Hollie Hughes (NSW, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment, Senator Birmingham. How is the government getting on with the job of delivering for the Australian people by increasing trade opportunities, and how does this help to create a stronger economy that guarantees the essential services that Australians rely on?

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

I thank Senator Hughes for her question and I congratulate her on her first question in the chamber and welcome her to this Senate chamber after a slightly bumpy journey in getting here. I know that Senator Hughes will be a very strong advocate. I know Senator Hughes was delighted to see the Chief Justice on the day of the swearing in.

I should come back to the point. I know that Senator Hughes, like many of the new senators in this chamber, will be a strong and fierce advocate for the interests of Australia's exporters, particularly those in rural and regional communities around Australia. Australia's free trade partners today account for more than 55 per cent of global GDP, or over $44 trillion of economic activity. This has grown immeasurably during our time in government. In fact, in terms of Australian exporters having duty free or preferential access, they now enjoy that to around 2.8 billion consumers worldwide. That's estimated to be an increase of nearly 1.8 billion consumers since the Liberal and National parties came to government.

What's the result of that increased preferential access to more markets? It's that exports have surged by more than 30 per cent during the last five years. Trade is estimated to have contributed around one-quarter of Australia's economic growth over the past five years. As a nation, we have recorded trade surpluses in 27 out of the last 29 months. Indeed, Australia enjoyed a trade surplus of $34 billion during the last 12 months, having turned around what we inherited as a trade deficit of $20 billion in 2012-13.

This is a very strong track record. But what does it mean? It means that with that growth in exports, Australian businesses are doing better, employing more, paying more tax and creating more opportunities that stimulate the economy and create opportunities for all Australians.

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

Senator Hughes, a supplementary question?

Hollie Hughes (NSW, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Will the minister inform the Senate about the key highlights of Australia's trade performance, and what that means for our economy?

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

I pay tribute to our exporters around the country, our exporters in the goods sector, the farming sector, the services sector, who are recording record after record at present. In 2018, we achieved record exports of $438 billion as a nation. We achieved a record trade surplus in May this year of $5.7 billion. Indeed, the five largest monthly trade surpluses ever recorded have all been delivered in calendar year 2019. This is a tribute to those businesses—a tribute to our exporters, to the Australian businesses who get up and go out and seek and seize opportunities around the world. And there are benefits that flow through from that. Australian businesses that export, on average, hire 23 per cent more staff than those who do not. They pay their employees an estimated 11½ per cent more than those who don't export, and they have labour productivity rates around 13 per cent higher than those who don't export. So opening up to the world delivers real, tangible benefits to their employees and as a result to households around Australia.

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

Senator Hughes, a final supplementary question?

Hollie Hughes (NSW, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Minister, how does ratifying our trade agreements lead to more jobs and a stronger economy without raising taxes?

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

The type of preferential access that our trade agreements have opened up has enabled the types of records that I talked about before and, in doing so, seen benefits flow through. Nearly 52,000 Australian businesses were exporting in 2016-17. That number was up more than 16 per cent from just a few years earlier. That was a more than 16 per cent growth in the number of businesses exporting, and that's estimated to have contributed around 240,000 additional trade related jobs. All of that is partly accountable to the increased market access those businesses have. The Liberal and National parties know what we stand for when it comes to providing more market access and more opportunities for Australian farmers and businesses to export. That's why we'll continue to pursue the expansion of our free trade agreement networks, why we want to make sure that we ratify and bring into force agreements with Peru, Hong Kong and Indonesia and why we're determined to pursue opportunities with the European Union and our regional partners through the RCEP process as well.