Bob Katter (Kennedy, Katter's Australian Party) Share this | Hansard source

I move the amendment circulated in my name:

(1) Page 2 (after line 7), after clause 2, insert:

2A Fair Trade clause

That the countries whose wage structures fall below the minimum of income needed to provide an acceptable level of food, shelter and clothing be excluded and those countries with direct or indirect subsidies in key products also be excluded from the TPP-11 agreement.

The amendment requires that countries whose wage structures fall below the minimum income needed to provide an acceptable level of food, shelter and clothing be excluded the TPP-11 agreement and that those countries with direct or indirect subsidies in key products also be excluded from the agreement. The TPP-11 agreement talks about tariff barriers and similar barriers. It does not talk about subsidies. We have the wonderful free trade agreement with America, but America had only two per cent tariffs and has massive subsidies of 36 per cent.

I feel sorry for the minister. He comes from Mareeba and he has to know that the Atherton Tablelands area—his homeland—has had two councils for all of its history: one is Mareeba and the other is Atherton. The Mareeba Council has tobacco leaves on its logo, because tobacco was the principal industry of that town. Under deregulation we lost all 2,000 jobs in the tobacco industry in a tiny little town like Mareeba—the whole town lost its economy, as did Myrtleford in Victoria. The minister has to know this. As a result of his free trade policies, his own homeland's industry was taken away—and it was on the logo of the council. The Atherton Council has maize silos and a dairy cow on its logo, because they were the industries of Atherton. Well, the silos are gone. Under deregulation, the maize industry collapsed. And, of course, the dairy industry went from 230 milking cows down to about 37 milking cows. So, the complete economy of his homeland was destroyed by the actions of the free trade policies of his government. I know, to my shame, because I also was the representative of that area and I was in here in this place while those things took place. It doesn't help my conscience to say that I crossed the floor on them and raised as much hell as I could possibly raise. But, in the final straw of the dairy industry, I just couldn't stay there any longer. We don't like talking about conscience in this place, but sometimes it really gets to you, and after that I had to leave. I sympathise with the minister because I think he's probably a good bloke. But he's in a party and he must toe the line on the policies of his party, and he actually has to believe in the policies of his party.

It is the height of impropriety to allow into this country product produced by slave labour. I mean, the next piece of legislation in this House is about slave labour. If you're in China or India, you can't afford a roof over your head; you can't afford a decent diet that will enable you to stay alive. Heaven only knows. I know about this because my brother-cousins, First Australians, are dying from malnutrition in the gulf country and the peninsula and Torres Strait right now because they can't afford a proper diet. They're now living on rice, as they do in India and China.

These countries will not provide, for their own people, proper food and accommodation. And we promote those policies that are the complete opposite of egalitarian principles that this nation has been raised on, and so many of our predecessors have died for it. The first stoppage by the AWU in this country—three executive members of the AWU were shot dead, another three in the general strike were shot dead and another two at the back of New South Wales were shot dead during the great strike. I don't know how many died, but 28 died at Eureka, which was, arguably, about other issues. But it was about whether the people were allowed to make enough money to stay alive. That was what Eureka was really about. And they couldn't, because of the policies you put in place. Well, now you're driving Australian wages down through the floor. The only way we can compete—and I remember vividly the morning Mr Keating announced that we would be the most free economy on earth. So, while the Liberals go preening themselves for being the free market party, in actual fact the record reads that the Labor Party is the free market party, to their eternal shame. Theodore, Chifley, Curtin—these men would turn in their graves if they saw the Labor Party of today, the champion of free markets. (Time expired)

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