Steven Ciobo (Moncrieff, Liberal Party, Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Wide Bay for his question. Like all members on this side of the House, he is deeply passionate about creating jobs for Australians and recognises that one of the ways that we create jobs for Australians is through the coalition's resolute focus on the free trade agreements which have seen Australian businesses gain preferential market access to help them grow their business and help create more jobs for local Australian workers. We are certainly proud of the record of delivery that we have. We, of course, have the trifecta of free trade agreements—with the North Asian powerhouse economies of China, Japan and South Korea—that were put in place by this coalition government, some of which have seen exporters increase their exports to China by over 200 per cent. We are not just limiting it to that; we are also focusing on what we have been able to do with Singapore. And, of course, I am putting a very strong focus on putting in place a comprehensive deal with Indonesia as well.

There are many examples of successes off the back of it. Lively Linseed in New South Wales, a Aromababy in Victoria, Grove Juice in Queensland in the member for Bonner's seat and Australian Honey Products in Tasmania have all stated that the coalition's North Asian FTAs mean more local jobs and more investment in new facilities. But I note the member for Wide Bay asks about risks. Unfortunately, there are some risks to Australian jobs. Despite the rhetoric that we hear from the Leader of the Opposition, the fact is we have to look at the Labor Party, in particular, the Leader of the Opposition's form, when it comes to Australian workers and Australian jobs. Because I have made the point before, the Leader of the Opposition, and the Labor Party more generally, say one thing in this chamber and a different thing out there on the street.

Look at, for example, the long-term Australian workers of Chiquita Mushrooms in Victoria. This was at a time when the Leader of the Opposition was the Victorian state secretary of the AWU. He was the man in charge when it came to the AWU in Victoria and, as leader, he then put jobs at risk, and he did it because he followed the orders of the CFMEU in relation to, for example, the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement. But more recently, we know from the royal commission into trade unions that they uncovered a grubby deal that was brokered between the AWU, which was reported to have cost 157 mushroom pickers to lose their jobs and 120 workers to suffer wage reductions. And, in fact, when the Leader of the Opposition was Victorian secretary of the AWU, he made sure that Chiquita did an EBA with a union-friendly Oneforce, as the Labor hire company to supply workers to Chiquita. They bypassed the tender process; they did not worry about going to tender. They just went straight to their union-friendly mates at Oneforce because they knew that that was where they were going to get their support, and it also meant that 157 Australian workers lost their jobs and 120 Australian workers got wage reductions. That is the process of delivery from this Leader of the Opposition. (Time expired)

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