Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Vice-President of the Executive Council) Share this | Hansard source

Firstly, I would make a very important point that I've made in this chamber many times before: don't always believe everything that is written in a newspaper and don't always believe every headline that is written in a newspaper, because, as every journalist in the gallery will tell you, they don't write the headlines. That's point No. 1.

Point No. 2 is that the Indonesia-Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement is a very important agreement. We were very pleased when President Widodo and our Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, were able to reach and form a conclusion to those negotiations during their meeting on 31 August 2018. But, as was always going to be the case, as is always the case with these sorts of processes, there is now a process underway to finalise the specific text of the agreement in both languages. That is the usual process. When that process has concluded, the agreement will be signed. The Indonesia-Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement—let me stress this again—will benefit both countries and is an important next step in what is an incredibly important and highly valued relationship.