Zed Seselja (ACT, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I am very pleased that Senator Bilyk, having criticised people for attacking the person, spent all of her time attacking the person! She spent all of her time attacking the person, can I say, falsely. I want to go through a couple of the issues that Senator Bilyk touched on, including the G20, and the free trade agreement—though not in any detail. Both Fairfax and News Limited publications have been praising what has come out of the G20. Let's read Mark Kenny's take on the G20:

Leaders from the world's 20 largest economies have committed to historic levels of cooperation and transparency in a bid to dramatically raise growth, lift millions of people out of poverty, and propel up to 100 million women into the worldwide workforce for the first time.

Brisbane's G20 summit concluded … with agreements to close tax loopholes used by multinationals, improve trade, encourage the setting of early emissions reduction targets, strengthen banks, reform energy markets including gas, and coordinate a stronger response to the Ebola epidemic.

In one of the most conclusive G20 summits held, leaders adopted the Brisbane Action Plan which contains over 800 firm economic reforms to be undertaken domestically by member states in the hope of turbo-charging economic growth.

That is not a bad outcome by a G20 led by Australia. Instead of the Labor Party bagging Australia and bagging the leadership, they should acknowledge what most people would see as absolute fact—that this was a highly successful G20 summit, ably led by our Prime Minister, Tony Abbott, ably led by the Australian government.

We have heard questions on the free trade agreement between Australia and China. Again, both Fairfax and News Limited are praising what we are about to see in that free trade agreement. I think this will be a historic moment. Unfortunately, those on the other side simply could not get it done, so they seek to bag it. We can again quote from Mark Kenny:

… the first termer's—

referring to Prime Minister Abbott—

record on trade is unprecedented. Before even reaching the half-way mark of his first stint, Abbott has crashed through the wall of inertia and the tangle of befuddling technical difference that has stopped many before him, to conclude crucial free trade agreements with our most important partners.

This year alone, he has signed landmark bilateral trade agreements with Japan and Korea, ending years of deadlocked negotiations. Ably assisted by … Trade Minister Andrew Robb, whose commitment to staying the course is admired in trade circles world-wide, Abbott has succeeded where those before him failed to make ground. The secret ingredient is no secret at all: purpose.

Debate interrupted.

Sitting suspended from 15:20 to 17:00

As I was saying before the break, I think there is much to celebrate in the outcomes of the G20, including—and this is something I did not get to mention before the break—the new global infrastructure hub. I think this is a fantastic initiative and I think it is fantastic that it is through Australia's leadership that it has been established and that it will be based in Sydney. That is another win.

I will briefly touch on the free trade agreement. It was great to hear President Xi speaking about this in the other place, speaking about the very important ties between our two nations. I thought there was much we could take from that speech, as well as from Prime Minister Tony Abbott's speech. I have to say that I think the partisan note in the opposition leader's speech was unfortunate and unhelpful. I do not think it is appropriate, when we are hosting a major world leader, to get that kind of partisan speech from Bill Shorten.

The opportunities arising out of the free trade agreement are endless. I thought Paul Kelly's piece on the weekend highlighted what a major breakthrough this would be—not just for our agricultural and mining sectors but particularly for services. Given the growth we are seeing in the Chinese middle class, the services sector is where massive opportunities lie. The middle class is already there, it is already massive, it is already prosperous and it is only going to grow. As a result, we will see opportunities in education and financial services. I see opportunities for our nation and I see opportunities for Canberra, for my home city—a place that is excellent at delivering services. We already have many exporters in this space. I commend the government for this free trade agreement. I think it will help to create great opportunities for our nation. (Time expired)