Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Trade) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Brockman for his question and his ever-vigilant determined advocacy on behalf of Australia's exporters. The decisions that the Morrison government has been taking to protect lives, sadly, do threaten in many of their applications not just livelihoods but also the very viability of some businesses. Those threats place at risk jobs today and, indeed, jobs in the future even when the recovery comes. That's why we've been taking extraordinary decisions to seek to support Australian businesses and their employees through these tough times—the JobKeeper allowance and a number of other measures. In my portfolio we took the extraordinary decision last week to support a new international freight mechanism. This $110 million mechanism is going to support our primary producers—our farmers and our fishers—to be able to continue to access the markets where their goods so often head to. Australia produces enough food to support more than 70 million people—close to three times our population. Our export markets are crucial destinations for that. There is still demand in those markets. There is still production from our farmers and fishers, but they have been crippled by the collapse of international aviation, in terms of their capacity to get to those markets.

Our $110 million freight mechanism is going to help them to reach those markets once again. We're standing this up incredibly quickly thanks to the appointment of the coordinator general for freight, Michael Byrne, one of Australia's most experienced logistics professionals. Indeed, in the next couple of days I expect the first flight to depart Hobart packed full of Tasmanian salmon, produced by the Tassal company, heading into Asian markets. Similarly, I expect that shortly thereafter we'll see from Senator Brockman's home state a flight heading out of Perth, again carrying premium seafood, ensuring that we protect those Australian businesses and, most importantly, the jobs of the Australians who rely on them.