一位高级部长表示，安格斯·泰勒必须对“民族党”内部试图破坏每年价值100亿欧元的欧盟自由贸易协定的“狂热分子”采取“强硬立场”。本周，《新闻线》透露，民族党将在明年早些时候该协定提交议会时试图予以阻止。民族党领袖马特·卡纳万表示，该协定未能照顾农民的利益，若未能达到2016年《巴黎协定》设定的气候目标，可能使澳大利亚面临制裁风险——而该协定正是前总理托尼·阿博特曾承诺堪培拉遵守的。
Angus Taylor must take a “strong stand” against “fanatics” in The Nationals trying to scupper the $10bn-a-year free trade deal with the EU, a senior minister says. NewsWire revealed this week that The Nationals will try to block the $10bn-a-year deal when it arrives in parliament early next year. Leader Matt Canavan says it fails farmers and could leave Australia open to sanctions if it fails to hit climate targets under the 2016 Paris Agreement – an accord former prime minister Tony Abbott committed Canberra to.
但大多数行业和商业团体已欢迎该协定，而贸易部长唐·法雷尔则将气候方面的担忧驳斥为“稻草人”论点。另一位内阁部长蒂姆·艾尔斯周日表示，该自由贸易协定是对反对党领袖“经济可信度”的考验。“议会里的50名自由党人真的会被参议员卡纳万领导的这些狂热分子牵着鼻子走吗？还是他们将投票支持主流的经济可信度、自由贸易，以及让98%的澳大利亚商品免税进入欧洲市场？”
But most sectors and business groups have welcomed the agreement, while Trade Minister Don Farrell has dismissed the climate concerns as a “straw man” argument.
他在接受《新闻24》采访时说道。“这是对泰勒先生经济领导力的考验，也是他该拿出强硬立场的时候了。”艾尔斯参议员的言论被转达给反党阵线前议员莎拉·亨德森，她坚称联盟希望“与欧盟实现更好的贸易，但这不能是单方面的协议”。“特别是牛肉和乳制品方面，我们对一些提案深感担忧，”她在接受《新闻24》采访时说。
Fellow cabinet minister Tim Ayres said on Sunday that the free trade agreement is a test of the Opposition Leader’s “economic credibility”. “Are the 50 Liberals in the parliament really going to be led by the nose of these fanatics, led by Senator Canavan, or are they going to vote for mainstream economic credibility, for free trade, for market access for 98 per cent of Australian goods entering Europe without a tariff?” he asked in an interview with News24.
“因此，我们认为政府还有更多工作要做。”她又说：“我们在许多司法管辖区有着公平自由贸易协定的良好历史。”“但这对澳大利亚人来说不是一个好协议，这就是我们希望看到政府做得更好的原因。”牛肉生产者曾希望获得5万吨的市场准入配额，但该协定于3月最终敲定时，仅确保了3.5万吨的配额。
“This is a test for Mr Taylor’s economic leadership and it’s time that he took a strong stand.”Senator Ayres’s comments were put to opposition frontbencher Sarah Henderson, who insisted the Coalition wants “better trade with the EU, but it cannot be a one-sided agreement”. “And particularly for beef and dairy, we are very concerned about some of the proposals,” she said, also speaking to News24.
这是目前水平的八倍。羊肉出口量降至略低于3.1万吨，此前为5800吨。澳大利亚工业集团首席执行官因斯·威洛克斯本周早些时候表示，该协议“并非完美”，但“没有哪个协议是完美的”。“更便捷、更广泛地进入拥有4.5亿人口的市场，有可能对我们的经济以及成千上万家个体企业带来普遍提振，”他说。“我们进行了长达十年的艰苦谈判，虽然没有得到我们想要的一切，但如果现在拒绝这项协议，将对澳大利亚长期以来支持自由贸易和开放市场构成重大打击。“我们实在不能错过这个机会。”如果联盟党成功阻止该协议，这将成为第一个未能通过议会的自由贸易协定。
So we think the government has got more work to do,” she said, also speaking to News24. “We’ve got a very strong history of doing fair and free trade agreements right across many jurisdictions. “But this is not a good deal for Australians, and that’s why we want to see the government do better.” Beef producers wanted market access quotas of 50,000 tonnes but the agreement, finalised in March, secured 35,000 tonnes. It is an eight-fold improvement on current levels. Sheep meat exports landed at just under 31,000 tonnes, up from 5800 tonnes. Australian Industry Group chief executive Innes Willox said earlier this week the deal “is not perfect” but that “no agreements ever are”. “Easier and greater access to a market of 450 million people has the potential to be a general boost to our economy and to thousands of individual businesses,” he said. “We have been in protracted negotiations for a decade and while we have not got all we want, to turn our backs on the agreement now would be a major blow to Australia’s long held support for free trade and open markets. “We really can’t afford to miss this opportunity.” If the Coalition succeeded in blocking the deal, it would be the first free trade agreement not to pass parliament.