Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, President. I haven't even said 'colour-coded spreadsheets' yet! Imagine when I get to that. I am pleased to say that, following the agreement reached between Prime Minister Albanese and British Prime Minister Sunak, the UK-Australia free trade agreement entered into force a fortnight ago on 31 May. This is one of the most comprehensive, innovative and ambitious free trade agreements ever concluded by Australia, and I'm pleased to say that our Aussie farmers, food producers and exporters—the kind of people that Senator White cares about and asks questions about—are some of the big winners here. Tariffs have been eliminated on over 99 per cent of Australian goods exported to the United Kingdom, including short and medium grain rice, wine, honey, nuts and olive oil. Tariff-free quotas for beef and sheepmeat, sugar, wheat and meslin, long unbroken rice, barley and dairy will provide immediate benefits for farming communities.

Within 10 years of entering into force, tariffs on all agricultural goods will be completely eliminated—again, terrific news for our producers. The potential value of some of these key outcomes in the first year of entering into force include $465 million for beef; $215 million for sheepmeat; $37 million for sugar; $200 million for dairy, cheese and butter; and $50 to 55 million Australian wine. In addition, the free trade agreement includes outcomes which will make it easier for farmers and exporters to take advantage of these great opportunities, like a reduction in costs and red tape by making it simpler for traders to prove the originating status of their goods, faster customs clearance time frames providing greater certainty for exporters and transparent trade and investment rules so savings can be made on administrative costs. (Time expired)