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

I thank Senator Duniam for his question and his ongoing interest in matters of tourism, trade and investment, all very important to the great state of Tasmania, which under its Liberal state government and a munificent federal government is going really great guns. Before I begin my answer, I say it has been literally a year and a day since the opposition have asked me a question about trade. But I can report that the economy is diversifying. Our services sector is picking up the slack. It now represents over 70 per cent of our gross domestic product and employs four out of five Australians. Many Australian service companies are small- and medium-size enterprises in states like Tasmania and are involved in a range of industry sectors like tourism, education, IT and transport.

While services are playing a crucial role in our domestic economy, they are also stepping up to the mark when it comes to exports, although we can do better than the current proportion, which is that the services sector accounts for around 20 per cent of our total exports. We have a big opportunity here to grow our service exports. That opportunity is being provided by the ambitious trade agenda laid down by the great Andrew Robb and now being followed so competently by Mr Ciobo in the other place. Our services sector will have a significant advantage in capturing the gains from the growth in Asia's middle class, because incomes are rising and, as incomes rise, so goes up the demand for services—particularly more sophisticated services. It is projected the Asian middle class will grow from 600 million today to three billion by 2030, and we will be seeking out opportunities even further afield, from Indonesia to Europe.

The early report card on this government's economic plan and ambitious trade agenda shows that we are getting runs on the board.