November last year, Labor welcomed the finalisation of negotiations for a free trade agreement between Australia and China and called on the minister to release the text of the agreement for scrutiny. We have waited seven months, or 212 days, for the agreement to be tabled in the national parliament. Contrary to a request from the opposition and in defiance of a Senate order, that agreement has only been tabled after it has been signed. Nevertheless, we now welcome the opportunity to examine the text of this very important document.

The agreement has been negotiated over the course of 10 years, under the stewardship of both Labor and coalition trade ministers. And I thank the trade minister for his acknowledgment of that. Of course, we acknowledge his hard work and that of his predecessors—Ministers Marles, Emerson, Smith, Crean, Truss and Vaile—and the hardworking officials who supported them. We are very fortunate to be able to pass on our personal congratulations to Ambassador Adamson today. But Ambassador Raby was also a critical negotiator on Australia's behalf. The staff of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade have been working on this deal for many years, and we congratulate them for the finalisation of it. We know that Minister Gau and his officials, some of whom are with us, today have also been working very hard on the Chinese side to conclude the agreement.

China is Australia's No. 1 trading partner. Our two-way trade was worth $160 billion in 2013-14. Australia's exports to China were worth more than $100 billion. One-third of Australia's total merchandise exports are destined for China. The strong growth in trade between our two nations over recent years has been very mutually beneficial. Australia's resources exports have helped China to industrialise and to modernise its economy over the last two decades, lifting many hundreds of millions of Chinese out of poverty. Trade with China has helped Australia to keep growing during the global financial crisis. Trade with China will be critical to Australia's future.

We have watched with admiration as China has developed and grown and lifted its people out of poverty. Yet we know that China has much greater growth ahead of it. As China's economy continues that remarkable development over coming years, its people will grow ever more affluent. That means there will be rising demand from China for a range of products and services, including those that Australia does so well: food, education, tourism, health, aged care, and financial and professional services.

So growing, deepening and diversifying our trade relationship between Australia and China will drive the future prosperity of both of our nations. Australia wants to export more of our high-quality agricultural goods and food products to China. Australia wants to export more sophisticated services to China—like education, health care, aged care, financial services, business and professional services, and tourism. We want to see advanced Australian manufacturing playing its part in the global and regional supply chains which are increasingly centred in China, and we want to encourage more investment flows between our two nations. That means new opportunities for Australian businesses, stronger growth for Australia's economy, better living standards for Australian families, and more and better jobs for Australian workers.

Members on both sides of this place recognise that a comprehensive, high-quality agreement has the potential to deliver a significant additional economic return for Australia. It also has the potential to strengthen the already strong relationship between our two countries, a relationship that has grown and strengthened over more than four decades. Last year Labor laid out our benchmarks for a high-quality agreement with China. These included New Zealand-plus market access outcomes for Australian farmers; elimination of, or significant reductions in, tariffs on Australian industrial goods; retention of Australia's antidumping safeguards; major improvements in market access for Australian services; reduction in red tape and other barriers to Chinese investment in Australia and for Australian investment in China; no provisions which give Chinese companies operating in Australia superior legal rights to those enjoyed by Australian companies; and the retention of labour market testing, or comparable safeguards on temporary migration.

The impact of the agreement on the Australian labour market warrants particular attention, and we will examine the related provisions in this agreement closely. Labor's position is that any labour mobility must enhance, not constrain, job opportunities for Australians. Labor supports a China-Australia free trade agreement that provides genuine market access for our Australian businesses and supports Australian jobs.

The agreement signed by the government will now be considered by the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties and the Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade References Committee. I look forward to the participation of citizens, businesses and other stakeholders in these inquiries as we examine the agreement signed by the Australian government and tabled today.

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