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

I thank the member for North Sydney for his question. All members on this side of the House are very focused on implementing the government's strong, positive plan to keep growing export markets for our country, because we on this side of the chamber fundamentally know that it is through driving exports, through opening up markets for Australian businesses, that we will continue to drive economic growth and continue to drive jobs for Australians. Indeed, we saw only yesterday, with the national accounts that came out, that exports contributed in a very major way to Australia's economic growth. In fact, the strength of our commodities exports contributed to just under half of the growth in the year to December. Our strong export performance delivered Australia its largest ever trade surplus, of some $4.7 billion, for the December quarter and our lowest current account deficit since 2001. It is this export growth, the work that this coalition government has done in opening up global markets for Australian exporters, that is part of the reason why we have enjoyed 26 years of continuous economic growth, and the benefits that flow from that are being felt across the Australian community.

This coalition government remains focused on providing opportunities for Australian exporters, and that is not confined just to exports. Through our consistent approach and our commitment to free trade agreements, we are also seeing benefits flow for Australians in terms of the cost of living. The fact is that our commitment to a liberalised trading environment, including through bilateral and multilateral agreements, has meant that the cost of major Australian household appliances, such as fridges and washing machines, has fallen by 14 per cent over the last 20 years, which means a difference of roughly $75 on a family top-loader that is retailing for around 500 bucks. The cost of audiovisual equipment has also fallen by up to 91 per cent. This means that televisions and radios are significantly cheaper today than they were 20 years ago—a consequence of putting in place lower tariff barriers for those that are importing into Australia. These are making a material difference to the budgets of Australians all around the country, helping them to pay their bills and making sure that they get access to good-quality products as well. It is through our commitment to open markets that we are making sure that we are making these items more affordable for all Australians.

We are rolling back prices. We are seeing a different approach from the Labor Party, though. We are rolling back prices, but the Labor Party, unfortunately, is rolling back policies—

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