UK-Australia Free Trade Agreement

Tim Farron Excerpts

Wednesday 5th January 2022 Commons Chamber

[Anne-Marie Trevelyan]

I concur absolutely with my hon. Friend’s comments that the high commissioner, George Brandis, has been a huge advocate and supporter of the deal and indeed has assisted in some of the logistics challenges of carrying out, using mostly virtual methods, the very complex trade negotiations through different time zones to make sure that we were able to deliver this in an incredibly timely manner. That is reflected in the fact that both countries are very keen to build on their very close and long-standing relationships with what is one of the most liberalising trade deals that exists.

[Tim Farron (Westmorland and Lonsdale) (LD)]

I am passionate about free trade, and so are the farmers in Cumbria and so, I assume, are the farmers in Northumberland. No free trade is really free if it is not fair. When it comes to animal welfare, this deal clearly is not fair. I wonder whether the Secretary of State truly comprehends the astonishing difference in terms of animal welfare standards between farming, and livestock farming in particular, in her own community and in mine compared with Australia. There are staggering and astonishing differences in scale—the fact that we have close husbandry in this country and vast areas and no husbandry in Australia. Moreover, there is the lack of humane standards in abattoirs and also when it comes to the transportation of livestock. Surely this deal undermines our farmers, undermines the standards that we hold dear and throws our agriculture under a bus in order to get a cheap deal. How will she reply to her own farmers who will be as shocked and appalled as I am by much of this deal?

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Rosie Winterton)]

Order. We need slightly briefer questions if we are to get everybody in. There is a ten-minute rule Bill and then business after that. If I am to get everybody in, we just need to speed up a little bit.