Ian Goodenough (Moore, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Last week, on 6 September, the Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment introduced the Customs Amendment (Singapore-Australia Free Trade Agreement Amendment Implementation) Bill 2017 into parliament. The proposed legislation introduces a range of measures designed to simplify administration and reduce compliance costs for companies engaged in business, including new product-specific rules of origin for goods which are imported into Australia from Singapore. The Australia Singapore Exchange Conference mark 2 is being held at Suntec City in Singapore later this month, from 28 September to 1 October.

On behalf of the Australian parliament I would like to acknowledge the exemplary work of the organising committee, in particular Roy Yeo, Faith Tay, Paul De La Cruz, Nicholas Tay, Clinton Cheng, Livia Lai, Bryan Wee, Lily Phua, Denise Twigger and Jon Szeto.

In 2016, Australian investment in Singapore reached $61.5 billion, while Singaporean investment in Australia amounted to $99 billion. Australia will raise the Foreign Investment Review Board's screening threshold for private Singaporean investment in non-sensitive sectors from $252 million to just over a billion dollars.

In terms of services, Singapore is our third largest trading partner, with international services amounting to $10 billion annually. Singapore is our 11th largest trading partner for merchandise trade, with combined imports and exports totalling $12.6 billion in 2016. I look forward to promoting the sectors of the Western Australian economy which are attractive to Singaporean investment, including mining, resources and energy; hospitality and tourism; retail and wholesale; property development and land subdivision; and agriculture, food processing, agribusiness and fisheries. The Singapore-Northern Australia Agribusiness Development Partnership will attract Singaporean investment to develop northern Australia.

In terms of tourism, 709,000 Singaporeans visited Australia in 2016, and about one million Australians visited Singapore. Singaporeans will have exclusive access to new long-term, multiple-entry visas by 1 January 2018, making it easier to travel to Australia for business and pleasure. The visitor subclass 600 visa will allow travellers to visit Australia for up to three months at a time over a six-year period with a single application. Singapore and Australia have also made commitments on works rights on a reciprocal basis, including streamlined processes to facilitate temporary-entry and work permits for Australian business people. Australians will enjoy longer lengths of stay for independent executives, contractual service suppliers, intracorporate transferees and their families. It is up from two years to three years, with a maximum stay of up to 15 years.

Australia shares an important international relationship with Singapore as strategic partners within our region. Our nations also cooperate in the area of defence and intelligence, including doing joint military training exercises. We share an admiration for the nation building that has occurred over the past 50 years in terms of economic development, the transformation of Singapore into an international financial centre of commerce and the urbanisation of Singapore into a vibrant metropolis. We marvel at the construction of world-class port facilities, refineries, an efficient transport system and social reform, such as public housing and a universal superannuation scheme for its citizens. Australian visitors often remark on the cleanliness, sophistication and high standard of law and order. Singapore shares a heritage similar to our own, combining the British Westminster system with its own eastern philosophies and a strong work ethic. The future looks promising, with improved cooperation and stronger ties between our nations. The 2018 ASEAN Summit will be held in Australia with Singapore as the chair— (Time expired)