Nationals ‘fanatics’ leading Liberals ‘by the nose’ against EU trade deal, minister says

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.

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.

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.

“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.

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.