Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance) Share this | Hansard source

Let me say right up-front that the government does not accept the assertion made by Senator Patrick that we're putting job creation at risk through our approach to government procurement. In fact, if you look at the track record under this government, job creation is actually running very strongly, and the reason it's running very strongly is Australia's success as a trading nation where we have worked very hard to give Australian exporting businesses the best possible opportunity to sell Australian products and services in markets around the world. The global market, of course, is so much bigger than just the domestic Australian market. Whatever we do domestically in Australia, we need to be very mindful of the flow-on implications it could have for the strength of our economy, for investment and for jobs here in Australia if we get these decisions wrong.

The Australian government continues to support Australian business through the ongoing negotiation of free trade agreements in Australia's national interest, opening up new international markets for Australian businesses. We have already opened up major new markets to Australian businesses in China, South Korea and Japan while we continue to work on other agreements, including with Indonesia and the European Union.

In response to the report's 16 recommendations, the government supports in principle or supports in part six of the recommendations. We have noted two recommendations and we do not support the remaining eight recommendations. The key reasons for not supporting these eight recommendations are an inconsistency with Australia's trade obligations and a lack of evidence to suggest the need to introduce proposed additional regulation and red tape. In many cases, the intended outcomes within the recommendations are already addressed within the procurement framework, and adopting the recommendations would undermine the Commonwealth's capacity to achieve value for money and innovation by making procurement processes less competitive and flexible. The response reflects the government's commitment to building a stronger, more prosperous and resilient economy, where Australian businesses have the best possible opportunity to get ahead.