Sharman Stone (Murray, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I too rise to speak on the Export Control Amendment (Quotas) Bill 2015. This bill consolidates four acts that govern the tariff rate export quotas into one act—the Export Control Act—which will cover all commodities.

We have recently been celebrating new free trade agreements with China, Japan and Korea, we have had a CER—closer economic relationship—with New Zealand that dates way back and we are busily working on new FTAs with India and maybe Hong Kong. We have the Trans-Pacific Partnership too. I would like to think that we will continue on this marvellous rollout of FTAs, which will mean that more food, in particular, and fibre exports will make their way out of the dependence on the big duopoly concentration of retail ownership of the grocery business that we have in Australia and give our growers, particularly of our fine foods and beverages, an opportunity to get better prices in the export market.

In my electorate of Murray, we have a very critical issue in relation to the FTAs—that is, to get all of the protocols in place as soon as possible so that exporters can undertake the necessary changes to their product or processes so that they can produce, export and take full advantage of the new market opportunities. It is not simply a case of ticking off the FTA and then the gates are opened; it is a case of developing the appropriate protocols between the two countries to make sure that the biosecurity arrangements remain safe and that both countries are more than happy with the way that things will be as the products move in whatever direction. Without protocols in place, exporters cannot get their product into new markets. Exporters are responsible for ensuring that the conditions associated with the export of goods and the relevant importing country requirements for the goods are met for them to be exported from Australia. This legislation is designed to provide exporters of agricultural product with a more efficient and flexible approach to exporting in the future.

I have large exporters of meat, fruit and vegetables in my electorate of Murray. Of course, we have been one of the biggest producers of export dairy product for decades. I think it is still the case that the biggest exporting commodity out of the ports of Melbourne and Geelong are milk powders, most of them coming from my electorate. Some of my producers have been exporting from Murray for more than 80 years. In speaking with meat processors and fruit growers who export from my electorate, the No. 1 issue is to remove the burden of red tape. Anything that makes the administrative processes easier is welcomed by agricultural products exporters—whether it is legislation, computerised systems in this new paperless world, or more streamlined processes. It is about reducing the costs of the processes that are required without in any way changing the quality of the outcome of those processes.

We do not want to see things change just for the sake of change. We understand the critical importance of crossing all the t's and dotting all the i's as far as food safety goes, because we in Australia are proud of our reputation for clean, green produce. It gives us a premium in markets—in particular for products like infant milk formula—and there is no way that we will ever compromise the safety of our product by some less adequate procedure or regulation being applied. On the other hand, we cannot be burdened with unnecessary or complicated processes or processes which claim to be full cost recovery but where within that full cost recovery there are costs which are not fair or reasonable to impose on the primary producer or the manufacturer.

As well as the removal of red tape, there is concern over cost recovery by the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources. Our fruit and vegetable exporters have high input costs compared with some of the countries that they are competing with, such as South Africa or Brazil. Given the cost recovery required by the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources, as it discharges its responsibilities under this bill for processing export certification, it is critical that those costs do not increase the costs of our produce, making it less competitive when it comes into those new markets. The department must conscientiously deliver efficient and cost-effective services, and we want to see these benchmarked against other countries with similar wage structures, so that we are always competitive and always innovating to make sure that the system works for all parties.

We have a premium product that we export from Australia—whether it is a fresh cherry, infant formula, prime beef or a beautifully produced bottle of olive oil. We acknowledge that we are also competing against other premium products, often with much lower costs of production coming from other parts of the globe. Interpreting protocols for different countries is a big enough minefield. Anything that our government agencies can do to support and assist our exporters is most welcome. I was very pleased in a briefing we had with officials from the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources to see that the clear intention of those officials was to be seen as part of the team of 'Export Australia' and to be in good communication with the primary producers, with the manufacturers and with the bodies that represent them collectively. I was very pleased to hear about how closely they had communicated and consulted with our primary producers in the development of this bill and in streamlining it. We have to make sure that those close communications continue and persist. One of the concerns expressed in relation to protocols is that sometimes a negotiating party does not fully understand the ramifications of what is being processed and the full stops that it will put into the arrangements that have to be undertaken in future. With that close communication between officials, the primary producers, the abattoirs, the dairy factories and the piggeries, we are going to be able to have everyone on the same page.

The implementation of comprehensive legislative quota scheme under the Export Control Act 1982 will enable a more secure and flexible legal framework for the implementation of any quotas negotiated in pursuit of export opportunities under the coalition government. With our consultation with officials from the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources earlier this week, the members of the coalition from rural and regional areas were also very pleased to have a better understanding of how these quotas are determined—how the product opportunities for exports are distributed between competing suppliers in Australia. We listened carefully to how they make sure that they do not simply choose to allocate quota to those who have a history of supply into that market; they also try and make sure that there is a proportion of the quota in some instances for those who are new to the market and just beginning to export. I think that those sorts of considerations are extremely important. We also have to make sure that when we have inspections of our products in preparation for them being exported that that is a cost-recovery process but without any extra overheads for administration which are not sheeted home typically to the primary producer in other countries.

This legislation puts in place regulation of exports, guarantees product integrity and ensures the safety and hygienic preparation of agricultural products for export. Over time, the legislation has expanded to include other elements to increase trade opportunities, including: product descriptions; volume limitations, which also can be called quotas; and industry requirements. The Export Control Act is the legal basis for the regulation of exports and sets the conditions that must be met to export certain goods from Australia.

I strongly commend this bill to the House. It is of enormous importance to the food producers of the great Goulburn-Murray Irrigation District and the non-irrigated parts of the Murray electorate. We have a great strength in food production in Australia, and we have to maximise opportunities by the most appropriate legislation. In that way, we will maximise the benefits of all of these new free trade agreements.

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