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

I thank Senator Davey for her question, because, like you, Senator Davey, I know that Australian farmers will be the big winners from the free trade agreement that was negotiated between our Prime Minister and Prime Minister Johnson overnight. The deal will open up such an amazing new set of avenues for our farmers and the broader agricultural sector, because the agriculture sector has always been terribly important for the Australian economy and never more so than it is at the moment as we recover from the COVID pandemic.

This free trade agreement is a very comprehensive agreement. It's high quality and it's mutually beneficial for both of our countries, but, most particularly, for our agricultural sector. It will allow 99 per cent of Australian goods entering the UK to be duty-free, and that includes the immediate elimination of tariffs on wine, which means a lot to the area that I come from, and on rice, which means a lot to the area that you come from, Senator Davey. Beef tariffs will be eliminated over 10 years. Right now we get immediate access to 35,000 tonnes of beef, and that quota will rise to 110,000 tonnes. Sheepmeat tariffs will be eliminated after 10 years as well, which means immediate access to 25,000 tonnes, and that will rise to 75,000 tonnes. Sugar tariffs will be eliminated over eight years and dairy tariffs over five years.

This agreement absolutely means that our farmers now have another new and exciting market in which they can sell their amazing, high-quality Australian produce. Not only that, but they will be able to access markets that are actually paying really good prices and understand what the quality of Australian produce is all about. So it has never been more important for Australian farmers to have a diversity of markets which they can access. This new trade agreement is a win for us and it is a win for our country, but it is most particularly a win for our rural economies.