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 Cormann. In September Prime Minister Morrison told the Indonesia-Australia Business Forum:

I am here to put more grunt into the economic relationship.

He said, 'That is why the Indonesia-Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement is so important' and:

It will open the door to a new era of opportunities for Australian and Indonesian business.

An article in this morning's Australian Financial Review entitled 'PM cool on Jakarta trade deal' states:

Scott Morrison has confirmed plans to sign the free trade agreement with Indonesia this week have been shelved and he said there was now "no burning timetable" to get it done.

Minister, what changed?

Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Vice-President of the Executive Council) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Firstly, I would make a very important point that I've made in this chamber many times before: don't always believe everything that is written in a newspaper and don't always believe every headline that is written in a newspaper, because, as every journalist in the gallery will tell you, they don't write the headlines. That's point No. 1.

Point No. 2 is that the Indonesia-Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement is a very important agreement. We were very pleased when President Widodo and our Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, were able to reach and form a conclusion to those negotiations during their meeting on 31 August 2018. But, as was always going to be the case, as is always the case with these sorts of processes, there is now a process underway to finalise the specific text of the agreement in both languages. That is the usual process. When that process has concluded, the agreement will be signed. The Indonesia-Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement—let me stress this again—will benefit both countries and is an important next step in what is an incredibly important and highly valued relationship.

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Wong, a supplementary question?

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

Can the minister confirm that what has changed between September and now is this Prime Minister's decision to put domestic political interests ahead of the national interest by recklessly junking longstanding bipartisan foreign policy five days before the Wentworth by-election? Hasn't Prime Minister Morrison's poor judgement put at risk this important economic agreement?

Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Vice-President of the Executive Council) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The answer to both questions is no. The Labor Party is, again, just interested in playing politics. Australia and Indonesia have a shared and continued interest in stability in the Middle East region, and we both support a two-state solution. Now, the Indonesia-Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement is, as I say, an important agreement for both countries. It is an important agreement for us and it is also an important agreement for Indonesia. We look forward to the conclusion of current processes as soon as possible

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Wong, a final supplementary question?

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

Former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull warned that Prime Minister Morrison's decision to recklessly junk longstanding bipartisan foreign policy would be met with 'a very negative reaction in Indonesia.' Isn't it clear that Prime Minister Turnbull was right to question Mr Morrison's judgement?

Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Vice-President of the Executive Council) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Our relationship with Indonesia is strong, and we look forward to it continuing to strengthen in years to come. I spent about five days in Jakarta the week before last and had very good meetings, as I know our foreign minister continuously has very good and constructive engagement with her counterpart in Indonesia. Let me reassure Senator Wong that this government is absolutely committed to a strong, positive, constructive relationship with Indonesia, but one which is based on Australia making its own judgements in relation to matters of national interest.