Dan Tehan (Wannon, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Immigration and Citizenship) Share this | Hansard source

I commend the member for Nicholls for his fine speech, and I say to the member, I know that your constituents appreciate the focus you have on trade, on making sure they can grow and produce what this country needs as well as what the world needs and on making sure we can effectively and efficiently get that produce out to the rest of the world. I know your passion for making sure that what's grown in your area can also be exported and can be exported efficiently and effectively. And I commend you for the work you do on behalf of the industries in your electorate.

It's incredibly important that we continue to develop and grow the membership of the CPTPP, because it is a truly foundational trade agreement, especially in terms of setting the rules when it comes to how countries should trade in the Indo-Pacific. It is particularly important that we grow and enhance the CPTPP in such a way that we bring countries onboard that know and understand how important the rules based trading order is and that any country that joins a multilateral trade agreement or a regional trade agreement knows and understands that it brings obligations to live within those rules.

That's why it's incredibly important that we've got the United Kingdom acceding to the CPTPP as the first country outside of those that negotiated it. The UK understands how important the rules based trading order is. Having negotiated the Australia-UK Free Trade Agreement with Liz Truss and then with the trade minister, Anne-Marie Trevelyan, we know and understand how important it is that the UK not only get its membership of the CPTPP but also know and understand that with that comes proper trade liberalisation and that they know and understand the trading rules. In negotiating the Australia-UK Free Trade Agreement, one of the things I discussed with Liz Truss—and it was very pleasing to see her in the chamber here yesterday—was how important it was that the UK and Australia negotiate a truly groundbreaking free trade agreement, because that would then help UK accession to the CPTPP. And that's exactly what happened.

We have, in the Australia-UK Free Trade Agreement, the best free trade agreement undertaken by this country in terms of trade liberalisation outside the one that was negotiated with New Zealand. And I must congratulate the UK, because going to zero tariffs after a period of time—for beef, for lamb, for dairy, for sugar—is not easy. But they were prepared to negotiate in good faith, and we were able to get a world-class agreement. That world-class agreement means we're now here with comprehensive UK accession to the CPTPP, which is incredibly important.

These negotiations are tough, and they require a little bit of dialogue here and there, and testing of the metal of either side to see where you get to. People might talk about uncomfortable chairs and they might talk about other things, but the most important thing is that you get the outcome you want, and that is what we got with the Australia-UK Free Trade Agreement. I will say this: having free trade agreements is fantastic because that's an efficient and effective way to get your goods overseas, but you also need to be able to deliver your goods to market within Australia. You have to do that through your ports, and you've got to make sure that your infrastructure is up to it.

What is happening to the infrastructure in this nation—particularly in Victoria, and particularly in western Victoria, under the federal Labor Government and the Victorian state Labor government—is nothing short of a disgrace. What we are seeing is the result of maintenance budgets being cut at the state and federal level. We're seeing that infrastructure degrade at a rate that I and many of my constituents—and I know I speak for the member for Nicholls as well—haven't seen before. This needs to be addressed. It's all very well having free trade agreements, but, if you can't efficiently and effectively get your goods to markets, that impacts on your ability to compete with those overseas.

One of the prime things that needs looking at in this regard is what has happened to the $60 million that the federal coalition government gave to the state Labor government to invest in the Princes Highway between Warrnambool and Port Fairy. In the last two years the road has continued to deteriorate. It's impossible to see what happened to that $60 million. My constituents worry that all of that money has somehow been funnelled off to the Suburban Rail Loop and hasn't been put towards the Princes Highway between Warrnambool and Port Fairy. We need the Victorian state Labor government to come clean and say what has happened to that money. At the moment, all we're seeing from the federal government and the state government is maintenance funding deteriorating. It used to be that the federal government provided 80c for every $1 that went into the Princes Highway. That has now been cut back to 50c. Not only that; we've now seen the Victorian state government cut their maintenance budget by two-thirds. You will never ever get your goods to market efficiently and effectively unless you have the proper infrastructure: the road infrastructure and the rail infrastructure. You also need to make sure that your airports are continuing to grow and develop. The failure on infrastructure from both the Albanese Labor government and the state Labor government is nothing short of shameful.

We've got free trade agreements, which are wonderful because they help you efficiently get your goods and services to market overseas, but you've got to make sure that your domestic market is also working efficiently and effectively. That is where my great concern is at the moment as to what is happening in this nation. If you can't do that efficiently and effectively, it doesn't matter how good your free trade agreements are; it will still, in the end, handcuff your exporters. We don't need that occurring at the moment, because people are doing it really tough, whether it be our farmers or our export businesses. We've seen the latest data as to what is happening to small business across this country. It's collapsing. Yet they're the engine room of the exports that we deliver right across the globe.

Adding the UK into the CPTPP is a welcome development. I will say it was the coalition government that did the hard yards, the lifting in negotiating the Australia-UK FTA, that has led us here. It is great to see those opposite recognise the wonderful work that the coalition government did with the Australia-UK FTA. I know that the trade minister, Don Farrell, sings from the rafters every time he talks about the Australia-UK FTA, in making sure that he recognises and acknowledges that it was the coalition that negotiated and signed the agreement. I know that he's singing from the rafters about that having led to the UK acceding to the CPTPP, which is also wonderful, but—I'll go back to that other point—we should not lose sight of how important it is to make sure the domestic environment enables our exporters to do their job and go on and export. We all know how many jobs are created with regard to us exporting to the rest of the world. If we get our free trade agreements right and get our domestic infrastructure environment right, we can make sure that we will continue to be a great exporting nation.

Question agreed to.

Bill read a second time.

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