Trade minister defends Coalition free trade deals with China, South Korea and Japan as 2GB broadcaster declares ‘they’re going to buy up our farms’

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

An Abbott government minister has accused the broadcaster Alan Jones of promoting a “racist” scare campaign about foreign ownership of Australian farmland and greater trade links with Asian countries.

In an fiery interview on Radio 2GB on Wednesday, the trade minister, Andrew Robb, sought to defend the government’s trade deals with China, South Korea and Japan and the ongoing Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) talks.

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“I defend what we’re doing in the most aggressive way,” Robb said. “It is creating jobs. What are we here for? I’ve got kids, I’ve got grandchildren, and I feel that I’m helping secure a magnificent future for these kids and grandchildren.”

Jones repeatedly raised concerns about foreign ownership, and said Japan and China “won’t need our exports [because] they’re going to buy up our dairy farms and buy up our beef farms”.



Robb countered that the argument was “just a scare campaign” and insisted only 1% of agriculture was owned by the Chinese “and yet most people would think it’s probably 20% … with all of the ranting by the unions and everyone else”.

Throughout the exchange, Jones cited examples of Chinese and Korean buyers buying large tracts of Australian farmland or signalling their intention to do so.

Robb said Australia was a capital-limited country and “we have needed for 200 years other people’s capital to develop those resources”. Foreign investment helped develop agricultural supply lines, railways, storage and other infrastructure, and Australia also gained jobs and tax revenue, the minister said.

“Let me take you back 100 years, though, Alan,” Robb said. “Vestey’s [a UK company] owned all of the north.”

Robb fired up after the broadcaster dismissed the Vestey’s example. “We’re talking about China, South Korea and Japan,” Jones said. “No scare campaign – I’ll tell you what, you’re in trouble.”

Robb replied: “No, it’s a racist … ”

When Jones protested, Robb said: “Well, people are out there playing that card. The CFMEU … I can’t believe that you’ve been peddling, all last week, all of the CFMEU lines … They’re the most corrupt union in Australia, Alan. They’re in bed with the bikies who control 15% of the drug trade in Australia. Give me a break.”

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Robb said the CFMEU – which was campaigning against the labour movement provisions in Australia’s free trade agreement with China – had “totally misrepresented” the deal. “Why do they use the word China every second word? Because they know it produces a nervous response throughout the community, rather than looking at the facts.”

The CFMEU’s national secretary, Michael O’Connor, said the union would “happily put our record up against the Liberal party’s” and Robb should explain why a colleague attended a Reclaim Australia rally.

“In contrast, our union stands up for workers from overseas when they are being exploited on work sites in Australia,” he said. “The China FTA is a bad deal for Australia at a time of high unemployment, and the facts demonstrate that.”

After the interview, Jones told his listeners: “If I am a racist for trying to ensure that the best of Australia isn’t sold to foreign interests then I’m happy to wear that tag.”

Trade is building as a political issue. At its national conference last month, the Labor party committed to seek to remove investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) clauses from existing trade agreements amid concerns about foreign companies being able to sue the Australian government.

The prime minister, Tony Abbott, said last week that the free trade agreements were too important “to be sacrificed at the altar of short-term xenophobic politics”.



Labor’s trade spokeswoman, Penny Wong, said at the time that there was “no place for racism” in the debate over the China free trade agreement, but the opposition was concerned about the impact on jobs and the ISDS mechanism.