Luke Simpkins (Cowan, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I welcome this unexpected but great opportunity to speak today on this bill, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank Bill 2015. I do not think there is any doubt that this country sees its future with the best possible involvement in Asia, with its developing markets, the developing middle class that we hear so much about and the scale of humanity looking for the goods and services that this country can provide. This is in many ways the niche that this country—this small country by comparison—can fill through its trade arrangements. I said 'goods and services'. It is not just iron ore and gas; it is a wide range of services beyond that; it is our agriculture as well, of course. This is about the opportunities ahead, and I welcome the fact that the government and the minister have embraced this opportunity to participate as part of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.

I also welcome the way it was done. These are not things to be rushed into. These are not things to just blindly jump into. Things need to be assessed. There needs to be appropriate consideration of the ramifications. Obviously, around the world not everyone was in favour of this, and so I think it was very wise that we did not just jump in. We gave it due consideration and we came to the view in the end that it was the right thing to do. It was the right thing to do because this dovetails so well into the government's efforts with regard to free trade agreements. We have a great future for Australian jobs that will be developed out of the China free trade agreement, the agreement with Japan and the South Korean free trade agreement.

But, beyond these major trading partners, who will become even more important and will help contribute to the prosperity of this country and the lives and the jobs of Australians in the future, precisely in this case, with the development of infrastructure throughout South Asia, South-East Asia and beyond, the benefits will come from exactly this sort of investment. We want to be able to have the same trade opportunities that we have with China, Japan and South Korea for the future. The investment we make is an investment as much for the future of Asia as for the future of Australians. There are children being born right now in this country whose future employment prospects will absolutely depend and be benefited by the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and, of course, by the efforts of this government with regard to the Chinese free trade agreement and, as I said, the South Korea and Japan free trade agreements. We look forward to more and more opportunities of this kind; there is no doubt about it.

Yesterday, when debate resumed on this bill, I had the unfortunate experience of having to listen to the contribution by the shadow Treasurer, raving in a strident and grating manner about how quickly the opposition jumped on board with the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. He derided the Treasurer for the accurate claim—but he still derided him—that the Treasurer had been the first one to sign. So that there is no doubt: was the Treasurer the first to sign? Yes, he was. Any allegation to the contrary is completely false.

Unfortunately, there was more than just that to the shadow Treasurer's contribution. It was tragic, really, to see the shadow Treasurer talking all about this bill and avoiding at all possible cost any mention of the Chinese free trade agreement. But we need to see these things in the larger context. The Chinese free trade agreement is very important to this country, and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and other outcomes of this bill will be important for the future of this country—and they dovetail. There is no doubt about it.

But we do not have a clear line from the other side of this House on the Chinese free trade agreement. Personally, I suspect they are against it because their pre-selectors, the people who tell Labor candidates whether they get to stay in the seats they have been selected for, like the CFMEU and other unions, make those decisions. They are the key players in that matter. So the view of those opposite on the free trade agreement is unclear. I am sure they are just being given their instructions, their orders, by the people who are influential in their preselections. That is, unfortunately, always the way of the Labor Party.

On this side, we know that the Chinese free trade agreement is good for this country. We reject the lies told by the CFMEU, Get Up! and other left-wing partisan organisations, because we know that in the future the benefits for this country will be great and the benefits for future generations will be great. As the father of two girls I look forward to being able to give them better job opportunities, through the Chinese free trade agreement and through the benefits to this nation of trade in the region provided by the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. I look forward to those opportunities being there for my children and their children and, of course, everybody in this country—the children of today and future generations of Australians. It is the duty of this place to deliver the best possible future for Australians, not just think of the here and now, not just think of the short-term preselection opportunities, as one side of this House does, but think about what is at stake and what opportunities there are.

I want to see growth in the agricultural sector. I want to see growth in manufacturing. I want to see growth in shipbuilding in this country, as well. In Western Australia, we have a most excellent organisation, a most excellent business, Austal, that does great work in the construction of ships, not just here in this country but also at their works in Alabama. On that side of things, the government have another good story to tell. We are in the business of providing a great future for shipbuilding in this country. Whereas those opposite, during their six years in government, did nothing but export shipbuilding to other countries, we actually believe in it. So it is good that, through Austal and other shipbuilders in other places around this country, the future of shipbuilding is locked in, and it is locked in because of the efforts of this government. I applaud that and I look forward to seeing more and more jobs, and jobs for the future, for Australians.

It is not just about the shipbuilding. It is also about the goods and services, such as providing aged-care services in the future in the region. There are so many chances for us to make good decisions so that Australians can fully participate in exporting to and interacting with Asia. We need the best, most positive attitude towards our neighbours. We have to believe in them as they believe in us and we have to be prepared to negotiate and work with them. Bills such as this one and the Chinese free trade agreement are acknowledgements of mutual respect and the interdependent trade relationship between us and our great trading partners, even future trading partners in Asia.

It is often said in this place that national security is the first priority of any government, and I think that is absolutely true. But we must also look to a prosperous future for this country. The free trade agreements that have been so successfully negotiated by this government, through the great work of the minister for trade; and, now, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank highlight such opportunities and are the right decisions for this country. I very much look forward to those benefits flowing down to our children and future generations for a much better and economically stronger Australia.

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