Trevor Evans (Brisbane, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) condemns the Queensland Government for its statement: 'the State Government would no longer be constrained or bound by free trade agreements';

(2) notes that:

(a) Australia's trade agreements guarantee Queensland businesses preferential access to Chile, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Singapore, and the United States markets;

(b) Queensland's exports were worth $62.6 billion to the state's economy in 2015-16;

(c) in April 2017, the Queensland Treasurer stated: 'one in five jobs in our state relies on our export performance'; and

(d) the Queensland Government's decision to not abide by its international commitments threatens the access Queensland exporters have to international markets and the jobs that rely on them; and

(3) calls on the Queensland Government to honour its commitments and abandon its anti-trade position to ensure that Queensland export businesses do not lose access to these crucial global markets.

Populism is on the march again around the world and, indeed, in Australia, and it seems the Labor Party in Queensland is very happy to engage in it with the state election just around the corner. Populism is shorthand for protectionism—the antitheses of trade. Our country is our sanctuary, yet we should never be isolationist or inward looking. We should be wary of those who want to again put up the walls, either metaphorical or physical, between nations and people. We should never, ever forget that, over the history of humankind, every sustainable gain in our standard of living has come about from skills, specialisation and trade. The benefits of free trade should need no introduction, yet it seems we need to reiterate the value of trade at every possible opportunity, even if it is just for the benefit of those opposite.

Trade promotes peace. It creates jobs. It stokes investment. It breaks down borders and misunderstanding, and, most importantly, it brings prosperity—sustainable prosperity. Over half a billion people in the Asia-Pacific region have been raised out of abject poverty in recent years, almost entirely as a result of the benefits of trading. Yet, in my home state of Queensland, Labor seems blind not only to the economic history but even to the part of economic history that we're currently living in. In a press release just last month, the Queensland Labor Premier said:

In an Australian first, Cabinet agreed the State Government would no longer be constrained or bound by free trade agreements …

Even worse, in correspondence, the Queensland Labor Minister for Housing and Public Works said:

… we're breaking the Turnbull LNP Government's trade agreements, and they aren't happy. But I couldn't give a toss.

Probably most telling, though, is the way that the Labor Premier is repeatedly quoted, in The Courier Mail, stating that trade doesn't make sense.

Even by Labor's new standards, these statements are a troubling indication of the direction of their party and their policies. Yet, the hypocrisy! The very day before the Labor Premier declared that her government would no longer be bound by these free trade agreements, the Premier wrote to the federal trade minister and said, 'The Queensland government works very closely with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to promote free trade agreements to benefit Queensland.' Last year, the Premier wrote to Minister Ciobo, wanting the Queensland government to be bound by the revised Singapore-Australia Free Trade Agreement. And that seems to be the track record: every commitment on every government procurement decision Australia has ever made and every free trade agreement involving Queensland has been made with the strong written support of the Queensland government. Barefaced political hypocrisy! It's another case of Labor saying one thing in Brisbane city, when they're talking to other governments or exporters, or in the boardrooms, and quite another thing when they're talking to suburban and regional voters and fishing for populist votes.

That sort of hypocrisy doesn't go unnoticed. I can report that two of our major trading partners have raised the matter with the Australian government. The New Zealand trade minister has said publically:

… it's not how trade works — it's a little bit crazy …

The New Zealand government, in the strongest possible terms, has expressed its concern about the developments in Queensland.

Labor don't seem to understand how prosperity is generated; they don't seem to understand trade. They may think that populism might win them a few votes, but let's consider what that policy would cost Queenslanders. Queensland makes more from exporting than it pays in importing. Every Queenslander's prosperity is underpinned by competitive export industries, tapping into huge export markets and potential, particularly across the Asia-Pacific region we're in. Exports are worth well over $60 billion a year and are growing at about three times the rate of the economy as a whole. More than 60 per cent of Queensland's exports go to countries with which Australia has a free trade agreement, and about half a million jobs in Queensland are supported by free trade. I'm happy to quote the Queensland Treasurer himself:

We estimate one in five jobs in Queensland are supported through trade …

The decision by the state Labor government to act in a way that is inconsistent with Australia's free trade agreements puts at risk the very export opportunities that we have in front of us. For the sake of our exporters—indeed, for all Queenslanders—Labor need to abandon their ludicrous policy. Dusting off the old red megaphone of populism might give a good airing to some grievances, but Queensland Labor do not have the answers that Queenslanders deserve.

Sharon Bird (Cunningham, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Vocational Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is the motion seconded?

Bert Van Manen (Forde, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I second the motion and reserve my right to speak.

Graham Perrett (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on this disgraceful, spineless motion moved by the member for Brisbane about the Queensland government's 'buy Queensland' procurement policy. I notice that the member for Brisbane is echoing the words of the Queensland trade minister, Minister Ciobo, who came out in support of the New Zealand trade minister last week. I didn't see the member for Brisbane or the trade minister wearing their All Blacks jerseys this week. I thought they were Queenslanders! I thought they were supposed to stand up for Queensland. I'm proud to do that. I know that, in his speech, the member for Brisbane quoted the New Zealand trade minister. I think he should actually have a look at what the Queensland government's about—looking after Queenslanders. Far from condemning the Queensland government's policy, the Queensland government should be congratulated on this visionary job-creating initiative. Because Labor governments do not and should not ever apologise for putting Queensland businesses first and for putting Queensland jobs first. We wear maroon jerseys, Member for Brisbane, not All Blacks jerseys. As Anna Bligh said before Cyclone Yasi, 'We're a little bit different up here, but we're proud to be a little bit different'—

Terri Butler (Griffith, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

That's right.

Graham Perrett (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I know the member for Griffith is from Far North Queensland. I'm married to a North Queenslander. I thought the trade minister was actually from Far North Queensland as well, but he seems to have forgotten it and transferred over to New Zealand. There is a bit of a rash of that: people leaving Queensland and taking up support for New Zealand. I'm not sure who they're going to vote for in the coming New Zealand elections, but maybe I'll have to give a bit of advice to the Deputy Prime Minister—hopefully, he is supporting the Labor candidate Jacinda Ardern in the New Zealand elections.

I know I will be supporting Queensland, and it might be a little bit difficult for those people not from North Queensland or Queensland to understand how important it is that we focus on Queensland. In particular, anyone that has any connection with Far North Queensland understands the devastation that comes after a tropical cyclone. I know that the member for Herbert would well understand how economies can be devastated after a cyclone. And I would have thought the member for Brisbane, if he had any sense of history—if we look at what happened after 2011 and the floods that devastated inner city Brisbane as well—would know we need to focus on Queensland jobs, because our economy took a hammering. The Palaszczuk government has worked with businesses to address this problem.

The Queensland government's multibillion dollar Queensland procurement strategy and policy will create jobs and opportunities for Queensland—not Kiwis, not South Australians or people from New South Wales, but Queenslanders. This Australia-first policy proudly puts Queenslanders first. We are spending $14 billion a year buying supplies and services, because that is what the Queensland government does, with $4 billion of that invested in infrastructure, building and maintaining the state's roads.

We understand that this is a great policy. Don't take my word for it; take the word from that left-wing think tank, the Queensland chamber of commerce and industry. Now, I'm not quoting from the Auckland Chamber of Commerce; I'm actually quoting from the Queensland chamber of commerce and industry. They have called it a:

… multi-billion dollar shot in the arm for the state's small business and for every region of Queensland.

They also said:

Critics of the policy will label it as anti-competitive and restrictive, CCIQ sees it as levelling the playing field so that the small businesses who employ over 2 million Queenslanders can compete on service and not just be undercut on price.

Labor is sticking up for small business, forgotten by those opposite, who are quite happy to be photographed in front of a tank saying, 'Bring some jobs to Queensland,' this morning but won't actually do the hard yards when it comes to actual policy.

The Palaszczuk government knows how important it is to support businesses that provide jobs to Queensland. I was with Premier Palaszczuk on 14 July when we announced how Labor is working to secure Queensland as the location for Rheinmetall Defence Australia's Military Vehicle Centre of Excellence. Those people standing in front of Parliament House today are late to the game. The Queensland government has already been over in Germany, negotiating with Rheinmetall to make sure that these jobs come to Queensland. They are standing out front, looking for a photo opportunity, and then coming in here criticising the fact that we're going to actually create jobs. This $5 billion Army contract to build up to 10,000 new-generation army vehicles could be a significant coup for Queensland. I would hope those opposite will actually do the right thing. We know that Queensland gets devastated by cyclones, and I would hope that those opposite, who represent Queenslanders, know that we need to do more. Rather than spending $122 million on an unnecessary, non-binding, voluntary postal survey, invest in Queensland.

Bert Van Manen (Forde, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Well, it's interesting to follow the contribution from the member for Moreton. He's normally better than that. There was very little substance in that: he repeated the same line about 50 times. So, for the edification of the member for Moreton, in the electorate I represent, manufacturing industries are up in arms about the risk this creates to their businesses, not just to New Zealand but to many parts of Asia.

I join my colleague and thank the member for Brisbane for bringing this motion to the House. I join my colleague today in condemning a ridiculous and provocative policy, adopted by the Queensland state Labor government.

This Buy Queensland policy's a sham. It implies support for Queensland workers and their industries, and it sounds as though this government is putting Queensland first, but I'm sad to say this is not even close to the truth. The heart of this bogus proposal is Labor's contempt for trade agreements that boost our economic activity every year and the very arrangements that have made Queensland—my home state—a star in the export industry. As a sitting cabinet minister of the Queensland state Labor government said recently, this state Labor government 'couldn't give a toss' about Australia's free trade agreements. Potentially throwing away 500,000 Queensland jobs that depend on trade just shows the contempt they have. The state government have said they'll 'no longer be constrained or bound by free trade agreements'. They say they are proud of muddying Australia's name and its reputation at an international level.

The crux of this matter is that Queensland makes more from exporting than it does from importing. Walking away from trade would cost the Queensland economy over $21 million a year—our trade surplus. Perhaps state Labor are still feeling the need to come up with something that sounds good just as they hit the downhill run to the next election. For the member for Springwood, who made the comment that he doesn't give a toss, I hope that the LNP candidate in Springwood, Julie Talty, holds him well and truly to account for his contempt for export jobs in his electorate. I know we see this approach from Labor all the time at a federal level, but when we see it from state Labor, who demonstrate once again their incapacity to govern Queensland, Queenslanders have a right to be dismayed at the views of this government.

I was speaking last week to Teys Australia, who employ 800 people in my electorate of Forde. With export markets in Japan, Korea and China, they are concerned that this will lead to a loss of confidence in export markets for their products. As I said, they employ over 800 people. Teys' corporate affairs manager called the proposal 'simplistic politics' that fails to show even a basic understanding of how trade works in this country. He said the business relies on the removal of non-tariff trade barriers, which are the biggest impediment to the Queensland company's global competitiveness. I regularly go to other companies that are exporting to the globe and manufacturing top-quality products that compete anywhere.

We can't stand by and let this Queensland state government continue to pursue a policy that is not in the interests of Queenslanders. If the Palaszczuk government proceeds and breaches Australia's free trade agreement, our trading partners will have the opportunity to take retaliatory action and increase barriers to trade. Imagine if one of our trading partners, like Korea, decided to follow Labor and embrace protectionism over trade and apply a 30 per cent penalty on sugar coming from Australia. This would be catastrophic to our cane farmers. The New Zealand trade minister, when he travelled to Australia, raised his concerns personally with this government.

Furthermore, it's not just our exporters who will lose out if this goes ahead. Organisations in my electorate who trade globally are concerned that jobs will be lost. This policy is a complete sham.

Terri Butler (Griffith, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It's quite bewildering to me that we have these Liberal Party MPs coming into this House and actually choosing to oppose a policy setting that puts Queenslanders first. I would've thought they would've wanted to talk about almost anything else except the Buy Queensland policy that the Palaszczuk government has introduced in Queensland. I would've thought they would've been running away from the idea of standing up and opposing Queensland jobs and opposing providing business to Queensland small businesses. Of course, providing additional work for Queensland small businesses and supporting additional Queensland jobs is exactly what the Buy Queensland policy does. We have people on the Labor side standing up for Queensland jobs and Queensland small businesses, and, in pretty staggering display, people on the Liberal and National side are doing the opposite: coming in here and opposing a 'buy Queensland' policy that puts Queensland first. It is just deeply disturbing.

What we have heard from them today is how unhappy New Zealand is about the fact that the Queensland Government Procurement Strategy is going to favour Queensland businesses and Queensland workers. The member for Moreton was right: are we are going to see people wearing All Blacks jerseys in parliament next? I'm happy to wear my Maroons jersey around. You've seen me in it, Madam Deputy Speaker Bird. Being a New South Welshwoman yourself, I know the Maroons jersey is not your immediate choice, but I certainly I love to wear mine—particularly given we won the State of Origin again this year, I might add. Apparently the Liberals think it's a really good idea to be wandering around in All Blacks jerseys, because that is what they are doing now, in a metaphorical sense.

I love New Zealand; I'm a big fan of New Zealand. But I will not criticise the Queensland Labor government for putting Queenslanders first when it comes to procurement policy. When the Premier announced this policy, she said:

From 1 September 2017, the Government’s new Queensland Procurement Strategy will apply whenever your government purchases goods and services, commissions major projects and infrastructure, or builds the schools, housing and other facilities that each of our regional communities need.

This new strategy builds on opportunities to advance Queensland, to seek out opportunities and deliver more for our local regions.

Our new Procurement Strategy will ensure we invest public funds to deliver lasting value.

The Government’s multi-billion-dollar investment in goods and services will be directed to benefiting as many Queensland businesses and workers as possible.

…   …   …

It will support genuine local jobs, by demonstrating a commitment to those businesses that share our commitment to Queenslanders. It will deliver greater transparency in procurement planning across agencies and it will be backed up by a … compliance and coordination unit. It will put Queenslanders first.

This policy says that from 1 September 2017, the government's procurement policy will define a local supplier as a business that maintains a workforce within a 125-kilometre radius of where goods or workers are needed. That's important because we're not just talking Brisbane-based suppliers when it comes to jobs in North Queensland, Far North Queensland or western Queensland; it is genuinely local suppliers who are based in the local area. If you're a local supplier within that definition, the policy says that you'll get a weighting of up to 30 per cent on any tender that you lodge for a significant procurement. So it's still a competitive process and there's still rigorous testing. It just gives them an opportunity to level the playing field with foreign firms.

The policy will also require at least one local or regional supplier and one other Queensland-based business to be invited to quote or tender for every procurement opportunity offered—a very sensible proposal from this government. For significant infrastructure projects of $100 million or more, the procurement process will require the use of local subcontractors and manufacturers where the local capability and capacity exists. In the situation of significant projects, it will require that 15 per cent or more be expended on apprenticeships, which is up from the current 10 per cent. Importantly, this policy will deliver a more visible pipeline of opportunities for Queensland businesses so they can plan to get together the capability and capacity to deliver projects and to have a competitive opportunity to tender for these projects.

There are plenty of other components to this procurement policy, but all we are hearing from this government and its members in this place are complaints—complaints about the fact that Labor is putting Queenslanders first, complaints about the fact that Labor is standing up for local jobs, complaints about the fact that Labor is standing up for Queensland small businesses. Frankly, it is pretty staggering to see federal MPs from the Liberal and National parties come into this place and argue against Queensland's interests and in support of the interests of other jurisdictions. I think they should all go and take a good hard look at themselves, Madam Deputy Speaker.

David Littleproud (Maranoa, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Can I congratulate the member for Brisbane for bringing this to parliament's attention, particularly this frightening aspect that the state Labor government has brought upon Queensland. It really shows the populism and simplistic nature of the Labor Party in Queensland in trying to run an economy. Running an economy is a little more complicated than just populism. In fact, I think if One Nation were to have a member in the lower house, they would be here with their Labor friends espousing this type of policy; supporting it. This is tin-foil-hat methodology in terms of running an economy. It is far more complicated than just having this simplistic notion around what trade and local procurement is. I'm all for buying local, but we live in a global world. We live in a global economy, one in which we are all part of and one in which we are all benefiting from.

The fact is that the Labor people on the other side are making this notion that the only way to create jobs is by having a local procurement policy—that's nonsense. International trade creates jobs. The reality is that there are 500,000 people in Queensland directly employed because of the trade agreements that we put in place. We have a trade surplus of $12 billion, and you want to put that at risk? That's nonsense. This is simplistic politics gone mad, and it's dangerous for the Australian people and it's dangerous for the people in my electorate of Maranoa.

In the electorate of Maranoa, we are so reliant on the trade policies and agreements that we have put in place with Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Singapore and China. These are the agreements that are putting real wealth in the pockets of each and every person in Maranoa and that are creating the wealth. The story of Maranoa at the moment is that it has had rain. The trade agreements that we put in place are allowing them to get real money in their pockets every time they settle their commodities.

We are in the grips of drought in the central west of my electorate. Twelve months ago I went and visited a lady who was running a farming operation—cattle. She was keeping her breeding stock alive—about 200 breeding stock. Her husband had been away earning an off-farm income for over two years. She only sees him once or twice a year because he is working 800 kilometres away. As I went around with her, we talked about the future of agriculture. I said to her while we were doing a feed run: 'Do you really see a future in this?' With tears in her eyes she said, 'I sure do. Mate, I don't even know what politics you are, but the only person that is important to me in this country in the political world is the trade minister because I know that when the rain comes, all the work, all that my husband and I have sacrificed, will be worth it, because there is real money in what we have been doing. We are going to see the returns and the benefits of that.' That is a real-life story of someone in the depths of despair that understands the global world that we live in. That is something that I think is real.

But then, if you want to take it to the next level, in my hometown of Warwick we are now seeing an investment by this federal government through a Better Building Regions Fund a $5 million investment that will help build a cold storage facility to export beef around the world. An extra $111 million will be added to our exports because of this investment. But, more importantly—this is the real kicker—there will be 150 new direct jobs and 138 indirect jobs, and 80 jobs during the construction. This myth that the only way that we can create jobs is through a procurement policy is nonsense. This is a real trade agreement that is going to add jobs and 150 new families to my community of Warwick of 12,000 people. That is over a 1 per cent increase in the population. That is real economic growth. That's where the rubber hits the road, and that's because we are producing what the world wants. The world has an insatiable appetite for what we are producing right here now.

The reality is that trade will continue to create those jobs in the communities of Warwick and have flow-on effects. We will need more teachers, we will need nurses and we will need more doctors. It has a flow-on effect. That creates real benefits to people in my electorate of Maranoa. That's how we can participate in the global economy. That's what this is about. This is not taking simplistic, absolutely populous policy, to the nth degree that puts at risk the livelihoods and jobs of people in my electorate. That's just plain dumb. It's something that I would've expected from One Nation—to have the tin foil hat on. To try to create a mechanism that will destroy the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of people, particularly in my electorate, is something I can never support.

Milton Dick (Oxley, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I relish the opportunity to enter this debate today to highlight the hypocrisy from the LNP. I've got a lot of time for the member for Maranoa and the member for Brisbane, but they've been caught drinking the IPA Kool Aid on this one. Once upon a time, members from the bush, and all of those regional members, would have stood up for local jobs, but not on this occasion. It's amazing that this government—normally engaged in 'the hunger games' that it can't spend five minutes not ripping itself apart—can now not come up with a policy about procurement for jobs in Australia and can not come up with a policy about buying locally here in Australia. Instead, it is attacking the Queensland government.

The members opposite today have outlined a plan to deal with this state government policy, which is more interested, sadly, in fighting for jobs and small businesses in New Zealand than actually fighting for jobs in Queensland. I say that is a real shame on the side of the LNP. But don't take my word for it—let's look at what the advice on this policy announced by the Palaszczuk government is. The Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Queensland, when talking about the policy about Buy Queensland, says:

The chamber sees it as levelling the playing field, so that small businesses who employ over 2 million Queenslanders can compete on service and not just undercut on price.

Why is the LNP giving up on jobs in Queensland? Why is the LNP more worried about what's happening in New Zealand than what's actually happening in our own backyard?

I say congratulations to the Palaszczuk Labor government for standing up for Queensland jobs and small businesses. This government has run out of steam and run out of puff. They're more interested in what's happening in New Zealand than—well, we're all interested in what's happening in New Zealand with the Deputy Prime Minister, but we all know today that their priorities are not in favour of Queensland first. The LNP has form on this in Queensland: they've never met a public servant that they haven't wanted to sack, they've never had a frontline service they didn't want to cut or an asset they wanted to sell. Cut, sack, sell! That's what the LNP is on about now—cut, sack, sell.

We know, when it comes to standing up for Queensland, that this LNP—every single member of this parliament—refused to stand up for and back Queensland when the government needed a hand. Regional Queenslanders needed a hand with Cyclone Debbie. They completely walked away from that. They are more interested in spending $122 million on a wasteful survey than $110 million helping North Queenslanders. It was the member for Herbert and Labor senators who fought to get a fair go so those communities can get rebuilt.

Instead, we have this nonsense from the LNP coming into this place, criticising a state government that wants to unapologetically have more jobs and more service delivery in the regions. For regional members to come in here and say, 'We're not worried about what's happening in our local communities. We're worried about what's happening in New Zealand. We're more worried about jobs offshore than jobs onshore.' I say to the people of Queensland: organisations like the chamber of commerce and industry are backing this policy in. You go on record at your peril, because we will be reminding Queenslanders—particularly in regional Queensland—that, when it came to debate and policy analysis, the LNP would not support a Queensland-first campaign.

We know, when it comes to delivery of infrastructure—when it comes to actually putting one's shoulder to the wheel—that the LNP are found wanting. We know that the federal government, as I said, won't pay half the cost of $110 million to help regional communities get back on track. All the mealy-mouthed excuses in the world won't cut it when it comes to delivering jobs on the ground. That's what Queenslanders want. I say to the Queensland state Labor government: 'Keep pushing ahead with this policy.' We want to see jobs on the ground in Queensland. We want the over two million small businesses supported directly through this policy.

We know that, when it comes to delivery on the ground in Queensland, the LNP are all over the place. When it comes to the former Nicholls-Newman government, we saw 24,000 people thrown on the scrap heap. We know that, when it comes to selling assets, the LNP can't be trusted. We know that, when it comes to delivering frontline services, the LNP can't be trusted. Thank heavens the people of Queensland have a Labor government that is restoring confidence, and restoring and delivering jobs here in Queensland.

Michelle Landry (Capricornia, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise in support of this motion and call on the Palaszczuk government to honour Australia's commitment to free trade. We all wish to see Queensland business grow and prosper, but jeopardising export industries is not the way to go about it. I welcome long-overdue moves to make doing business with the Queensland government easier but draw the line when this risks Central Queensland exports.

By their own admission, the Palaszczuk government spends $14 billion a year buying supplies and services. The value of Queensland exports is around $70 billion, over five times the value of government spend. Sixty per cent of these go to countries where we have a free trade agreement. Queensland is also a net exporter with a $21 million balance of trade. The Palaszczuk government's reckless pursuit of a vote is putting all of this in jeopardy. A 30 per cent 'buy local' weighting will push prices up while making sure Queensland business remains uncompetitive outside government procurement.

If Queensland Labor persists with this ludicrous idea, we can expect the $14 billion spend to increase to $18 billion. Where does the additional $4 billion come from? From the pockets of small business, from the budgets of mums and dads, from our electricity bills and through our car registrations. It was a Labor Prime Minister who stood in front of Australia and said that protectionism was 'contrary to prevailing wisdom'. Premier Palaszczuk, if you won't listen to reason, if you won't listen to the Minister for Trade, if you won't listen to signatories of our free trade agreements, then at least listen to the words of your own former leader. If you persist with unravelling the free trade agreements, you won't just be undoing the work of my colleagues Minister Ciobo and Minister Pitt, you won't just be undoing the work of your former Labor leader; you will be guaranteeing that Queensland businesses, already constrained by electricity price gouging and red tape, will be slammed with a 30 per cent penalty on exports.

Queensland business can grow and compete if you reduce the cost of doing business, not by initiating protectionist policies that belong in the 1950s. Yes, if Annastacia Palaszczuk and Jacqui 'Anti-trade' want to help Queensland business, they should be encouraging more trade, encouraging more investment, reducing the cost of compliance and reducing the cost of electricity so that Queensland businesses have a fighting chance and so they can compete on a global scale. But they want to rob Peter to pay Paul. I can tell you, Paul will only be hit with more hidden taxes to pay for the blunder, while Peter will have to sack all of his workers as exports dry up. They have already antagonised New Zealand, risking $5 billion in Queensland exports and the 20,000 jobs that go with it. When this was promoted as an absolute shot in the arm for small business, I can only assume it was to inject businesses with the same ignorance that the Labor Party is inhaling. The Labor Premier's argument for Queensland job protection is fundamentally flawed. By its very definition, trade is an exchange of goods and commodities; it is not a one-way street. It could jeopardise agreements with Chile, Japan, United States, Korea and New Zealand. It could jeopardise the deal with Singapore.

The Shoalwater Bay military expansion will be a game changer for my electorate of Capricornia. While the Palaszczuk government refuses to budge on water infrastructure, it is probably the only chance we have to diversify the economy. On one hand, the Premier wants federal intervention to protect export markets; while on the other she is doing everything she can to unravel the balance of trade. Either she wants to see exports from Central Queensland grow or she doesn't. Either she wants local businesses like Dobinsons Spring & Suspension to continue exporting to over 50 countries or she doesn't. If the Palaszczuk government had any economic acumen, it would understand the importance of free trade deals for regional economies. It would understand that in my electorate of Capricornia free trade deals underpin economic growth in agriculture, defence industry and tourism. But it doesn't; it doesn't understand economic development and it doesn't understand regional Queensland.

Susan Lamb (Longman, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

While this government says it knows how important jobs are to Australian people, I am confident that this government doesn't actually know why jobs are so important to Australian people. I am confident that it does not know how dire the situation is, particularly in Queensland regional centres, when it comes to jobs. I am confident because the members opposite, if they truly knew how bad things were under their administration, would not be standing idly by and doing nothing. Let's actual utilise the money that has spent the last two years tied up in the Northern Australia Infrastructure Fund to deliver infrastructure to Queensland regions—infrastructure that delivers jobs. They wouldn't have been sitting around; they would be using that money. But not one cent has been allocated.

I would strongly argue that the member for Brisbane is not the person to talk to about jobs in Queensland. I find it quite remarkable that he's not here in the chamber now. It's such an important motion for him to move, and he's not here to listen to debate. While we might think that he speaks for all of Queensland, I can tell you that he doesn't. In a state that covers an area of 1.85 million square kilometres, the minuscule inner-city fragment which the member represents is not typical of Queensland. The 58 square kilometres he represents is affluent, fortunate and overrepresented in the workplace. The area he represents is quite literally the CBD of Brisbane. Yet, not that far from his electorate—just an hour away if he jumped in the car or jumped on the Caboolture train line—he could find himself in my seat of Longman and he could see people struggling. They're struggling to find work and they're struggling to get by. Unemployment is incredibly high; underemployment is even higher. Workers are watching as their basic rights are being eroded under this Liberal-National government. Yet, in the inner-city seat, the minister has the gall to condemn a state government that's actually trying to protect its local workers. It's quite remarkable that the member for Brisbane didn't stay around for such an important motion. I would ask the member for Brisbane: is the range of your world view so limited that you can't see past your 58 kilometres? Can you not see that there are people living beyond your comfortable inner-city life?

I call on you to visit us in Longman. I will show you the struggles that people are facing just over the horizon. Or you could do what I did a few weeks ago and make the voyage up north to the member for Herbert's seat. That seat picks up great areas where lots of families live and try to raise their families up in Townsville. It's a seat that the member for Brisbane's government so often turns its back on despite continual pleas for support. I call on the member for Brisbane to do what I did: come and speak to workers, employers and local members. You know what: come and speak to unions. I promise the member for Brisbane that they won't bite. I can promise him that. If he does come to visit, he'll hear things. Just driving around the city, he'll see things. He'll see a city that's been hurt by unpredictable booms and busts, and the ebbs and flows of employment and job scarcity. He'll see the effects that temporary fly-in employers with their temporary fly-in fly-out workforce have had on this city.

Let me ask you, Deputy Speaker Bird: if I were to mention Townsville's local economy, where would you think of? You might think of Pimlico, Annandale, Douglas and maybe Hermit Park. Maybe your scope would reach a little further and you might think of the Hervey Range or Crystal Creek. I doubt you would think of places like Christchurch, Queenstown, Auckland or Dunedin if I asked you to think about Townsville. And yet workers from all over Australia and all over New Zealand are considered local workers. They are given local jobs and they are taking local money out from within the local economy. Furthermore, let's not forget the member for Brisbane's government's foolish endeavour to give Australian jobs to Chinese workers without true labour market testing through the Chinese free trade agreement. It was an agreement that initially lacked provisions to safeguard Australian jobs and that lacked provisions to safeguard Australian workers.

The Queensland government is doing incredible things, like the Back to Work Regional Employment Package, focusing on disadvantaged job seekers and providing an additional $15 million for a 10-year industry plan and road map. I would encourage the member for Brisbane to support the Queensland state government policy that is growing genuine local jobs. I would say to the member for Brisbane: stop wasting time with petty attacks and take some meaningful action that supports Queensland workers.

Sharon Bird (Cunningham, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Vocational Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The time allotted for this debate has expired. The debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting.