By The Editor
Caretaker Prime Minister Julia Gillard is right to reject independent MP Bob Katter’s demand to reinstate and raise tariffs, as negotiations continue to determine the fate of the next Government.
Mr Katter and fellow regional independent MPs Tony Windsor and Rob Oakeshott are expected to make a decision about which party to support next week.
As part of his demands, Mr Katter wants greater tariff protection for Australian farmers, who make up a large share of his northern Queensland constituency, especially banana and sugar growers. As he bluntly told ABC’s PM program during the election campaign, he wants a “15 per cent charge on everything coming into the country”.
These ideas have been criticised by rural peak bodies, including the National Farmers Federation and Canegrowers, but with both major parties keen to woo Mr Katter, the idea of reinstituting tariffs had not been ruled out completely.
However Ms Gillard flat out refused to consider the reintroduction of tariffs at a speech to the National Press Club this week, saying the Labor Party had been to “hell and back” to reduce tariff barriers, starting with the Whitlam Government and continuing with Bob Hawke in the 1980s.
Now is not the time to be putting up the borders to free trade. As Peter Roberts wrote in yesterday’s Financial Review, tariffs have caused more harm than good. “stifling flexibility, innovation and management capabilities that are needed for success”.
Australia’s pursuit of freer agricultural trade through the World Trade Organisation would also be severely inhibited if tariffs were reinstated, making it harmful for the large majority of businesses and consumers.
Reinstating tariffs would be a major regression in Australia’s economic progress, and both political parties are committed to increasing the scope of free trade in the future.
Our agricultural industries should be assisted in finding new world markets as they still play an important role in our economy, accounting for more than two per cent of the world’s agricultural exports, but these political negotiations should not be used to effectively extort a better deal for just one MP’s constituents.
