Anne Ruston (SA, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for International Development and the Pacific) Share this | Hansard source

The very basis of a trade arrangement that you enter into with another country is to enhance the economic benefit to both of the countries by allowing freer access to the other country's economy to trade with it. Equally, Australian companies will be afforded the same access and the same privilege in the countries that we are seeking to trade with. Overall, obviously, the Australian government is of the view that we've seen such extraordinary success for the farmers, whom I know you're very much supporting, as am I, from the trading agreements that we've put in place and the benefits that are delivered from that. The government has made a clear assessment, through a series of appropriate tools and modelling, that the benefit to Australia of these free trade agreements and everything that goes with them is in the national interest. So, in anything that you're prosecuting, if you suggest that there is any change on this side of the equation within Australia, the benefits are delivered to our businesses who are seeking to trade and send our goods to their countries.

Australia is an exporting nation. We're not ever going to get rich selling to ourselves. It is tremendously important that governments put in place the market mechanisms by which we can enable our farmers and our businesses to trade with the rest of the world. Part of that arrangement is allowing our friendly partners to have access to our marketplace to provide the goods and services that the Australian public often demands. I don't mean to sit here giving you a lecture on free trade. Obviously, you've got your opinion, but the fact of the matter is that the Australian government believes that these free trade arrangements are in the best interests of Australian producers, Australian businesses and the Australian public.