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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, First Session (54-1)
2018-11-27 Daily Xml
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Australian Embassy, Israel

The Hon. T.A. FRANKS (15:11): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Trade a question about the trade implications for the possible relocation of the Australian Embassy in Israel.

Leave granted.

The Hon. T.A. FRANKS: A few weeks prior to the Wentworth by-election poll date, the newly-minted Prime Minister, Mr Morrison, made what appears to be a captain's call: that the Israeli Embassy should be moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. I note that the man who made his fortune in the tourism industry as the creator of 'Where the bloody hell are you?' became the 'Where the bloody hell did that come from?' prime minister. It has been further revealed in Senate estimates that not one government official was consulted about the new Prime Minister's captain's call of a major foreign policy shift.

That concern was also echoed by the National Farmers' Federation, former deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce and, indeed, federal trade minister Simon Birmingham has gone on record most recently stating that the Australian government will now carefully consider both the security and economic implications before taking any final decision. As they should, these concerns are well-founded. Exporters across Australia are worried that the dispute over the Prime Minister's decision and captain's call has delayed a new trade deal with Indonesia. As the minister will well know, that trade deal endangers the wheat and beef business with Australia which is worth some $16.5 billion a year.

At the East Asia Summit in the past month Indonesia's President Widodo raised the issue with Prime Minister Morrison during his talks, reiterating the Indonesian argument against the embassy move, with the Indonesian government issuing a statement that emphasised a two-state solution between Israel and Palestine. Indeed, Indonesian foreign minister Marsudi has also stressed that, 'If Australia insists on moving its embassy to Jerusalem, the signing will be delayed.' The Indonesian trade minister therefore sharpened the dispute over the trade deal by saying that the timing of that agreement is now linked to Australia's decision on Israel. My questions to the Minister for Trade are:

1. Was he consulted either before or after the Prime Minister's captain's call on moving the Israeli embassy?

2. What will he do as Minister for Trade to ensure that no more such captain's calls are made endangering our trade relations with other countries?

3. What assurances has he given South Australian exporters that this captain's call, made seemingly with the Wentworth by-election result in mind, will not further endanger their ability to trade?

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY (Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment) (15:14): I thank the honourable member for her ongoing interest in this particular issue, and a whole range of other issues. As proud as I am to be a member of the South Australian parliament, I don't know whether the Prime Minister or any federal member or minister actually consults on announcements like that. I would have loved to have been consulted but, clearly, I wasn't consulted. Maybe if we had a Greens prime minister that is the way that they would operate—I'm not quite sure—but I wasn't consulted.

It's interesting: I haven't been contacted at my office by a single South Australian exporter—not to say that the department hasn't, but not one has raised this particular issue with me as threatening their exports and viability. Maybe they will come. I have checked my junk box for emails today and there is nothing in it, but that was in relation to earlier questions.

The Hon. T.A. Franks: What about when you met with the delegation from West Java, or did you not meet with them?

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY: I don't recall when they came most recently.

The Hon. T.A. Franks: They were here in the last six weeks.

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY: I did meet with some—it was not raised. It has not been raised with me in any forum that I can recall. It's a bit like the tensions that we see internationally between the national government of China and the national government of Australia: when I'm in China doing business state to state, there is no mention of it. They just want to get on and do business; they want to buy our food and our wine. To this point, I don't believe it has impacted directly on any current arrangements with any South Australian exporters.

Sure, we are aware that the Indonesians are stalling a little with the negotiations around the free trade agreement, which is something that the federal government conducts on our behalf. I wish them all the very best in it. We are benefiting from the free trade agreements that have been signed with the US, China, Korea, Japan and a whole range of other places, which give us some great opportunities. Clearly, trade arrangements will start to go into place for the United Kingdom and for Europe. The federal government will continue to pursue them. Indonesia is an important market. We export a significant amount of our products there, but the rest of the world is also hungry for South Australia's produce.

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