Arthur Sinodinos (NSW, Liberal Party, Cabinet Secretary) Share this | Hansard source

I am happy to arrange a briefing for the senator with people from the office of the trade minister and any legal advisers you want who will verify what I am saying, what Mr Robb, the trade and investment minister, is saying, about the safeguards that have been built into these processes. These safeguards are very important, in terms of public policy areas that I mentioned, like health and the environment. There will be no capacity for whether it is the most favoured nation clause or any other clause to cut across our capacity to legislate in that public interest.

Let me remind you that it was this Prime Minister, Mr Turnbull, and the trade minister, Mr Robb, who stood up to the full force of the US trade representative, the White House and the President on issues like biologics and got a deal, which reflects our circumstances and guarantees that our pharmaceutical prices, our health related prices, will not go up as a result of doing this deal.