Craig Kelly (Hughes, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

It is a great pleasure to follow the member for Cowan, the member for Hindmarsh, the member for Banks, the member for Barton and the member for Hume, who have spoken on the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank Bill 2015 for the coalition this morning. I would like to associate myself with all their comments. I would like to add a few other points on why Australia being part of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank is most important.

Back in 2013 the World Bank, which for decades had been financing infrastructure in many of the poorer Third World countries on this planet, made the decision that they would no longer fund coal fired power stations in developing countries. This was a most disgraceful decision. It has condemned millions of citizens in the Third World to poverty and a premature death. Unless there is no equal or superior alternative to a coal fired power station, the World Bank, by denying the funding to people in the Third World, have simply condemned millions to a premature death. This is a life-and-death issue. I would like to read into Hansard a story about why funding for coal fired power stations is important—something that the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank will likely do. This is a passage by a lady called Kathryn Hall and it is called 'Kathryn's Story'. It is in 'Power Up Gambia'. This is an example of what happens when rich Western countries decide to deny countries in the Third World cheap, reliable sources of power:

At 4 p.m. on a Saturday afternoon, I was startled when the lights came on; the lights never came on after 2 p.m. on the weekends. The adrenaline really kicked in when I was invited to observe an emergency cesarean section - a first for me. When the infant emerged I felt my heart racing from excitement and awe!

But no matter how many times the technician suctioned out the nose and mouth, the infant did not utter a sound. After twenty five minutes the technician and nurse both gave up. The surgeon later explained that the baby had suffocated in utero. If only they had had enough power to use the ultrasound machine for each pregnancy, he would have detected the problem earlier and been able to plan the C-section. Without early detection, the C-section became an emergency, moreover, the surgery had to wait for the generator to be powered on. The loss of precious minutes meant the loss of a precious life. At that time, in that place, all I could do was cry.

And later, when the maternity ward was too hushed, I cried again. A full-term infant was born weighing only 3.5 pounds. In the U.S., the solution would have been obvious and effective: incubation. But without reliable electricity, the hospital did not even contemplate owning an incubator. This seemingly simple solution was not available to this newborn girl, and she perished needlessly.

Reliable electricity is at the forefront of every staff members' thoughts. With it, they can conduct tests with electrically powered medical equipment, use vaccines and antibiotics requiring refrigeration, and plan surgeries to meet patient's needs. Without it, they will continue to give their patients the best care available, but in a country with an average life expectancy of only 54 years of age, it's a hard fight to win.

That is why we should be supporting the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. They will break the policies of the World Bank and they will loan for coal fired power stations in the Third World. If there is any doubt about this, I refer you to an article written by an Indian gentleman, Rupa Subramanya, at foreignpolicy.com. Under the heading 'Is the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank Good for India?' he writes:

The AIIB aims to supplant or at least challenge … the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). For India, in particular, AIIB may have a significant impact on the energy choices available, by lifting Western-imposed constraints on how the World Bank lends.

…   …   …

… the AIIB, if it takes off, could power billions of dollars of much needed infrastructure development throughout the region.

…   …   …

… in a … economic sense, the … AIIB … may well be beneficial for India. The crux is coal.

  …   …   …

One of the reasons India has embraced the AIIB is almost surely the fact that the country hopes to receive development finance for its coal-powered electricity generation. The Indian government has indicated it would like to increase renewable energy capacity, but it has reiterated that, to meet the country's development needs, coal-fired power generation will have to be significantly stepped up.

It's in India’s interests to use the AIIB to help spur this growth.

That is a fantastic reason why we here in Australia should support the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. There are currently 300 million people in India that have no access to electricity whatsoever. By being able to provide them with access to electricity, we give them an economic opportunity. It is simply immoral for countries in the rich West, where people live an opulent lifestyle because of coal fired power generation and because of our free market capitalist system, to try and deny those same opportunities to people in the Third World. Therefore, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank should take on the World Bank and make sure these vital investments go to people in the Third World and they are given the economic opportunity to advance.

Another reason why Australia being part of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank is important is to do with our relationship with China. That has been a subject in this debate for people on both sides of this House. The Chinese economy is growing every year. Its GDP is growing by almost $1 trillion. We need to have the faith in our Australian businesses, our Australian industries, our Australian people—the confidence in their skills, their abilities, their entrepreneurial 'get up and go'—to go out and to compete and to grab some of that market share. We are not the only country that is trying to export more product into China, but having the free trade agreement puts our exporters and our nation at the forefront.

This is a vital moment in our nation's history. The opportunity for all businesses to leverage into that Chinese market and take advantage of it through the China free trade agreement is an opportunity this nation cannot miss. Yet, in one of the most shameful actions I have ever seen in this nation, the CFMEU and other unions are running around telling nothing other than bald-faced lies about this free trade agreement. This is the most disgraceful and despicable and anti-Australian campaign—a xenophobic campaign—that I have ever seen in my lifetime. What is most disappointing about this is that those on the other side are silent and refuse to condemn it. I see the member for Rankin sitting at the table. I am sure that in his heart of hearts he is ashamed of that CFMEU and union campaign. I am sure in his heart of hearts he knows that we will create more higher paying jobs if this free trade agreement goes ahead and yet, because of their ties to the union movement, members on that side will not stand up and condemn this union activity. I condemn it in this parliament here today. I say it is economic vandalism. I say it is sabotage. I say it is treasonous and against the interests of our nation. I know many of those on the other side of the parliament have to do as they are told by the CFMEU and their union bosses, but I would hope that they have the courage to put the interests of this nation first, to put the interests of jobs first and to put the interests of higher incomes first because those higher incomes are what will help flow extra revenue into the government treasuries that will pay for all our much-needed social services and social security. If you want more money spent on education, if you want more money spent on health, if you want more money spent on our disabled, if you want more money spent on our aged care, the answer is simple—you have to get behind and support free trade. You have to stand up and condemn this CFMEU-led misleading campaign of deception. It is completely against our national interests.

We have seen some of the figures already. In the last several years 100,000 jobs have been created for people involved in direct export to China. This should be the tip of the iceberg. Those of us on both sides come into this parliament and say we want to create more opportunities for people in this country. We say we want to create more jobs and we say we want to create higher-earning jobs. The answer is simple—we need to leverage the opportunities that present themselves in that growing and wealthy region—not only China but also Japan and South Korea, with whom we have also signed free trade agreements. We are on a dangerous path towards our nation's future. We have one road to go down where we can take advantage of these opportunities. We can increase the wealth of this nation, we can increase the number of jobs, or we can go down a dark road of trying to close down our economy to look after the interests of a few union bosses. This is the crossroads we stand at today. I would hope over the next two-week break all good members on the other side of the chamber look into their conscience and stand up against this union campaign. Call it out for what it is—call out the lies, call out the deceptions. If you do, you will be doing your constituents a favour; you will be doing a favour to this Australian nation.

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank gives us enormous opportunities in many countries other than China. We need to look to the future. We need to look also at what we can export to and how we can increase our trade with the growing economy of India. We have so many close ties with India. The ability of the Australian nation to increase our wealth, to increase our prosperity, through trade with countries like India also cannot be underestimated in any way. Many people in the world live in abject poverty today, throughout South-East Asia and throughout Africa. The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, which Australia is part of, will hopefully free up resources, free up dollars, so that these countries can have better infrastructure. We can give these people opportunities because prosperity is an upward spiral. As we have seen with countries like China, as they increase their wealth and prosperity, as they improve their infrastructure, it rebounds to us because they buy more of our goods and services. They are more likely to travel to Australia, so our tourism industry can get greater returns. These are things that we should be encouraging. I hope, as I said, that members on the other side of the chamber have a good look at themselves over the next fortnight and that when they come back to this parliament in a fortnight's time they will call-out this misleading, this deceptive, this treacherous union advertising campaign of falsehoods. We owe that to the Australian people. I commend the bill to the House.

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