Jim Molan (NSW, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is for the Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment, Senator Birmingham. How are Australia's trade opportunities growing under the Liberal-National government and how does this success help to secure a safer and more secure future for the Australian people?

Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Trade) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Molan for his question and his relentless focus on the things that enhance the lives and security of Australians, Australian businesses and our nation as a whole. Driving much of our nation's economic strength at present is the trade boom that Australia is enjoying. Just over the last couple of weeks we've seen ABS data released that shows that in 2018 Australia recorded our nation's highest ever trade surplus—a trade surplus of some $22.2 billion as part of a record high in two-way trade that Australia was engaging in. Indeed, 2018 was the first calendar year since 1972 in which each and every month of that year Australia recorded a trade surplus—the first year since 1972.

We have had 22 trade surpluses out of the last 24 months. What is driving this? Well, Australian businesses are driving it, but Australian businesses are driving it with their drive and ingenuity off the back of the export market opportunities the Liberal-National government has created. Our government has created an environment in which it is easier for Australian businesses to get into key growing markets, particularly the markets of North Asia—China, Japan and South Korea—and is, of course, expanding those opportunities through the Trans-Pacific Partnership as well—a deal, need I remind the Senate, that the Labor Party and Mr Shorten said was dead and that we should give up on. What we saw last year was strong growth across a whole range of different export commodities. There's diversity there. We saw rural goods growing by some 10 per cent in December alone, with a combined value of $20 billion, and services exports growing by 9.3 per cent in 2018 to $93 billion. All of this comes on top of our traditional areas of strength in mining and resources, driving jobs and opportunities for more Australians. (Time expired)

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

Senator Molan, a supplementary question.

Jim Molan (NSW, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

How are Australian miners, farmers and small businesses benefitting from a stronger economy and access to new markets?

Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Trade) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This type of growth isn't just about the headline statistics and what is created, as wonderful as those statistics are; it's about what it means for individual companies—individual companies like Superbee Honey Factory in Forbes in New South Wales, which is Senator Molan's home state, who have seen significant growth in their honey exports to North Asia; Fletcher International Exports in Dubbo, whose exports of lamb and sheep meat to Korea have increased by over 30 per cent; and citrus grower Gunnible Pastoral Company in Gunnedah, which has seen, within two years, orange exports to China tripling. Of course, all of those individual businesses are then inspired and have the opportunity to employ more Australians. There is more job security for those individual Australians and more opportunities in those rural communities. That's why we now see 2.2 million Australians employed because of these trade policy successes.

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

Senator Molan, a final supplementary question.

Jim Molan (NSW, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Are there any risks to three decades of bipartisanship on trade policy and its positive implications for Australia's security and safety?

Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Trade) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Australia has managed to strengthen its position, and I acknowledge that in a number of areas that's been bipartisan policy. Yes, the trade deals have usually been—in fact, nearly always—struck under our government. The Labor Party, in their previous six years in government, failed to commence and conclude a single trade agreement in that time. They have, by and large, cooperated, but what we saw late last year at Labor's national conference was a change in Labor policy—a change in Labor policy that will make it significantly harder for the Labor Party to do new deals in the future and even a threat that a future Labor government, if elected, would open up every trade agreement that we currently have and seek to try to renegotiate them. So just as Australia is at a time where our exports are at record highs and our trade successes at record levels, along comes the Labor Party threatening to undo that. Just as their tax policies are a threat to the economy, their trade policies are also a threat to the economy, and with that a threat to the jobs of Australians.