Jill Hall (Shortland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the Customs Amendment (China-Australia Free Trade Agreement Implementation) Bill 2015 and related bill. In doing so I would like to congratulate the shadow minister for trade and the Leader of the Opposition for the work that they have done in making this a piece of legislation that I can vote for. It is important to note that China is already Australia's No. 1 trading partner, and the legislation before us should see that relationship grow even stronger. This does deliver benefits to Australia. Consumers should see cheaper prices with the five per cent tariff on Chinese manufactured products, such as electronics and whitegoods, being phased out. Tariffs on various Australian commodities will be lowered and tariffs of between 13 to 14 per cent on various manufactured exports will be eliminated over four years. It also delivers benefits to the agriculture sector. It has a number of benefits in the long term.

It is important to note that China would not have entered into a free trade agreement if it did not deliver significant benefits to China. Members on the government side of the House have not been particularly constructive in their approach to this legislation. Initially, there was hoo-ha from those on the other side of the House to the concerns we had about the impact it would have on Australian workers and their jobs. It was put to the people of Australia that our objections were not based on the desire to protect Australian jobs but rather on some form of racism. I find that abhorrent. I still have significant concerns about the way the legislation will impact on Australian workers and their jobs. But I have a Chinese daughter-in-law and I have extended family in China. I very much support a strong relationship between Australia and China, but I do not support the fact that Australian working conditions and jobs will be impacted upon by this legislation.

Even with the changes and the agreements that have been reached by the shadow trade minister and the Leader of the Opposition I still have serious concerns. There were some concessions around labour market testing, and the amendments that we sought are now regulations. I hope that a future Labor government will revisit this and strengthen the agreement, because it is still quite weak in a number of areas.

The other area I have real concerns about is that of investor-state dispute settlements, ISDSs. We always have to protect our country, so any agreements entered into should not have these clauses included in them. Former Prime Minister John Howard would not enter into any agreements with ISDS clauses in them. When Labor was in government we did not enter into any agreements with ISDS clauses in them. Why? Because it allows companies to take the Australian government to public international courts to settle disputes. It jeopardises our sovereignty. Australia can be taken to an international court by a company. That is very visibly demonstrated at the moment, where Philip Morris has taken Australia to an international court over the legislation dealing with plain-packaging on cigarettes. It is putting the power of a company over and above the power of a nation. I do not think we in Australia should settle for that. It has the ability to impact on our right to protect our environment. It has the potential to impact on the safety and quality standard of goods coming into our country. This is a very important issue. It is one that is dear to the heart of many Australians. It is something that, once it is included in an agreement like this, has the effect of impinging on Australia's sovereignty. Unfortunately, the government would not budge on this particular issue, but it is an important one. It is an issue that goes to our sovereignty and it is an issue that is not transparent.

I support the legislation that has been put before the parliament, with the amendments the opposition has argued for. I do have some reservations about the issue of ISDSs and the impact it will have on our sovereignty, on our ability to determine what happens in our country, and on the impact it will have on Australian laws. Also, I still have concerns about issues relating to Australian workers.

I once again congratulate the shadow minister for trade and the Leader of the Opposition for their great negotiating skills, and I congratulate the government for actually negotiating with Labor, even if it is at a very late stage after a lot of noise and abuse took place in the early stages. Good government is about negotiation and about getting a good outcome. We have an outcome here that is at least a beginning, and we can start working on it into the future.

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