The Labor Party’s opposition to the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement came under fire at the Maules Creek Mine opening yesterday.
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Whitehaven Coal chairman and former Deputy Prime Minister Mark Vaile said Labor had taken an “insane position” with regard to the agreement signed between Australia and China in June.
Mr Vaile said agreements were already in place with the Maules Creek Mine’s biggest markets Japan and Korea, as well as the United States, Singapore and Thailand.
“It is inarguably in the interest of the nation and in the interest of the industry,” he told guests at the opening.
He said the changes to tariffs would mean an additional $60 million for the coal industry.
“If that doesn’t mean securing mining jobs, then some people are blind to the facts,” Mr Vaile said.
Federal Minister for Industry and Science Ian Macfarlane said Labor had to “start telling the truth of what the Free Trade Agreement would do”.
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has raised concerns about the agreement, including its foreign labour provisions.
The agreement has also become an issue in the Shenhua Watermark mine debate, with people worried the workforce will be sourced from China, despite assurances from Shenhua that would not happen.
Former China ambassador Dr Geoff Raby has said the workforce concerns are “greatly exaggerated”.