Sally Sara: Well, Don Farrell is the Trade Minister and joins me in our Parliament House studio. Minister, welcome back to Breakfast.
Minister for Trade and Tourism, Don Farrell: Thanks, Sally.
Sally Sara: Some sectors are happy, others are not. Cattle Australia calls the agreement simply appalling. The National Farmers’ Federation says it's subpar. And the Australia-EU Red Meat Market Access Task Force says that they feel that they've been profoundly let down. When it comes particularly to red meat, why are we not able to get a better deal?
Minister Farrell: Well, look, can I say that overwhelmingly, agriculture in this country has come out in support of the agreement. With the cattle producers, we've got an 800 per cent increase in our access to the European market as a result of this agreement. And if the Europeans had made this offer to me the last time we had formal negotiations, then we would have accepted it. We would have accepted it then. Monday of this week, I accepted it with my counterpart, Maroš Šefčovič.
The cattle industry wanted three things out of this agreement. One was an increased offer from the previous negotiations. We got that. Secondly, they wanted the removal of the sort of conditions that have resulted in Canada, despite having a 50,000 tonne access to the European market, has had no beef go into the European Union in 10 years. So, they wanted the conditions removed, and we did that. And finally, they wanted an opportunity to go back at a certain time to see if we can increase the volume. And I got that. So, everything that cattle wanted, we've got.
95 per cent of Australian industry supports this agreement. I'm asking the cattle industry to come on board. This is a vital moment for them. If we can't demonstrate to the rest of the world that Australia is capable of negotiating free and fair trade agreements, then we've got a big problem in this country.
Sally Sara: The red meat sector's not seeing it as fair. The numbers are not high enough. Earlier this morning, I spoke to Hamish McIntyre, president of the National Farmers’ Federation. He says the deal is very similar to the one that Australia rejected in 2023. Let's have a quick listen.
Hamish McIntyre: You will remember this is a long-term generational agreement. It's not just for the next couple of years. It's for 10, 20, 30, 40 years for our children and grandchildren. So, we have locked ourselves into very low volumes for a long period of time. That's where the great frustration's coming from in our red meat industry, particularly.
Sally Sara: That's NFF President Hamish McIntyre. Minister, the farmers say they only became aware of the numbers for red meat yesterday morning. Why wasn't there greater consultation with them?
Minister Farrell: Well, we finally negotiated the agreement in Sydney on Monday, and we told them at the earliest opportunity on Tuesday. So, I don't think that's a fair criticism at all. We've been briefing their associations all the way along the line. I was speaking to a number their people right over the weekend, telling them this was coming.
I don't think those criticisms are fair, Sally, for this reason: we do get an opportunity to have a second crack at this. This is something that the industry asked for. They said, look, we don't want you to lock in a figure for all time. This agreement, and it's the only agreement that the Europeans have done, which gives us an opportunity to come back later to get a better outcome, it's an 800 per cent increase in the volume that we can get into Europe. As I said, they've made comparisons with Canada. Okay, the Canada-EU Free Trade Agreement, says 50,000 tonnes, well not a single kilo has gone into the EU in the last 10 years, under that agreement. In the next two years of this agreement, we'll get 70,000 tonnes of Australian high-quality, good-value beef into Europe worth billions of dollars. Billions of dollars. This is a good deal for Australia. It's also a good deal for farmers in this country.
Sally Sara: Minister, we must talk fuel, given the current situation. Have you been in or will you be in discussions with some of our Asian neighbours and trading partners to try and get more fuel coming through into Australia?
Minister Farrell: Personally, no. But the relevant Ministers in this space will be doing that. Obviously, it's a serious situation, Sally. It's all come about because of the war currently in the Middle East. Everything this government does will be to try to ameliorate the potential problems that result from that war. So, we'll be working with our neighbours. We've got really good relations with Japan, with Korea, with China, and we'll use those good relations to ensure that we continue to supply petrol, diesel, and airline fuel into the Australian market.
Sally Sara: Just finally, on another issue, your other portfolio of electoral matters. You're considering expanding the size of the Federal Parliament before the next election. We've seen supporters of One Nation in South Australia questioning the integrity of the voting system after the results in that state election. Is it a risky or difficult time to change the electoral map right now?
Minister Farrell: Well, last time when we were trying to make the Australian electoral system more transparent and push big money out of politics, people said it couldn't be done. Well, you know, it was done. And the next election will be the most transparent and money-free election that we've had in our history. It's probably worth noting that in the South Australian election, where my good friend Mr Peter Malinauskas had a wonderful victory, a well-deserved victory, I might say, they banned all donations in that electoral system, and I haven't heard the One Nation complaining about that. But there are some question marks about the way in which One Nation prepared their how-to-vote cards, which I think require a bit more examination.
Sally Sara: Don Farrell, thank you for your time this morning.
Minister Farrell: Always wonderful to be with you, Sally.