Dan Tehan (Wannon, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Small Business. Will the minister outline to the House how the government will help small businesses in my electorate and elsewhere in Victoria benefit from the signing of the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement?

Bruce Billson (Dunkley, Liberal Party, Minister for Small Business) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There is lots of excitement in the House about this question and I thank the member for Wannon for asking it. I can sense the excitement is there, because the trade agreement with China has opened up a world of delicious opportunities for businesses right across our country and particularly in the great state of Victoria. Hasn’t the Minister for Trade and Investment done a fantastic job? He has delivered the trade trifecta, and that warms the hearts of all of us in this place—particularly the heart of my fellow man from Albury, the former Minister for Trade and Deputy Prime Minister. What a great achievement. It has been recognised by ACCI—ACCI have congratulated Minister Robb and they have congratulated the Australian government on delivering this trade agreement between these two countries. The Australian Industry Group rightly has recognised that this agreement provides Australian businesses with more export and more investment opportunities by opening up access to the large Chinese market while also seeking to ensure that appropriate safeguards have been included for local industry.

It is so important to open these doors. Anyone who has ever been in business knows a simple fact—there is no substitute for customers. These agreements open the doors to hundreds of millions of potential customers, and that will grow jobs and economic opportunities in our country. It is not enough just to open the doors; we need to make sure that our businesses can take advantage of these outstanding trade agreements—not just businesses in Victoria, though they will benefit substantially, but businesses right across Australia. The groundwork has been laid. The Prime Minister led an outstanding trade delegation, with the minister for investment—I was happy to be a part of that—to China with hundreds of Australian businesses. We learned of the appetite and the desire for Australian goods and services from big Australian companies and from small Australian businesses. The appetite is there, but we needed to make sure that we had the capacity to deliver that potential.

That is what has been done with these agreements. But people are not left to their own devices. Support is available to make these opportunities our own. The government's decision to expand the Export Market Development Grants program gives another $50 million to support businesses to take advantage of these opportunities.

In the member's electorate, the Pyrenees Hay Processors Cooperative has benefited from the EMDG program. The AME Systems business is another example. We have also seen Efic focus its work on supporting small businesses. We have seen the private effort of businesses led by David Goodwin, for example, the Australian Made stores, opening hundreds of Australian retail presences in China to deliver that potential. This government has put in place the economic action strategy to build growth, to deliver reward, to make sure opportunity is within reach—not just opening the door but also providing the tools to make those opportunities real. More jobs, more trade—that is a stronger economy, that is what this government is on about.