Nola Marino (Forrest, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Will the Prime Minister update the House on how the government is opening up new markets for exporters across our country, and especially in my electorate of Forrest. How does the government's economic plan boost jobs and growth?

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Forrest for her questioned. I can inform her, as I hope all members of this House remember, that just last week we signed the free trade agreement between China and Australia, and under this free trade agreement fully 95 per cent of our exports to China will enter duty free, including so many of the exports from the wonderful electorate of Forrest. Beef will enter duty free, dairy will enter duty free, wine will enter duty free and most of our minerals will enter China duty free under this agreement. It is very good news for Australia. It is good for our exports. It means lower prices for consumer goods. More trade means more jobs. So it is good for Australian workers and it is good for growth.

This particular free trade agreement completes a historic trifecta of trade. I congratulate the absent Minister for Trade and Investment on his extraordinary work in this area, because some 55 per cent of our total goods and services exports are covered by these agreements and some 95 per cent of our exports to these markets will be duty free once the agreements are fully in place. Many Australian businesses are already seizing opportunities under these agreements. Our agreements with Korea and Japan are only months old, yet exports are booming. There has been a 26 per cent increase in frozen beef prime cuts to Korea and a massive 84 per cent increase in the same product to Japan in just 12 months. Australia now has 58 per cent of Japan's beef market. In the marvellous electorate of Forrest, Korean beef importers are now talking to Margaret River Premium Meat Exports about ways to boost exports of wagyu beef from Western Australia to Korea. Reid Fruits, in beautiful Tasmania, has boosted cherry exports to Korea more than 30-fold thanks to the elimination of a 24 per cent tariff. Wine exporters are looking to the future, like the head of Helm Wines, near Canberra, who says that the China free trade agreement 'will be fantastic for exporters'. There are pharmaceutical companies, there are advanced manufacturing companies—all of them looking forward to the total abolition of tariffs on their exports to China, Japan and Korea. We are supporting people who are having a go, building a strong and prosperous economy for a safe and secure Australia.