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Government must do more for Horticulture in future Free Trade Agreements
16-September-2009
MEDIA RELEASE
For immediate release
Government must do more for Horticulture in future Free Trade Agreements
Federal Parliament today took an important step towards implementing the Australia – New Zealand ASEAN Free Trade Agreement (FTA) which will come into effect in January next year.
While the signing of another regional Free Trade Agreement is a positive move for Australia, Federal Member for Farrer, Sussan Ley, told Parliament theGovernment has not tried hard enough to secure a strong future for the Australian Horticulture Industry during trade negotiations.
In a speechto Parliament today, Ms Ley asked the Government to immediately adopt Recommendation 1 of the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties in which the Committee recommends:
The Government pursue all possible bilateral and multilateral avenues to secure improved tariff outcomes for the horticulture industry.
“The Government has had the Committee’s report since June,but so far it has not seemed interested in supporting or even commenting on their recommendations” Ms Ley said.
Only now, in order to rush this legislation through so the Trade Minister can strut his stuff at the East Asia Summit next month, has the Government finally agreed to Opposition demands that Horticulture be given a higher profile in future trade negotiations.
“Meanwhile, Australia’s horticulture industries which have taken some small steps forward in terms of access for our products overseas should have done much better out of this agreement.
“The tariff outcomes under this FTA lock our industries - either temporarily or permanently - into inferior trading positions against our competitors in the ASEAN Market. This is particularly the case with mandarins and vegetables "Ms Ley said.
“In particular we will be disadvantaged with mandarin exports to Indonesia where the tariff is 25% phasing down to 18% and with vegetable exports generally. There is no tariff on Chinese vegetable exports to ASEAN countries (which are growing rapidlly) whereas our exporters are still faced with tariff barriers.”
Ms Ley reminded the Government of the desperate circumstances horticulture industries in the Sunraysia are experiencing, struggling with low or no water allocations and collapsing commodity prices.
“In addition to those difficulties they also face Labor’s proposed changes to the Wine Industry and Horticulture Industry Awards which, if pursued, have the potential to send local businesses to the wall.
"We must do more for our citrus, grape, vegetable, and dried fruit industries because they are the producers of our food. Remember, there is no such thing as a post agriculture economy”.
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Media contact: Debbie Brown (02) 60213264 0428 297 699