Andrew Broad (Mallee, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Last week I was fortunate to travel to South America on a self-funded trip. I was very impressed to see the agricultural soils of Argentina and to see the opportunities there but, in contrast, they had a government that shut down their beef exports. In contrast, they lost democracy. They had a government that did not capture the opportunities that were before them. Thirty per cent of the population of Argentina still live in poverty. I just want to say to the people in this House that the decisions that are made in this House mean whether or not we can capture prosperity. It is not just a matter of being lucky, it's not just a matter of having good soils and it's not just a matter of having good resources. It's actually a matter of having good government and of believing in democracy, of defending the things that we must uphold. So I say to the people in this chamber: we have a massive responsibility to ensure that we have market opportunities.

This government has signed free trade agreements with Korea, Japan, China, and signed the Trans-Pacific Partnership. We now have a free trade agreement with Peru that will allow us to export wheat to South America. It is the governance of this government which determines whether we will be lucky, whether we take an opportunity and turn it into prosperity. That's what our government is doing and why you can only trust us. Australians do not trust that side, do not think that prosperity just happens. It happens because of the decisions we make in this chamber, and the coalition government is delivering those decisions. (Time expired)

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In accordance with standing order 43, the time for members' statements has concluded.