Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister representing the Prime Minister, Senator Abetz. I refer to the Prime Minister's statement in the House yesterday that, under the China FTA:

… there is absolutely no possibility of placing any foreigner in an Australian job without labour market testing.

I refer the minister to article 10.4 of the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement, which states:

… neither party shall … require labour market testing.

In light of this, can the minister explain why the Prime Minister misled the House?

Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Employment) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Just because the Leader of the Opposition does not understand the full document does not mean that the Prime Minister misled the House. What it shows is the incapacity of the Leader of the Opposition to read the agreement in full and in detail, something that three former ACTU presidents—Bob Hawke, Martin Ferguson and Simon Crean—have done and are willing to support, as indeed is Bob Carr, Premier Daniels and Premier Weatherill, from the senator's own home state. As a representative of South Australia, you might think she might be in lockstep with her Premier, who sees the benefit of this free trade agreement for jobs in his home state, which just happens to be the senator's home state as well.

So I would say to the honourable senator: read through the whole lot. Chapter 10 of the free trade agreement, the movement of natural persons provisions, is explicit. Australia's existing trade agreements mean that the categories that have already been removed—for example, in the Thailand, Chile, Korean and Japan free trade agreements, all other FTA partners—have varying degrees of exemptions, ranging back to the 1995 World Trade Organization General Agreement on Trade in Services.

I would also remind senators that, when introducing legislation in this place for labour market testing for the 457 visa program on 28 June 2013, Labor Minister Lundy said:

The measures will be implemented in a manner consistent with Australia's relevant international trade obligations.

This is exactly what we are doing. (Time expired)

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. I note the minister did not deny that the Prime Minister had misled the House. I refer again to the Prime Minister's misleading statement:

… there is absolutely no possibility of placing any foreigner in an Australian job without labour market testing.

Is the minister aware that the Department of Immigration and Border Protection told the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties on Monday that, under the China free trade agreement, engineers, nurses and trades workers 'would be exempted' from labour market testing? Does the minister still stand by the Prime Minister's misleading statements?

Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Employment) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I would have thought I made it perfectly clear that the Prime Minister did not mislead the House. In the event that I did not, let me repeat for the honourable senator: the Prime Minister did not mislead the House. You, Senator, have misinterpreted the document. The LMT exemption under ChAFTA for nurses and engineering occupations is consistent with the commitment in the other free trade agreements in which LMT is exempted for contractual service suppliers, including our free trade agreements with Thailand, Chile, Korea and Japan.

This is an agreement of historic proportions. It is jobs rich. It has the capacity to set up our nation for a long, long time, and here we have Labor playing base politics. (Time expired)

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a final supplementary question. Can I ask this question: why is it that this Prime Minister and this government continue to mislead the Australian people, including in the House of Representatives, about the content of the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement instead of dealing with the legitimate concerns that the Australian community have raised?

Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Employment) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Falsehoods raised by the Australian Labor Party playing ventriloquist doll to the CFMEU are not the legitimate concerns of the Australian people. Indeed, the so-called concerns that have been whipped up with an egg beater by Senator Wong and her former colleagues in the CFMEU are a disgrace. What it shows is that Mr Shorten is not in any way fit to be the Prime Minister of this great country when he is willing to prejudice such an important agreement, an agreement that is the envy of so many other countries around the world. They would love to be able to have such an agreement as this with China, such an important, dynamic and growing economy with opportunities untold, untapped, which we can now tap into, which we can now harness and create job opportunities and wealth for our fellow Australians. (Time expired)

Linda Reynolds (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is also to the Leader of the Government in the Senate and Minister for Employment, Senator Abetz. Is the minister aware of claims made last November that under the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement the Chinese would be given carte blanche to bring in their own workers and that all workers who made Australian goods could lose their jobs? Can the minister also advise the Senate the source of these patently xenophobic claims?

Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Employment) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Reynolds for her question. I note that Senator Reynolds is a senator from the state of Western Australia, 45 per cent of whose exports go to China, a vital source for job creation and wealth creation in Western Australia.

Last November before the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement was even revealed, we had the ACTU President saying: 'So the Chinese do a deal. They say, "We want to build a mine. We're going to use our labourers, we might ship in our food, we bring in all our products—you know, we make sure we actually have a fence around," so immediately you'd lock out maybe thousands. We don't even know if the Chinese labourers will be allowed out of the compound at all.' Later on Ms Kearney went on another radio station and said: 'If they bring in their own supplies and their own goods for those projects from China then our Australian manufacturers miss out and all the workers that make Australian goods lose their jobs and miss out. It is a knock-on effect which could be really terrible for our economy.'

That was all simply untrue and shamefully said to whip up hysteria. Yet pangs of conscience did finally get to Ms Kearney when she had to admit—and listen to this—'It's very difficult not to sound xenophobic in this situation.' I wonder why? Because it is xenophobic. Having so recklessly overegged their opposition to the unseen China free trade agreement, resort was had to xenophobia and stereotyping by the ACTU—a campaign specifically rejected by 21 years of ACTU presidents. It is time for Labor to—(Time expired)

Linda Reynolds (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. Will the minister also advise the Senate whether this patently xenophobic campaign against the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement is continuing today?

Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Employment) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Unfortunately, it is continuing. The ETU national secretary, Mr Allen Hicks, has told rallies, 'The Chinese free trade agreement is an attack on our safety and sovereignty.' He also said—and listen very carefully to this—it 'will lead to electrocution deaths, house fires, and other safety problems'. Does this sound familiar? You do not need a Chinese free trade agreement for that to happen. All you need is a Labor Party pink batts scheme, don't you?

This sort of sentiment was repeated by the Leader of the Opposition in a doorstop in the Canning by-election, and this is what he said:

I don't see what is wrong with suggesting that if we're going to bring in—

now listen to this—

… electricians who might go into your roof, what we want to make sure of is that their skills, and training and safety knowledge are up to Australian standards.

(Time expired)

Linda Reynolds (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a further supplementary question. Will the minister also advise the Senate of the risks of this continued xenophobic campaign against the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement?

Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Employment) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thousands of jobs are at risk if this Chinese free trade agreement does not go ahead.

Senator Whish-Wilson interjecting—

A senior lecturer in international relations at Deakin University—who might just know a little bit more about those things than self-appointed Senator Whish-Wilson—Chengxin Pan, has said:

… the union-led campaign has caused some bewilderment among Chinese officials.

  …   …   …

If the anti-FTA campaign continues, whatever the outcome, many Chinese will draw the connection with the White Australia policy more than a century ago, and some will probably have difficulty seeing differences.

Do you know why they will have difficulty in seeing the differences? Because it will be the same old Australian Labor Party that peddled the White Australia Policy 100 years ago, and they are back to their old tricks today for cheap political purposes—(Time expired)