Anne Ruston (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Families and Social Services) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you again to the senator for her question, because exports are absolutely vital to Australia's agricultural industries and our regional economies, with more than two-thirds of our production exported. So growth in Australian exports to premium markets is absolutely vital for the future of our agricultural sector, and maintaining strong relationships with our trading partners is absolutely critical to that success. Australian businesses that export, you will be interested to know, on average hire 23 per cent more staff, they pay 11 per cent higher wages and they have labour productivity 13 per cent higher than non-exporters. These are industries that are leading Australia. So trade is a very major contributor to our economy, it's a major creator of jobs and it has a positive impact on our ability to pay for the essential services that all Australians rely on. It is absolutely essential that we get these free trade agreements in place.