Federal Member for Flynn Ken O’Dowd said on Thursday morning he had heard a lot of noise about the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement, but one voice he hadn’t heard from was the Labor Party.
“The unions have been blowing a lot of hot air about the Free Trade Agreement, and you would assume they have the support of the Labor Party, but they’ve stayed silent,” Mr O’Dowd said.
“If they support the unions in attacking a landmark deal that will have wide-ranging benefits to the broader community, then they should clearly state their policy.”
Mr O’Dowd challenged his Labor opponents to come forward with a serious position on the agreement, or risk looking like they were hiding from the debate.
“All I am hearing from the Labor Party is silence, and it is deafening,” Mr O’Dowd said.
* * *
UPDATE: Mr O’Dowd’s request seems to have been answered with the Labor Party being quizzed by Government MPs during Question Time in Federal Parliament this afternoon.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott told the Opposition to “stop spreading racist lies” while Federal Trade Minister Andrew Robb accused Opposition Members of repeating “racist” statements by “militant unions”, especially the CFMEU and ETU.
Related articles:
As with all these trading arrangements, the underside of the coin remains unseen. This will also open Australian domestic markets to overseas suppliers with cheap imports in direct competition with local produce on supermarket shelves. The same can be said for traditional Australian markets, this agreement allowing access for all signatory countries.