Hutchison Paul: ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Area Bill — Second Reading 
Hutchison Paul: ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Area Bill — Second Reading 
[Volume:655;Page:4487] 
Dr PAUL HUTCHISON (National—Hunua) 
: 
 I regard the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Area Bill as an incredibly positive and important bill. The bill is supported on a bipartisan basis. It is a shame that the Greens take a different view on the bill and I find it very hard to understand how they see that imposing restrictions will make a difference to the regime. In fact I think the opposite is more likely to be the case. 
Nevertheless I agree entirely with the Hon Mr Hodgson who made the point that the genesis of the bill has taken place over a considerable period of time. I would go back even further to the Hon Dr Lockwood Smith for his work in the early 1990s— 
Stuart Nash 
: Phil Goff. Come on; at least give credit where credit is due. 
Paul Quinn 
: No. Lockwood Smith. 
Dr PAUL HUTCHISON 
: Absolutely Lockwood Smith did some amazing groundwork followed by the Hon Jim Sutton the Hon Phil Goff and now of course there is the sterling work of the Hon Tim Groser. I think people on every side of the House admire the fact that there are a few professionals here like Tim Groser who was imbued in the world of trade professionally for 30 or so years. We are very lucky to have him here as Minister of Trade. 
Although I was not on the Foreign Affairs Defence and Trade Committee during the period of the deliberations I have taken the time to look at the various submissions on the bill. I thought it was interesting that the Seafood Industry Council felt that if anything New Zealand was a little unambitious in terms of its attitude towards the free-trade agreement and that in fact we could have embraced it earlier and more rapidly than we have. The council pointed out that New Zealand is a relatively small producer of seafood products in global terms and that it accounts for 0.4 percent of global production from wild capture fisheries in aquaculture. Australia funnily enough accounts for only 0.2 percent whereas the ASEAN countries make up about 15 percent of global trade. However the point I would like to make here is— 
Phil Twyford 
: Watch and learn Cam. 
Dr PAUL HUTCHISON 
: Indeed that is a very good point and I am sure he will. 
Hon Maurice Williamson 
: How did Phil Twyford get on in Mount Albert? 
Dr PAUL HUTCHISON 
: Yes how did Phil Twyford get on in Mount Albert? The really important point to be made here is that New Zealand has an incredible opportunity in terms of fishing in the ASEAN region. After all along with the Pacific Islands we have an extraordinary amount of ocean territory that could be better utilised and harnessed and that perhaps in future joint ventures with the Pacific Islands we could turn into trade with ASEAN countries that we are not using now. The Seafood Industry Council pointed out that New Zealand imports about $130 million worth of seafood products annually but that we have huge potential for considerably more exporting in the future if we want it. 
The second submission that I think is worthwhile pointing out is the submission from the Chamber of Commerce. It said that it was extraordinary and excellent that the free-trade agreement was signed on the same day as Prime Minister Key’s employment summit and that “Growing New Zealand’s international markets is the key to job creation in the longer term and the new FTA will be an important platform from which to do that.” 
The Chamber of Commerce emphasised that there is an area of 566 million people with an estimated GDP of something like $700 billion covering 12 countries. Again the potential for expansion is enormous. But it points out that the removal of many of the tariffs facing New Zealand exporters—in particular tariffs on as many as 99 percent of our current exports to Indonesia Malaysia the Philippines and Viet Nam—within 12 years equates to a huge and significant saving in annual duty. The Chamber of Commerce says that in addition to these direct gains benefits are likely to flow from the generation of new two-way trade with ASEAN countries that have hitherto been deterred or diverted by the high tariffs. 
The other point the submission emphasises is that “In contrast to previous FTA negotiations the China-New Zealand FTA has achieved a very positive outcome for services. This is most welcome as the services sector has not been well served by New Zealand trade policy. Even though services constitute 70% of our GDP and almost 30% of our exports”. 
A further submission came from Fonterra. It was highly supportive of the proposed free-trade agreement and undoubtedly the reasons for that are obvious. The submission pointed out that dairy tariffs into key ASEAN markets typically range up to 10 percent and our exports incur approximately $50 million in tariffs per annum. That is a huge amount of money and the agreement will eliminate tariffs on almost all of New Zealand’s dairy trade into the region by 2020 and remove the risk that trade barriers could be introduced in the future. 
Fonterra says that the certainty achieved from eliminating trade barriers will allow us to grow our dairy supply into populous regions that have huge potential for demand for growth. Right now there is no doubt that this is particularly key for New Zealand. There is no doubt that there are significant nutrition problems in the ASEAN region and the protein that is so effectively and efficiently produced here has great markets there. 
One of the criticisms I heard in the first reading of this bill was the fact that there was an obsession with trade alone. This is part of a huge change that has come about over the last 30 to 40 years and it has particularly affected Australia and New Zealand. I find it extraordinary to think that my wife who is a classical ballet teacher regularly goes to places like Hong Kong Viet Nam and Kuala Lumpur to teach and judge for the Royal Academy of Dance. Those cultural interchanges that occur are incredibly important for the rich tapestry of life in our part of the woods. Not only is this agreement one that is very important for trade but also it is very important for a whole spectrum of activities that enrich our lives. Thank you.