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

It is with enormous pleasure that I rise to speak on Customs Amendment (India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement Implementation) Bill 2022 and the four associated bills, and to indicate the opposition's strong and passionate support for these bills. These bills represent the bookend, if you like, on the coalition's strong, aggressive and effective expansion of Australia's trade ties around the world—that our period in government was marked by success from its earliest days to its latest days in expanding the network of trade agreements that Australia has with the world and, in doing so, created a stronger and more open economy. The wealth of Australia, the record low unemployment Australia was enjoying when we left office and the opportunities for Australians were clearly enhanced by the trade network that we built.

In relation to these bills that touch on the Australia-UK trade agreement and the India-Australia economic cooperation agreement, I want to particularly acknowledge Dan Tehan who, as minister for trade in the final years of our time in government, concluded negotiations for these agreements. They're agreements that I have some personal satisfaction in seeing come to the fore as well, having launched the negotiations for the Australia-UK FTA and overseeing those through many of the negotiating rounds as, indeed, I pursued, in many different forums and discussions, options for how we may pursue agreement with India. I was delighted to see Dan able to execute one of those.

As I said, these are the bookend of a very adventurous and comprehensive range of agreements. Agreements were struck with the North Asia major economies—Japan, the Republic of Korea and China—in the early days of the coalition government. Agreements were then struck with Indonesia, Peru and Hong Kong, as well as regional agreements—PACER Plus, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership. All of these created a far stronger and more vibrant network of agreements to enable Australian businesses to succeed in the world.

Together, these bills implement Australia's tariff obligations in particular. And whilst free trade agreements in the modern era encompass many different aspects, it is essential to remember that the core test of whether a trade agreement is a good trade agreement is whether or not it liberalises the movement of goods and services, investment and people—goods and services flows being the absolute core element. As the new government seeks to conclude the negotiations on the Australia–European Union Trade Agreement, I underscore that point: that the liberalisation of trade and movement in goods and services, as well as investment in people, is the core test for success of that agreement. We wish the government well in concluding that agreement, and we want to make sure that it's an agreement that is ambitious in all those elements.

Together, the agreements that will be enabled by this legislation put more Australian exports in front of some 1½ billion consumers around the world—across India and the United Kingdom. It increases Australian exports covered by FTAs to more than 80 per cent. Let me just pause on that point, Deputy President: when the coalition came to office in 2013, 27 per cent of Australia's exports enjoyed preferential market access around the world under free trade agreements. Once these agreements come into place, more than 80 per cent of Australia's exports to the world will enjoy preferential access. That is a seismic shift in relation to the advantage Australia has in trading with international partners, relative to other countries. These agreements demonstrate the ambition and capacity that we had to make a marked change. It was set out in our 2013 election policy and was delivered on successively by government throughout our term in office.

Australia's FTA with the United Kingdom, as negotiated and legislated here, is the most comprehensive and ambitious free trade agreement that Australia has with any nation other than New Zealand. On entering into force, tariffs on over 99 per cent of Australian goods exported to the UK will be eliminated, valued at around $9.2 billion. Under the agreement Australia will also eliminate almost all tariffs on goods originating from the UK, with a small number set to see tariff elimination over five years.

Australia's interim trade agreement with India strengthens our economic engagement with what is recognised as the world's fastest-growing economy—the greatest opportunity for Australia to diversify our trade network. Our aim in negotiating this agreement is to lift India into Australia's top three export markets by 2025.

There are five bills before us: two covering the preferential tariff obligations under the trade agreement with the UK and three covering our preferential tariff obligations under the India agreement, and a side letter relating to questions of double taxation. These bills, once passed, execute the legislative coverage required for Australia to advance ratification. What we see in relation to the Australia-UK FTA are changes that provide for rule-of-origin thresholds, enabling the application of agreed preferential tariff rates to customs duties. The bill implements the negotiated outcomes on rules of origin outlined in chapter 4 in annexes 4A and 4B of the UK FTA. The rules of origin specify which goods are eligible for preferential tariff treatment. This includes goods that are wholly obtained or produced in the UK or in the UK and Australia, enabling integrated supply chains and value chains across our markets. Product-specific rules outlined in annex 4B of the agreement determine the circumstances in which goods imported from the UK which have components or inputs from a third party are still eligible.

The amendments under part 1 define UK originating goods and will introduce a new division 1P in the Customs Act to cover for the origin arrangements. The bill seeks to eliminate almost all tariffs, on UK goods, on the agreement's entry into force. Only a small number of items will be phased out over five years. It ensures that an excise equivalent rate of customs duty applies to imports, as is convention, of alcohol, tobacco and petroleum to ensure parity of products produced domestically. In response to the UK's application of a safeguard tariff on Australian steel, the bill also introduces a safeguard provision that has the effect of maintaining the customs duty rate that applied to the commencement of the agreement while ever the UK has a comparable safeguard tariff rate in place on any Australian goods.

The UK's trade agreement with Australia was the very first trade agreement it reached following its exit from the European Union. The significance and scale of it should not be underestimated. We welcome the fact it's had wide applause from a range of industry groups—the National Farmers Federation, Seafood Industry Australia, the Australian Meat Industry Council, Sheep Producers Australia, Alcohol Beverages Australia, the Law Council of Australia, the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Business Council of Australia and the Group of Eight universities, amongst many others.

We already enjoy a special and strong relationship with the United Kingdom, with deep-rooted business and people-to-people connections and very strong investment ties. It will only make Australian exports to the UK cheaper, once this trade agreement comes into force, creating yet more opportunities for businesses, workers and young people. It delivers a wide range of other trade and market access opportunities for exporters. Farmers and producers will have improved access to more than 65 million UK consumers—consumers who value safe, sustainably produced food and beverages with the strong provenance that Australia offers.

Around $43 million in customs duties will be removed from Australian wine when the agreement enters into force. Australian wine is already amongst the most consumed in the UK. From recollection, I think one in every five glasses consumed in the UK is a drop of fine Australian wine. This will only serve to make it more competitive and profitable for Australian winemakers. For beef, the tariff-free quota of 35,000 tonnes at entry into force grows to 110,000 tonnes; for sheepmeat, the tariff-free quota of 25,000 tonnes grows to 75,000 tonnes per annum; and for sugar, a tariff-free quota of 80,000 tonnes grows to 20,000 tonnes. Australian households and businesses will also save an estimated $200 million a year as tariffs on UK goods are almost universally eliminated on entry into force.

Professionals from Australia will have the same access to the UK's job market as their European competitors, providing Australian jobseekers with a fantastic opportunity to diversify their experience. Young Australians will have more time to travel to the UK for a working holiday and be able to stay longer, with eligibility to participate in working holiday opportunities raised from 30 to 35 years of age. Australian businesses will have the guaranteed right to bid for a greater variety of UK government contracts in a procurement market worth an estimated half a trillion dollars, and UK business will be more encouraged to invest in Australia thanks to best-practice investment rules, including being encouraged to set up regional headquarters in Australia to leverage that expansive network of free trade agreements that I spoke about at the beginning.

Under the Australia-India Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement we, again, see significant benefits. There are important steps, in relation to the treatment of income, through the definition of 'royalties' under the double taxation avoidance agreement and how the amendments to that will bring the tax treatment of Indian residents into line with Australia's approach, but this is also a boundless opportunity in terms of India. In 2020, when I led the last major trade delegation to India, our two-way trade was valued at $24.3 billion and India was Australia's 7th largest partner at that time. The aspiration with this agreement is to take that even further.

Tariffs will be eliminated on more than 85 per cent of Australian goods exports to India, rising to almost 91 per cent over 10 years. Australian households and businesses will also benefit, with 96 per cent of Indian goods imports entering Australia duty free on entry into force. Sheepmeat tariffs at 30 per cent will be eliminated on entry into force, providing a boost for Australian exports that already command nearly 20 per cent of India's sheepmeat market. Wool will have the current 2½ per cent tariff eliminated on entry into force. Tariffs on Australian wine will be reduced. Tariffs of up to 30 per cent on products such as avocados, onions, broad beans, kidney beans, adzuki beans, cherries, shelled pistachios, macadamias, blueberries, raspberries—you name it—will be eliminated over seven years. Tariffs on almonds, a key export to India, along with lentils, oranges, mandarins and pears, will also be reduced. On the agreement's entry into force, the resources sector will benefit from the elimination of tariffs on coal; alumina; metallic ores, including manganese, copper and nickel; and critical minerals. LNG tariffs will be bound at zero per cent, on entry into force, and tariffs on pharmaceutical products and certain medical devices will also be eliminated.

Australian service suppliers in 31 sectors and subsectors will be guaranteed to receive the best treatment accorded by India to any future free trade agreement partner, including across higher education, business services, tourism, travel and a range of other sectors.

There'll be new access for young Indians to participate in working holidays in Australia, helping to strengthen our tourism market as well.

This interim deal likewise has been welcomed by a range of industry sectors, including the NFF, Australian Grape & Wine, wool producers, the Minerals Council, Apple and Pear Australia Ltd, ACCI and many others.

Deputy President, passage of these bills will enable Australian officials to move swiftly towards ensuring full implementation of these agreements. We urge the government to do all possible in their diplomatic efforts to ensure that the United Kingdom and India, equally, move as expeditiously as possible to meet the processes required to achieve entry into force. The sooner these agreements take effect, the sooner the benefits will be realised for Australian businesses and businesses in the United Kingdom and India. The sooner that occurs, the earlier all of the gains that will accrue over the seven- to 10-year period of implementation will accrue to businesses in Australia, the UK and India. So we urge the government to make sure that in all of their dialogue it is a priority to get these agreements done quickly. We support their passage through the parliament promptly and look forward to seeing this final legacy item of the coalition's trade policy deliver great benefits for Australia into the future.

Dorinda Cox (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the five bills relating to both the India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement and the Australia-UK Free Trade Agreement: the Customs Amendment (India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement Implementation) Bill 2022, the Customs Tariff Amendment (India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement Implementation) Bill 2022, the Customs Amendment (Australia-United Kingdom Free Trade Agreement Implementation) Bill 2022, the Customs Tariff Amendment (Australia-United Kingdom Free Trade Agreement Implementation) Bill 2022 and the Treasury Laws Amendment (Australia-India Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement Implementation) Bill 2022. Both of these agreements mark significant milestones in Australia's trade landscape. India has a unique approach to trade, one formed following decades of forced trade and colonial rule. As a First Nations woman whose land was colonised and subjected to forced rule and policy, I sympathise with this on a personal level and I understand why India is keen to protect its own after so many years of exploitation. On the other hand, the UK is finding its feet in trade, particularly post-Brexit.

A major highlight of both these agreements is a lack of investor-state dispute settlement clauses—or ISDSs, as they are called. These clauses allow companies to sue governments for changing their regulatory frameworks, which are more often than not in the public interest, to recoup the losses they claim occurred because of these changes. To put it in context, the only time such a clause has been used against Australia it was by a big tobacco company, Philip Morris, which attempted to sue the Australian government following the implementation of our plain packaging laws. The Greens welcome this change to the government's policy regarding ISDS clauses and look forward to the continuation of this policy in substantive agreements and the removal of existing ISDS clauses.

These trade agreements will bring benefits, but there are significant issues with both agreements that must be highlighted. Firstly, both agreements are bilateral. There is a growing trend of bilateral trade agreements, as opposed to plurilateral agreements, leading to an increasingly fragmented trade landscape. Big business may be able to navigate the complexity and the growing number of trade agreements, but many small and medium enterprises really struggle to do so, and most of them miss out on the benefits that these trade agreements bring. This means that big business and industry are often the ones benefiting from the international trade agreements.

The Indian interim agreement notably does not contain provisions relating to labour rights, environmental standards or, in fact, gender equality.

The UK trade agreement does include such provisions, but they are weak and less enforceable than other chapters and, in terms of gender equality provisions, remain merely aspirational. There are statements from all parties addressing forced labour and modern slavery, but, in fact, no real commitments. This agreement reaffirms mutual commitment to climate action and the Paris Agreement, but there are no specific emission reduction targets mentioned in this agreement.

The Greens are concerned about the removal of market testing requirements in the UK agreement that ensure temporary workers are filling genuine labour market shortages. This isn't the only issue relating to workers in the UK agreement. The agreement removes working holiday visa requirements which have previously required workers to undertake 88 days of farm work to extend their visas. Rural communities often rely on these workers to fill seasonal labour shortages. The removal of this provision has the potential to make an already stressed workforce worse.

Temporary workers are some of the most vulnerable to exploitation, and the Greens want to acknowledge this. But the solution is not to stop regional work incentives altogether. Workers' rights should be strengthened with greater enforcement provisions. Often the money that workers earn during their farm stay is spent in local communities—small regional communities that have been hard hit by COVID. Some members of the crossbench in the other place have raised this, which I also want to acknowledge here today.

In the India agreement, the lack of labour rights is a significant concern. The Greens recognise the benefits Australia has reaped from contributions made by temporary migrant workers. However, as I stated before, the temporary migrant worker visa system leaves workers extremely vulnerable to job insecurity and weaker workplace protections. These must be addressed in a comprehensive agreement.

Neither agreement contains an Indigenous inclusion chapter. In fact, there is no trade agreement that Australia has signed to date that contains an Indigenous inclusion chapter. An Indigenous inclusion chapter would enable First Nations businesses to access the benefits of these trade agreements. This is a choice made by our government to exclude First Nations people, whereas our friends across the ditch in New Zealand have negotiated multiple treaties with inclusion chapters. So we know it's possible to achieve this with our trade partners, if only our government would ask.

First Nations businesses are growing rapidly and are looking for new market opportunities. So it's a no-brainer to include them in these trade agreements, and this would be a game changer for First Nations businesses all over this country. Indigenous inclusion chapters have the potential to unlock significant capital, create jobs and offer careers on country.

The Indigenous Network for Investment, Trade and Export have been campaigning on this issue for some time, and I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge their work, especially that of Darren Godwell, in this space. As they have stated, having an inclusive trade clause, or ITC, in the free trade agreement would be a step to ensuring all segments of society can access opportunities that flow from a free trade agreement.

First Nations businesses have been consistently left out of trade agreements for the last 230 years, to our detriment. The government must take a proactive approach to righting this wrong and ensuring that First Nations businesses have the same access and support for trade agreements.

The UK agreement does contain some provisions for First Nations businesses, which is a significant outcome. These include reciprocal arrangements which will ensure royalties are paid to Australian artists where their work is resold in the UK. The highest proportion of eligible resales occur among Indigenous art wholesalers.

The UK also commits to recognising the importance of genetic resources, traditional knowledge and cultural expression. This includes a commitment for both parties to make efforts to work with the World Intellectual Property Organization with respect to the protection of traditional knowledge. The Greens would like to note that, while these are all welcome additions, most of these provisions are limited to art only. First Nations people have far more to contribute to the GDP of Australia than just art.

The Greens strongly believe that any trade agreement that Australia agrees to participate in must contain enforceable and comprehensive provisions to protect economic, social and environmental rights, both within Australia but also within those countries we trade with, as well as support First Nations businesses, which have consistently been left out of our trade agreements.

Finally, the Greens continue to express deep concern about the lack of transparency and public scrutiny involved with the current procedure for making trade agreements. Negotiations are secretive, and the text of agreements is only released after it has been signed. There's no opportunity for trade unions and the broader civic society to have genuine input into these negotiations.

Ultimately, this was ratified with very little public scrutiny. The Greens are very disappointed that the text was not released to the community before it was finalised, because our communities in Australia deserve better. It is essential that proposed agreements be tabled in parliament and opened for wider public consultation prior to their signing in order to ensure consistency with domestic democratic policymaking principles and practice.

We maintain that the social, environmental and economic impacts of trade agreements must be independently examined and presented to the parliament prior to the commencement of these negotiations and also as part of the final agreement. One of the recommendations of the JSCOT report on this agreement was that:

… the Australian Government implements the recommendations of Report 193: Strengthening the Trade Agreement and Treaty Making Process in Australia, particularly in relation to greater consultation and transparency, and in providing independent modelling and analysis of trade agreements.

The Greens wish to strongly echo this and call on the government to amend this treaty-making process to allow for greater transparency and consultation to ensure that it does not just benefit specific sectors of the economy but in fact has input from civil society, unions, human rights groups, First Nations groups and environmental groups that is genuinely taken into account and reflected within our trade agreements. This government must ensure that trade agreements are inclusive and in fact not exclusive. They must benefit many, not just a few. The Greens will continue to fight for this.

The Greens have circulated a second reading amendment which relates to the three bills implementing the Australia-India Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement. This amendment is co-sponsored by my colleague Senator Steele-John and seeks to highlight the human rights abuses in India and the recommendations made by the United Nations Human Rights Council's Universal Periodic Review. I, and also on behalf of Senator Steele-John, move:

At the end of the motion, add ", but, in respect of the India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement Implementation Bills, the Senate notes that:

(a) the United Nations Human Rights Council's Universal Periodic Review process made recommendations on 10 November 2022 relating to human rights abuses in India including in relation to ending attacks against minority communities and vulnerable groups, tackling gender-based violence, upholding civil society freedoms, protecting human rights defenders and independent media, and ending torture in custody; and

(b) in negotiating trade relationships, Australia must ensure that human rights are upheld by negotiating parties".

I'll continue to advocate that human rights are non-negotiable and that, in negotiating trade agreements, Australia has a responsibility to ensure that human rights are upheld by all parties that we may trade with. We hope that this is a common-sense statement that the Senate agrees with and that all members of this place will vote to show their support for human rights and for the Australian government to ensure those we trade with also uphold these.

Tim Ayres (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Trade) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am very pleased to rise to speak on the enabling legislation for these two agreements, the Customs Amendment (India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement Implementation) Bill 2022 and related bills. Indeed, the Albanese government is pursuing an ambitious and purposeful approach to trade policy and trade liberalisation. Minister Farrell, in particular, has worked very hard to secure passage of both the India and the United Kingdom agreements through the parliamentary processes to enable entry into force as soon as possible. This enabling legislation being worked through today is the final part of that picture.

I have two responses, really, from listening to the shadow minister Senator Birmingham's outline of the coalition's response to the bill.

Firstly, I'm pleased to hear that the opposition will be voting for the bill. That's a good thing. It'd be pretty inconsistent if they didn't. But mostly I'm overwhelmed by the hypocrisy of the opposition. They're in here talking about bipartisanship on trade policy, but their commitment to bipartisanship on trade policy is paper thin. I was astonished to read an article by Rosie Lewis in The Australian on 16 September 2022, entitled 'Labor "dragging its feet" on trade deals, says Dan Tehan'. The previous government signed off on these agreements with no plan to get them through the parliament, pulled up stumps and then started complaining about the slowness of the parliamentary process. I suppose that's okay. I suppose that's politics business-as-usual for this lot. But what really matters is when they do it in a way that undermines the national interest. That article quoted the former trade minister Dan Tehan in India:

The Coalition has accused the Albanese government of "dragging its feet" on ratifying free-trade agreements with Britain and India … Opposition immigration spokesman Dan Tehan, a former trade minister who has recently returned from the Australia-India Leadership Dialogue in New Delhi, said no one there could understand why Australia had not implemented the agreement.

There was no plan to work this through the parliament, and no urgency from the previous government to get these agreements through the parliament, but then they want to whinge in New Delhi and undermine the confidence of our partners in whether or not the deal is going to get done. What a disgrace!

He went on to say:

"(The AI-ECTA) is signed and ready to go. The only hold up is the new Labor government dragging its feet," Mr Tehan writes in The Australian. "Now Labor is in power and a free-trade deal that will eliminate tariffs on 85 per cent of Australian goods exports to India—valued at more than $12.6bn a year—is gathering dust. Every day that goes by costs our exporters millions of dollars. It is the same for the UK FTA—signed but gathering dust."

What hypocrisy! What dishonesty! What utter partisanship! There's no capacity to see the national interest. They're very happy to come in here and wring their hands and carry on about bipartisanship, but the moment they go over to New Delhi, the moment they are in Mumbai, they are undermining the confidence of customers and of overseas governments that these deals are going to work their way through the parliament—and why? To score a few little points in The Australian, to play to their conservative base and to pretend that somehow the new government isn't going to be as focused on these issues as it should be. What underhand, weak politics! What an illustration of how craven this new opposition are! What an illustration of their incapacity to be able to focus on what's in the interests of Australian exporters and of national interest! If you get between them and a few column inches in The Australian, you have to be careful, because there is nothing they won't say and nothing they won't do in their own partisan political interest.

I tell you what, if this is going to be the character of Mr Dutton and Mr Tehan and this new opposition—I know that the first few years of opposition are difficult, and there's nothing more of an empty vessel than a new opposition making policy. I've seen it, I've been on the wrong side of it and I understand it. Plato said, 'Empty vessels make the most noise,' and he was right. But what you can't do is damage the national interest when you do it. What you can't do is undermine our exporters and our firms. What you can't do is rat out the Australian interest overseas when you're over there on the public purse and you're supposed to be making a contribution in the national interest. Now, rather than an orgy of self-congratulations on the Labor side, I listened to shadow minister Birmingham congratulating himself. This is a very good development, and delivering these agreements through the parliament this side of Christmas does mean significant progress on tariff reduction and significant progress for exporters and importers. It's a good thing to get it through, but there is more work to be done. We're ready to commence the second wave, the more substantial wave of negotiations with India over the more substantial round of bargaining that needs to occur to establish the second wave India agreement.

I know that Minister Farrell is really looking forward to leading those discussions, and he's been in constant communication with his Indian counterparts, particularly Minister Piyush Goyal, who'll be leading those negotiations on the Indian side. We've got to progress negotiations for the Australia-EU Free Trade Agreement. We've got to work, rather than do the ribbon cutting that the other side always did—the ribbon cutting and then nicking off. We've got to work to deliver on both this agreement and the UK FTA to make sure it delivers on the promise. And there's a series of other very significant bilateral, plurilateral and multilateral challenges for the Australian government that we're going to work through. What we're not going to do is engage in an orgy of self-congratulations and what we're not going to do is play hyper-partisan politics. We're just going to do it in the national interest. We're going to do it carefully and methodically in the interests of Australian businesses and workers for a more purposeful and less political approach to trade policy.

Ross Cadell (NSW, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I was going to speak about how today is a good day for team Australia now we're getting these bills through, but, in the parlance of the world cup football in which we find ourselves, I'll say: this may be a tap-in goal for Minister Ayres and Minister Farrell, but the hard work was done by Minister Tehan, of the previous government, in the midfield and Minister Birmingham in the back. It took lots of work and lots of time to get here, and what do we find? Those opposite may not like gas power but they like gaslighting. They're talking about different ways in which this is all their work. Well, this was completed somewhere in February, but there wasn't enough time to get it to parliament. We had problems getting it through the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties to get it here, and we had problems getting it registered here. But today it is here, and this is a good day for Australia.

The Customs Amendment (India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement Implementation) Bill 2022 and related bills implement Australia's tariff obligations under the Australia-United Kingdom Free Trade Agreement and the Australia-India Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement. Together, these agreements put more Australian exports in front of over 1.5 billion consumers and increase Australian exports covered by free trade agreements to over 80 per cent. This is more money in the pockets of Australians and Australian businesses. Together, they demonstrate the ambition and capacity of a determined and capable coalition government to provide Australian exporters with more market opportunities to grow their business.

The Australia free trade agreement with the UK is the most comprehensive and ambitious free trade agreement that Australia has with any other country, other than those across the ditch in New Zealand. On this agreement entry into force, tariffs of over 99 per cent of Australian goods to the UK will be eliminated. That comes at a value of $9.2 billion. Also under this agreement Australia will eliminate almost all the tariffs on goods originating from the UK, with a small number to see tariff elimination over five years. My Welsh wife will be pleased that PG Tips, proper tea, will come in cheaper under this arrangement.

This interim trade agreement with India strengthens our economic engagement with the world's fastest growing economy and what could be soon the world's largest populous country.

There are five bills before us—two covering our preferential tariff obligations under the trade agreement with the UK and three covering our preferential tariff obligations with India and a side letter dealing with double taxation. These bills once past execute the legislative requirement for Australia to advance ratification. We hope, on this side, that enough work has been in place with the UK and with India to be ratified in their places so that we get the benefit of indexation if they are ratified prior to the end of the year.

Rules of origin are also covered in this bill and also which goods are eligible for preferential tariff treatment. This includes goods that are wholly obtained or produced within the United Kingdom, or in the United Kingdom and Australia. Product-specific rules, PSRs, are outlined in annex 4B of the agreement. They will determine the circumstances for which goods imported from the United Kingdom which have components or inputs from a third party are still eligible.

The UK trade agreement with Australia must be noted. It is the very first trade agreement that the UK has reached following its exit from the EU. This is how important that relationship is to them, and it shows how important it is to us. The previous government stood ready to act quickly and put this in place, and that has paid off here. We're tapping in the goal, but it is a win for Australia. In Australia, this agreement has been wildly applauded by a range of groups, especially in rural Australia. They include the National Farmers Federation; Seafood Industry Australia—and, for those who can, go down to the seafood barbecue at the end of the year which celebrates that industry; the Australian Meat Industry Council; the sheep producers council; the Australian Beverages Council; the Law Council of Australia; the Australian Chamber of Commerce; the Business Council of Australia; and the Group of Eight.

We have already had a strong and special relationship with UK investors, and this FTA will only strengthen that. It will also make Australian exports to the UK cheaper and create new opportunities for workers, young people and businesses. Farmers and producers will have improved access to 65 million UK consumers, who value safe, sustainably produced products and beverages with the strong reputation that Australia holds. Around $43 million in annual customs duties will be removed from Australian wine when we enter the agreement. For beef there is a tariff-free quota of 35,000 tonnes at entry, which will expand to 110,000 tonnes in year 10. Tariffs on meat will be eliminated after 10 years.

We will see how we go with the new trade minister negotiating with the EU—if we can get tariff elimination at the end of that deal. Australia has never entered an FTA deal where tariff elimination is at the end. This is the test as to whether it happens now. Sheepmeat will have a tariff-free quota of 25,000 tonnes at entry, and will expand to 75,000 tonnes in year 10. Tariffs on sheepmeat will be eliminated after 10 years as well. I met with the UK agriculture minister about 12 months ago, when we were at the point where the debate—and this is how these things go, people up there in the gallery—was about, 'Is the weight bone in or bone out?' That is the level of negotiation that goes into these things. I'm glad it has been resolved.

For sugar and the north coast of New South Wales and Queensland there's a tariff-free quota of 80,000 tonnes at entry into force and it will expand to 220,000 tonnes in year eight. Again, sugar tariffs will be eliminated in eight years. That means, again, that we'll be looking at how Labor goes with the EU. This is a fantastic arrangement with the UK. It will also give our young people more opportunities in the UK, and it will better drive our growth and reputation.

I'll now turn to India. Australia's economic and cooperation trade agreement will see all of these come through the Treasury laws amendment bill, amending the International Tax Agreement Act 1953 to stop Australian taxation of certain payments or credits made to Indian residents who are providing technical services remotely to Australian businesses and customers. How we treat that has been a problem to the Australia-Indian arrangement, and that is fixed under this. The Australian trade agreement with India does open new growth for Australian exporters. With 1.4 or 1.5 billion people, and a growing middle class with growing disposable income, India is the economic powerhouse that can drive us to diversify our dependency on trade with China. We can diversify our markets and can look for value-added goods there probably more than in any other place in the world.

In 2020, India was Australia's seventh-largest trading partner, with two-way trade valued at $24.3 billion. Under this agreement, tariffs will be eliminated on more than 85 per cent of Australian goods exported to India, all rising to almost 91 per cent, valued at $13.4 billion, in 10 years. And Australian households will benefit with cheaper goods here, with 96 per cent of Indian goods imports entering Australia duty free on entry into force of the agreement.

Once again, Australian service suppliers, in 31 sectors and subsectors, will be guaranteed to receive the best treatment accorded by India to any future-Free Trade Agreement, including higher and adult education, business, medical and dental services, architectural and urban planning, and research and development. Anything that comes they will match under this agreement. They are the value-add services that drive our service-led economy.

There will be access also for young Indians to participate in working holidays in Australia: 1,000 places per year in Australia's 'work and holiday' program. The length of stay for an Indian student with a bachelor's degree and first-class honours will be extended from two to three years, post study, in the STEM and ICT sectors. There's third-party endorsement of this: the National Farmers Federation, Australian Grape and Wine Incorporated, WoolProducers, the Minerals Council of Australia, Apple and Pear Australia Limited, and the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

It has been the coalition's ambition—and, I now know, the Labor government's ambition—for these agreements to complete ratification by 30 November, so we can get that benefit of the double tariff cut on 1 January 2023. It is a good thing that they are here. It is not overly partisan. Let's neither of us try and claim the absolute win, because this is a win for the Australian people, Australian businesses and Australia's economy, and they'll be reaping the benefits of it for many years.

We hope these bills go through very quickly and successfully. We'll be supporting them. I commend this bill to the house.

Malcolm Roberts (Queensland, Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As a servant to the people of Queensland and Australia, I see that once again we have a so-called free trade agreement in front of the Senate. Each time a free trade agreement is advanced we hear speeches extolling the virtues of free trade, telling us how much this will help everyday Australians. Free trade lowers tariff barriers, making it easier for our farmers to sell their produce—so we're told. We're told that so-called free trade gives market access for our manufactured goods, software and suchlike.

Australia has free trade agreements with New Zealand, Singapore, the United States, Thailand, Chile, Malaysia, Korea, Japan, China, Hong Kong, Peru, Indonesia, Mexico and Vietnam, through the CPTPP, Brunei Darussalam and Cambodia, through the RCEP, and now India and the UK. After all these free trade agreements bringing all this increased prosperity, Australia should be rolling in it. But, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics measure of household income and wealth, since 2010 everyday Australian households have seen a reduction—not an increase—in their annual income of 1.2 per cent. This is not serving Australia. Everyday Australian households have seen a reduction in their wealth of 1.6 per cent. Australia is not rolling in new-found wealth; Australia has gone backwards, and Australians are going backwards. This is not serving Australia.

It should be remembered that in this period our mineral exports have absolutely boomed. From that alone, every Australian should be thousands of dollars better off. But we're not. So what's gone wrong? It's simple: nations do not sign free trade agreements unless they consider they will gain more than they lose. Of course, that is not possible. A pie can only be sliced in so many ways. There's no evidence free trade agreements will grow the pie so that each slice of the pie is larger. While growing the pie is the promise, the outcome is smaller slices of the same sized pie.

This so-called free trade agreement, like the previous agreements, will not make our lives better. It will not serve Australians. It will make it easier for large corporations to move capital around the world, chasing the lowest wage, the most flexible labour arrangements, including labour hire contracts that One Nation is still waiting for Labor to do something about. After we dragged their attention to it for the last three years, they still won't touch it. International capital will move money around, chasing the lowest tax rates and the highest profits.

This is where some of the negative outcomes from these so-called free trade agreements lie. Free trade agreements are a race to the bottom—a race to the lowest wages, the lowest taxation, the least corporate regulation and the most efficient enterprise. When proponents of free trade agreements talk about business efficiency, they never mean small and medium businesses or family businesses. Efficiency is a code word for large corporations becoming larger and sending small businesses broke to eliminate competition. That is not serving the people of Australia. That is not serving Australia

One Nation supports fair trade, not so-called free trade. Fair trade can occur between nations with similar wages and environmental regulations. These are the two big costs that decide how fairly one country can compete with another. The Australia-UK Free Trade Agreement is more likely to provide a fair outcome for Australia than any other of these so-called agreements with countries, like China, that treat environmental legislation as a joke and pay their workers unfairly low wages. The fact that a party called the Labor Party promotes these agreements belies their name. Their new iteration is the party of global capital and environmental rent-seekers. One Nation is now the party of the workers, because we serve the people. We have one flag, we have one community and we are One Nation, serving the people of Australia.

David Van (Victoria, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I must admit I don't agree with much—or anything—of what my good friend Senator Roberts said. I welcome the government's move to introduce the tranche of bills that is before us today. I'm especially pleased that they have finally introduced the Customs Amendment (Australia-United Kingdom Free Trade Agreement Implementation) Bill 2022 and its partner, the Customs Tariff Amendment (Australia-United Kingdom Free Trade Agreement Implementation) Bill 2022. However, quite simply, the introduction of this bill should have been months ago. Perhaps if the government had gone to the effort of appointing a High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, they might have heard from that person how urgent and important it is that this is done. But, alas, we still don't have a High Commissioner, and after over six months of government we are only now seeing this bill entered into the Senate.

It was, after all, on 15 June last year that then prime ministers Morrison and Johnson announced that they had reached an agreement on the core principles of that free trade agreement. It was the coalition government who did all the heavy lifting and delivered on an ambitious agenda to get this free trade agreement done. Fundamentally, the former coalition government understood the importance of free trade and delivering better trade and market access. When we arrived in government in 2013, only 27 per cent of Australia's two-way trade was covered by free trade agreements. When we left government earlier this year, that figure was 75 per cent of all two-way trade.

It's important to note that this is the first free trade agreement that the UK has reached following its exit from the EU. This highlights the incredible work done by the then trade minister Dan Tehan, who negotiated this deal while we were in government. The Australia-United Kingdom Free Trade Agreement is the gold standard across all trade agreements of its kind. Australia's free trade agreement with the UK is the most comprehensive and ambitious free trade agreement that Australia has, other than our one with New Zealand. The United Kingdom is one of our most important partners in the world. Our nations share a closely aligned strategic outlook, and we cooperate across a wide range of foreign policy, defence, security, intelligence, trade and economic issues. When this agreement comes into force, tariffs on over 99 per cent of Australian goods exported to the UK—valued at around $9.2 billion—will be eliminated. Under the agreement, Australia will also eliminate almost all tariffs on goods originating from the UK, with a small number to see tariff elimination over five years. Australia and UK are both trading nations that share a commitment to liberalised free trade which is underpinned by our shared heritage and values. We already have a strong and special relationship rooted deeply in business and people-to-people connections. The free trade agreement will only strengthen this further.

In Australia, as my good friend Senator Cadell said, it has been widely applauded by a range of different business groups. It will make Australian exports to the United Kingdom cheaper and create new opportunities for workers, young people and businesses. Importantly, the Australia-United Kingdom Free Trade Agreement delivers a wider range of trade and market access opportunities for exporters. In what can be seen as a giant win for our farmers and producers, they will now have improved access to more than 65 million UK consumers who value safe, sustainably produced food and beverages, with the strong provenance that Australia offers. Around $43 million in annual customs duties will be removed from Australian wine when the agreement enters into force which will help those who have been subject to illegal trade sanctions by the Chinese Communist Party. This free trade agreement will save Australian households and businesses around $200 million a year, with tariffs on almost all UK goods being eliminated on the agreement entering into force. At a time when we are having a cost-of-living crisis, this should have been a priority. Yet, unfortunately, we've seen this government drop the ball when it comes to the cost-of-living crisis that Australians are facing. Instead, they're spending more time looking at entrenching and enhancing their union mates' power.

Because of the coalition's work, under this free trade agreement, professionals will have the same access to the United Kingdom's lucrative jobs market as their European competitors, except, obviously, for the Republic of Ireland. This means Australian jobseekers can compete on an equal footing with EU nationals in the UK for the first time in more than 40 years. At a time when employers across Australia are crying out that they are understaffed and need more workers to keep up with demand and keep their businesses alive, this agreement will make it easier for more British people to come and work here, and they will be able to do so for longer than their traditional 80-day stay at a farm. They can also help fill critically understaffed industries such as hospitality, aged care and child care. It is for this reason that the Albanese government needs to stop dithering and start doing. Our Victorian businesses cannot wait one more year for the next sitting fortnight to hash out the finer details of this agreement. They need cheaper imports and more staff for this Christmas season coming up or—and I say this with deep sorrow—some Victorian businesses may not survive to see their next Christmas.

Australian businesses will also have a guaranteed right to bid for a greater variety of UK government contracts in a procurement market estimated to be worth half a trillion dollars annually. Australia and the UK have a strong and enduring investment relationship that reflects the deep ties between our countries and our shared traditions of good governance and robust legal systems. UK businesses will be encouraged to invest in Australia thanks to best practice investment rules, including to set up regional headquarters in Australia to leverage our network of free trade agreements. In 2020, the UK was the second-largest source of foreign investment in Australia, totalling $738 billion, and the third-largest source of foreign direct investment at $123 billion. By bringing in new businesses with connections in different markets, foreign investment from the UK can create more export opportunities for Australian businesses. Increased UK investment will also encourage competition and increase innovation by bringing new technologies and services to the Australian market, promoting productivity, employment and wages growth.

Given the considerable benefits and opportunities that this agreement will bring to both Australia and the UK, it is really absurd that it took the government this long to get it in front of the Senate. As an open trading nation, our future prosperity depends on Australian businesses continuing to be competitive, innovative and successful in new markets. Trade agreements help create opportunities for business and for people to grow and succeed. This creates more jobs and more skilled people to fill those jobs.

It is important to remember that the coalition managed to negotiate this free trade agreement during the COVID-19 pandemic, a time when we were experiencing the most difficult conditions that any of us had ever experienced—a time when those opposite kept on yelling out across the chamber that we had only two jobs to do. It's really unbelievable now, isn't it? So the Labor Party really has no excuse for why it has taken this long to bring these bills before us. Clearly, this government hasn't yet figured out how to walk and chew gum at the same time.

When it comes to the Australia-India Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement, the customs amendment and customs tariff amendment bills will have similar effects to the customs bills covering the UK agreement. Both implement Australia's rules-of-origin and preferential-tariff-rate obligations in the trade agreement with India. This agreement with India opens up a new era of growth for Australian exporters. The coalition should be congratulated for our hard work in getting these across the line.

In 2020 India was Australia's seventh-largest trading partner, with two-way trade valued at $24.3 billion. India is also an important friend and ally in the region, who we have been working with deeply through our Quad partnership. Under this agreement, tariffs will be eliminated on more than 85 per cent of Australian goods exported to India, rising to almost 91 per cent, which is valued at $13.4 billion, over 10 years. Countless Australian sectors will benefit from this agreement, helping our producers gain greater access to a more diverse range of markets. It has been the coalition's ambition for these agreements to complete their domestic ratification processes by 30 November so that exporters can get the benefit of a double tariff cut on 1 January 2023.

As I said, we have been completely bipartisan in supporting the government on these bills; however, why the government has been so haphazard and slow in the implementation of this agreement is absolutely baffling. It shows they have little or no idea on how to govern. Obviously, we support these bills and therefore call on the government to stop the delay. Let's get these agreements implemented as quickly as possible so that Australian exporters can start to reap the benefit of the coalition's hard work.

Slade Brockman (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I to rise to make a brief contribution on this package of free trade agreement bills. As I've said in this place on a number of occasions, Australia is a trading nation. My home state of Western Australia is a trading state. Western Australia exports something like 90 per cent-plus of its wheat—its largest agricultural commodity. Obviously, we are the single most significant exporter of iron ore and a significant exporter of gas into the international market. Western Australia in particular relies on trade and on agreements between nations to make trade flows work. That is why it is my pleasure to rise and speak on these bills. I'm very happy to say these are bills that are aimed at liberalising trade flows between Australia and the UK, on the one hand, and Australia and India, on the other, both very important markets to my home state of WA.

In terms of trade, things like gold and agricultural commodities are significant exports to the UK. We receive our largest number of overseas visors from any nation in Europe from the UK. We are thankfully beginning to see the return of, colloquially, the backpackers, the working holiday visa makers, to Western Australia from a variety of nations, including the UK. That's really good to see because they're such an important part of the workforce, particularly in many rural and regional areas.

In congratulating former minister Tehan and former minister Birmingham for their work on the trade agreements, I wish to sound a word of warning. As has always been the case, in the moniker 'free trade agreement', the term 'free' is perhaps a little bit questionable at times. Often they are trade agreements that seek to control and limit. Yes, they put in place tariff reductions, but they can also, particularly when they're being negotiated without perhaps the commitment to liberal free trade that the coalition have, end up being regulatory agreements. That is something that I would urge those who are now in the government seats to be very cautious of as they move forward with future trade agreements.

In particular, we see in trade agreements being negotiated by the Europeans a desire to impose European regulations on other jurisdictions. If we allow trade agreements to go down that path, we will weaken our economy, we will undermine the very nature of trade and trade agreements and the benefits they give to the international community and we will impose costs from an overseas jurisdiction on Australian producers. In particular, the area where this will hit hardest is the area closest to my heart—and I freely admit this—which is the agricultural sector. There are many ways that you can impose regulation via trade agreements on exports that don't involve tariffs. We're seeing that now in some of the reaction to the negotiations and the agreement signed between Europe and New Zealand in terms of their agricultural producers and how it is impacting upon them. The devil is always in the detail in trade agreements.

The reason why I congratulate Senator Birmingham and former minister Tehan is that I know they had a commitment to liberal trade agreements. They had a commitment to open, fair and free trade as a way of increasing the wealth of Australia. Will that remain the case or will we get bogged down in labour force examinations, the export of various rules around methane or carbon in trade agreements and various restrictions on chemicals that aren't needed in higher rainfall jurisdictions like Europe but which are needed in low-rainfall areas, particularly, say, in my home state of WA, where a chemical like glyphosate is essential to no-till farming, which locks moisture into the soil and stops erosion? If we lose access to those very important chemicals, with no replacement, then we will also decimate the agricultural production in this country and we will also no longer be able to feed millions of people around the world. Australia as a trading nation is not just exporting food for the fun of it. We are exporting food because there are people out there that need food. If we go down the path where our trade agreements enable other jurisdictions to dictate how our farmers and our businesses operate in this country, that will be a sad day indeed for Australia.

Don Farrell (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Trade and Tourism) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the Customs Amendment (Australia-United Kingdom Free Trade Agreement Implementation) Bill 2022, the Customs Amendment (India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement Implementation) Bill 2022 and related bills. I will sum up for the government and make it clear that the government is very committed to seeking entry into force of the Australia-United Kingdom Free Trade Agreement and the Australia-India Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement as soon as possible to enable the many benefits to be realised.

The Joint Standing Committee on Treaties scrutinised both agreements and recommended that binding treaty action be taken to implement these two fine agreements. I wish to express my sincere thanks to all the members of the committee for preparing a valuable report. Special thanks go to the chair, Mr Josh Wilson.

The Australia-United Kingdom Free Trade Agreement includes ambitious outcomes to benefit both Australia and the United Kingdom. These include: eliminating tariffs on over 99 per cent of Australian goods exported to the United Kingdom, valued at about $9.2 billion; enhancing pathways for workers and young people to work in both countries; and supporting the free movement of data to enhance growth in the digital economy.

The Australia-India Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement secures Australia's access to the fastest growing Indian market, a market of 1.4 billion people, and provides a solid basis to negotiate a further comprehensive economic cooperation agreement. The agreement will deliver many benefits to Australian producers and service suppliers. These include eliminating tariffs on 90 per cent of Australia's current goods and exports to India by value and locking in access to many sectors in Australia's third-largest services export market. A trade agreement with India will give Australian exporters a competitive advantage in the Indian market and opportunities for very important trade diversification.

I note that some senators on the crossbench have raised specific concerns in relation to the two trade agreements, including the negotiating process. The speech I delivered on 14 November at the RMIT APEC Study Centre in Melbourne outlines the government's approach to trade and investment policy. The government is committed to ensuring transparency in trade negotiations and seeks to balance: firstly, the need for confidentiality during the negotiations; secondly, the respective roles of the executive and parliament; and, finally, the interests of a range of stakeholders. To enhance stakeholder engagement, the government has established the Trade 2040 Taskforce. This task force will ensure that traditionally marginalised voices are amplified, including those of First Nations people and women.

Finally, the government's approach to trade recognises that Australia's economic resilience depends on open global trade relations, underpinned by robust rules. More trade, not less, is a key part of how we'll build the economic future we want in Australia, with secure, high-paying jobs and an open, internationally competitive economy powered by clean energy. Trade agreements with India and the United Kingdom will assist Australia to reach its full economic potential. I'd like to thank my fellow senators, including Senator Birmingham, for supporting the legislation that will ratify these important trade agreements.

Jess Walsh (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The question is that the second reading amendment moved by senators Cox and Steele-John be agreed.