Peter Hendy (Eden-Monaro, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As members would be aware, since being elected to office the coalition government has pursued an aggressive trade and investment agenda aimed at putting in place the best possible settings for business to flourish. As the secretary of the coalition's trade and investment committee, I have a particular passion in seeing an expansion of Australia's trade agenda. That passion also stems from the time I worked heavily on trade issues when I was the chief executive of the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The government's agenda has led to the swift conclusion of three landmark bilateral trade agreements with major economies of North Asia—that is, with Korea, Japan and China. These are agreements that without the renewed focus of the coalition government and the dedication and talent of the Minister for Trade and Investment would not have been concluded. The agreements form a powerful trifecta which will open up so many doors for our goods, services and investment. Together, these agreements cover nations that account for over 62 per cent of Australia's export market and provide Australian businesses with greater access to more than 1.5 billion people.

In order to maximise the awareness of opportunities afforded to small to medium businesses across Australia, the Minister for Trade and Investment officially launched the government's free trade agreements national seminar series. The seminar series is designed to increase awareness within the business community of the agreements with Japan, Korea and China.

I am very pleased to report to the House that the very first of these seminars was held in my electorate of Eden-Monaro. The seminar held in Queanbeyan on Thursday, 9 April, was the first of an expected 200 to be rolled out across the country to ensure both existing and potential export businesses, large and small, understand the opportunities created by the agreements with Asia. The purpose of the seminars is to equip our local businesses with the information they need in order to take advantage of these agreements.

The seminar was very well attended—over 80 people—and it was pleasing to see such a high turnout of our local business people. I particularly want to thank Alan and Jenny Carpenter for providing the venue for the forum. Some of the other attendees from the local area were: Graham Baxter of the Southern Region Business Enterprise Centre; Michael Tisshaw from the National Australia Bank; small business people Anne Scott, Michelle Barron, Joshua Toohey and Georgianna Duggan; Paul Donaghue from Point n Putt Pty Limited; Noel McCann from Canberra Airport; Michael Keating from Keating Media; Mick Spencer from On the Go Sports; and Laurie McDonald from Furnished Industries Pty Limited. That list gives a sense of the wide variety of interest from different industry sectors for the opportunities that are unfolding.

It was also very pleasing to see so many of our region's mayors and councillors at the seminar, learning how they can assist their local communities in taking advantage of the opportunities afforded by the agreements. In attendance were: Mayor Tim Overall of Queanbeyan; Mayor Pete Harrison and Councillor Mark Schweikert of Palerang Shire; Mayor Michael Britten and Councillor Bill Taylor of Bega Valley Shire Council; and Mayor Lindsay Brown and Deputy Mayor Rob Pollock of Eurobodalla Shire Council.

Trade specialists from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Austrade, the Export Finance and Insurance Corporation, Australian Customs and Border Protection Service were on hand at the seminar to offer targeted advice and assistance on how to identify avenues for trade and navigate the export market.

Speaking at the seminar, Andrew Wales, of Australia's Oyster Coast in my Electorate, said the agreements have presented a whole new world of opportunity for the seafood industry. He noted that: 'We began exploring offshore markets for our organisation last year. The free trade agreements with Asia have certainly given us that extra incentive to ramp up our international strategy in that part of the world, given all three agreements provide significant tariff cuts for our product'.

These agreements are a key part of the government's economic strategy. They provide huge potential markets that can be taken up in rural and regional electorates like my own. The great deals in the agricultural industries are obvious; from wool to beef to dairy to fishing to a multitude of other activities. Eden-Monaro is already a significant exporter of wool products from the Monaro. Forestry products from the New South Wales south coast and the Bombala Shire are also key exports or potential exports. Fishing and oyster exports have huge potential. Beef products are being exported now from Cooma. And being the home of Bega Cheese means dairy exports are very important. All these existing industries will further prosper with the new agreements.