The Prime Minister joined Yass cattle producer Brendan Abbey in the yards at his property Bellevale at Yass today. The Prime Minister was visiting with Trade Minister Andrew Robb, Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce and Member for Hume Angus Taylor to hear first hand how free trade agreements are benefiting exporters.

Mr Taylor said the recently signed China Australia Free Trade Agreement (ChAFTA) would bring ‘unprecedented opportunities’ for producers such as the Abbeys: “Regions like ours - our investment, our jobs - are dependent on these agreements. Everyone is beating a path to China’s door. New Zealand did their deal with China years ago which has revolutionised their dairy sector. Now it’s Australia’s turn to reap the benefits that only an FTA can deliver,” Mr Taylor said.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott thanked the Abbeys for their hospitality and said he was delighted to remind people that trade means jobs: “Wherever you look, this government is supporting growth and jobs. Trade means jobs, investment means jobs and this government wants to see more trade and more investment in our country.”

Trade Minister Andrew Robb congratulated the Abbeys on what they had achieved: “It’s a great sign of the confidence in the rural sector – these cattle behind us have gone up in value every month for the past seven or eight months. On the China Free Trade Agreement, the union scare campaign is a misplaced, misleading, lying campaign. And all it’s going to do is cost Australians who are making these sorts of investments and taking risks. The Free Trade Agreement with China is fundamental to the success of Rowena and Brendan and thousands of farmers across the country in all sorts of areas of agriculture.”

Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce said the flow on benefits from FTAs were widespread: “It’s not just the Abbeys who are making a buck, it’s the meatworkers - and there are about 45,000 people employed in our meat processing industry - it’s the IT people, the people in trade…another 150,000 people who are in the jobs created by these opportunities. We are going to keep making sure that the money flows back through Yass, through Roma, through Coonamble, through Collins Street and Martin Place. This is how you get an economy going and this is how you make a difference,” Minister Joyce said.