3rd LD Writethru: Australia's Opposition agrees to terms with gov't over China-Australia FTA

Australia's Opposition on Wednesday agreed with the government on terms which would allow the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement (FTA) to go ahead.

Following a meeting between Labor senator Penny Wong and the government's Trade Minister Andrew Robb on Tuesday evening, Labor's caucus room approved the deal Wednesday morning, which now includes a number of small changes to Australia's Migration Act.

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten told the media on Wednesday that he was pleased to announce Labor's backing of the FTA now that "legal protections" over Australian workers had been achieved.

"Labor has stood up and expressed our concerns that there was insufficient legal safeguards and protections for Australian jobs, for Australian wages and conditions, for Australian skills and occupational licensing," Shorten said.

"Now Labor can now support the speedy passage of the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement."

Under the Opposition's requests, the Malcolm Turnbull government will make it mandatory for businesses to apply labor market testing to all new work agreements.

Previously, the government indicated it would apply mandatory market testing to work worth in excess of 110 million U.S dollars.

Labor indicated that this amendment gives Australian workers the first right to secure jobs before they are offered to overseas workers.

Also, workers coming into Australia who require the temporary work visa 457 will now be required to be licensed in Australia (within 90 days of arrival) for the specific work they have been brought in for.

Lastly, Labor requested that wages paid to workers gaining entry Australia because of the trade deal would be regulated and closely pegged to Australian standards so that the undercutting Australian wages would not occur.

Labor's negotiator and shadow Trade Minister, Penny Wong, said that all three conditions would be "closely regulated" by the government at Labor's request.

"The package that we have agreed with the government has delivered legal safeguards in those three key areas."

Trade Minister Andrew Robb said the government was "pleased" that the impasse had been resolved, adding that the agreement was a "very positive development" for Sino-Australian relations.

"I'm pleased to say that today we've reached an agreement with the opposition that is consistent with the tradition of bipartisanship," Robb told the media.

"It's a very positive development for the country.

"This deal with China is the biggest series of concessions that they have made with any other developed country in the world. It gives us an advantage across services, across agriculture, across manufacturing, resources and energy and also, importantly, with investment, that no other country has got this level of advantage.

"For all sorts of reasons, this is a spectacular outcome. This will set Australia up for a wonderful future."

Robb said he was extremely confident that China's Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng would be satisfied with the progress of the FTA.

"I have stayed in touch with the Chinese. I've taken the opportunity to informally run some of it past them and I've found that they were satisfied that it in no way halted what we'd agreed and it didn't discriminate against them," Robb said.

Meanwhile Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull praised Robb as well as Penny Wong in Parliament on Wednesday, saying the FTA was "a deal that always had to be done."

Labor had previously threatened to block the FTA over its concerns that the agreement would negatively affect Australian jobs and workers' rights, but the end of the stalemate paves the way for the necessary changes to be implemented before the end of the year.

Wong said the senate "understands the importance of passage prior to the end of this year," and the government would be introducing the required bills into parliament before the end of Wednesday.

Robb indicated that the first wave of tariff reductions would take place before the end of the year, with the second lot being removed on Jan. 1, 2016. Endit