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

It is my great pleasure to rise and speak about the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement. This is an incredibly important agreement not just for Corangamite, a great dairying and agricultural region, but for our nation. Under the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement, more than 95 per cent of our exports to China—wine tariffs of up to 30 per cent, beef tariffs up to 25 per cent, seafood to 15 per cent, dairy tariffs of 20 per cent, our lamb, our cheese and our services as well as our resources—will be entirely duty-free. This is a once-in-a-generation game-changer of a trade agreement, which will open up thousands of jobs. The independent modelling has shown that over the next 20 years some 178,000 new jobs will be created.

It gives me no joy to raise what is perhaps the most reckless campaign we have seen in the life of this government from those opposite. It is a deceptive and dishonest campaign against this agreement that Labor members know deep in their hearts is going to deliver great opportunity, particularly for our exporters, our farmers and our small businesses. I call on Bill Shorten, members opposite and even the Labor candidate in Corangamite, who is working hand in glove with the CFMEU, the most discredited union in our country, to end the damaging campaign against this agreement.

With more and more Labor leaders coming out to support this once-in-a-generation trade deal, members opposite need to get a grip. They need to start telling the truth. They need to start telling the truth about this agreement.

Mr Champion interjecting—

We hear from one of the members opposite who—

Mr Champion interjecting—

I do not even want to acknowledge who he is, actually, with all of his interjections. He spends far too much time outside the chamber than inside.

We have a situation again today where Bill Shorten has been caught out peddling CFMEU lies about the investment facilitation arrangement linked to our landmark free trade agreement. Mr Shorten said on ABC's AM program:

Currently it's proposed that for projects of over $150 million it's not mandatory that the jobs market in Australia has to be tested so that Australians get first crack.

This is completely and utterly false, and Mr Shorten knows it. During yesterday's Joint Standing Committee on Treaties hearing on the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement it was again made crystal clear that under the IFA, Australian workers must have been provided with first opportunity for jobs through labour market testing.

I make this very clear: proponents must provide evidence of their domestic recruitment efforts for each requested occupation, including advertising undertaken within the past six months. Senior immigration officer David Wilden told the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties that under an IFA proponents must:

… absolutely, mandatorily, have to test the labour market.

These requirements are outlined in black and white in the guidelines under which the IFA will be implemented. The IFA was modelled on Labor's enterprise migration agreement, except the IFA has far more stringent safeguards to ensure Australians have the first opportunity at jobs available under projects covered. Under the EMA, the only thing required was labour market analysis, whereas under the IFA both labour market analysis and then labour market testing are required before any workers are permitted to enter Australia.

Instead of continuing to peddle CFMEU lies, the Leader of the Opposition and every member opposite, and Labor candidates, including in Corangamite, need to start telling the truth. They need to stand up for jobs. They need to stand up for this game-changing trade agreement that will fundamentally transform our economy.

See this speech in context