Damian Drum (Nicholls, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Agriculture, Drought, and Emergency Management. Will the minister outline to the House how the Morrison-McCormack government's historic Australia-UK free trade deal will strengthen our economy by delivering more jobs and business opportunities to Australians through increases in export opportunities for agricultural goods, benefiting Australian farmers and regional communities.

David Littleproud (Maranoa, National Party, Minister for Agriculture, Drought and Emergency Management) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Nicholls for his question. He above anyone else would know the importance and the gravity of last night's UK free trade agreement.

Mr McCormack interjecting—

It's an historic agreement, as you say, Deputy Prime Minister. It builds on the other 14 free trade agreements that we've put in place that are supporting Australian agriculture. It's quite fitting that that agreement was signed last night, because today ABARES finalised the Australian agricultural export numbers, and it is $47 billion. The exciting thing is that they are now estimating for next year—despite not having signed the free trade agreement with the UK—and they are saying that it will go to nearly $50 billion next year. That's why we are continuing to put support around our exporters to be able to do it simpler and easier—digitising our export systems so they can do it easier, getting rid of physical certificates and making sure that there's only one application. We're also putting more boots on the ground: 22 men and women in high commissions and embassies around the world getting market access. Can I say to the agricultural councillor in the UK, who was working with the trade minister and DFAT officials: thank you, on behalf of the department of agriculture and on behalf of farmers. They were at the forefront of ensuring this agreement came to fruition. That is the real investment that has been made that is getting real results for people on the ground.

We need to understand that they are getting real results and they are changing people's lives. The perfect example of that is to go to Central Queensland and to look at the story of Blair and Josie Angus, who live just west of Rockhampton. They were impacted when the high-quality beef quota was taken away from Australia and given to the US. But they continued to invest in their product and they decided to invest in a new abattoir on their property west of Rockhampton—not just producing but processing beef to send it into the UK. What this agreement means is that we have gone from just over 4,669 tonnes to now having a tariff-free quota of 35,000 tonnes. That underpins their business model. That is underpinning the jobs—the real, tactile jobs—that are going to turn up in central west Queensland. These are the real jobs that will drive regional and rural Australia, because, of the 334,000 Australians employed in agriculture, three in every four jobs are related to trade. What this has done is put the environment around those courageous Australians—those great Australians like Blair and Josie, who are putting their own money on the line—to have a go, to back themselves, to back their products and to back our country.

This is for all of our agricultural producers out there and, on indulgence, Mr Speaker, particularly to those wonderful women in the gallery today as part of NFF's Diversity in Agriculture Leadership program. This will benefit them. This is the real story of agriculture and the people who will benefit from it.