Australia will reportedly sign a free trade agreement (FTA) with Indonesia on Monday. From The ABC:
Australia and Indonesia will sign a free trade agreement next Monday, ending months of uncertainty.
The ABC understands Trade Minister Simon Birmingham will fly to Jakarta with a business delegation on Sunday ahead of the signing the following day, with his counterpart Enggartiasto Lukita…
Australian Industry Group chief executive Innes Willox, who will be among those travelling with Mr Birmingham, said the deal showed maturity in “a relationship that has had its ups and downs”…
“Skill sharing as our economy changes shape and we become more focused on technology is going to be very important to both countries and will tie us closer together as we look forward”…
Indonesia wants greater access for Indonesians to work in Australia as well as support for its crude palm oil industry.
The Coalition previously admitted that an Indonesian FTA would further open the immigration floodgates by permitting “a few thousand” more Indonesians working rights:
Senator Birmingham… said the deal included provisions to grant more working holiday and working while studying visas to Indonesians.
“We want to make sure that at the professional services end there’s an effective free flow”…
Asked to put a figure on the additional numbers, Senator Birmingham said: “A few thousand”…
Therefore, an Indonesian FTA means more temporary migrant rorting and more low cost labour for business, which will further undermine Australian wages and working conditions.
The Productivity Commission (PC) has frequently derided the efficiency losses associated with FTAs, claiming that Australia’s trade negotiations have been “characterised by a lack of transparent and robust analysis, a vacuum consequently filled at times by misleading claims”, and has called on the “final text of an agreement to be rigorously analysed before signing”.
At a minimum, Labor and the cross-bench must seek a full PC assessment of the costs and benefits from an Indonesian FTA before ratifying the agreement.
