Joel Fitzgibbon (Hunter, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Agriculture and Resources) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. What is the government doing to assist barley growers and red meat producers affected by recent trade restrictions announced by China and to protect the thousands of jobs currently at risk, including abattoir workers in southern Queensland and northern New South Wales?

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Like all members of this chamber, we hold concerns for the way this issue is being progressed at this point in time. This is a matter that the government has been raising now for a considerable period of time and, in fact, I've done so on several occasions in my direct meetings with the Premier Li Keqiang, most recently late last year. So this is an issue, as the member would be aware, that has been running for some time in relation to antidumping. Of course, we reject any suggestion of those matters being relevant to Australia's exports, particularly of barley.

Australian agriculture is not one that is supported by subsidy. It is one supported by the ingenuity and good management of the Australian agricultural sector, so any suggestion that Australia's agricultural exports are the subject of some sort of government subsidisation is completely and utterly rejected. And these are the very points that we make directly as part of the comprehensive strategic partnership that was able to be concluded by this government many years ago. And we are continuing to use the channels of that relationship and that partnership to progress these matters, as well as directly with the relevant authorities in China, regarding their antidumping review in relation to barley. Similarly, the matters in relation to abattoirs are also being progressed. Those matters relate to what are claimed to be paperwork and administration issues in relation to Australia's meat exports, and we will continue to advocate and set out Australia's case very, very clearly.

Let me be very clear about one thing: Australia stands very firmly behind our agricultural producers and we also stand firmly about where we see the role of the Australian economy in the broader world. We have great confidence in our outward look as a trading nation, and we engage with all partners in good faith with the purpose of ensuring the increase in global trade. That is the basis for our relationship with the Chinese government. When it comes to our comprehensive strategic partnership, it works across many different areas. It has been a highly successful agreement, but, from time to time, there will be differences of views about those issues, and we'll seek to progress them in a very constructive way in the national interest—always in the national interest.