Latin America trade and investment
David LIMBRICK (South-Eastern Metropolitan) (12:26): (962) My question is for the Minister for Regional Development. In 2023 the people of Argentina elected firebrand Libertarian President Javier Milei. With a radical economic reform agenda, President Milei has managed to reduce inflation from 160 per cent for the year to 2.4 per cent monthly, with GDP expected to grow by over 5 per cent this year alone. All signs suggest that Argentina may be set for a period of economic growth and investment. President Milei has declared that Argentina is open for business and keen to develop deeper trade ties with Western nations. While there is clearly a great opportunity for Australia to work on a free trade agreement with Argentina, Victoria can act now. Global Victoria has a trade office in Chile, a country with about half the GDP of Argentina. My question for the minister is: will you contact the Santiago trade office of Global Victoria to ensure that they are maximising the opportunity for Victorian business to develop trading opportunities in Argentina?
Jaclyn SYMES (Northern Victoria – Treasurer, Minister for Industrial Relations, Minister for Regional Development) (12:27): I thank Mr Limbrick for his question. It is no surprise that he would be watching Libertarian President Milei quite closely. It is fair to say this is a president that is one of the most talked about leaders in the world, and there are a lot of diverse views in relation to some of his policies. However, you have asked me about the capacity I have as Minister for Regional Development to engage with the Santiago office of the Victorian trade and investment office. Santiago was opened in around 2016, and obviously Minister Pearson is the lead minister. But as the Minister for Regional Development and as someone who has just recently returned from America, I have a strong interest in this regard.
The Victorian government is committed to deepening engagement with a range of countries, but Latin America is certainly one of the areas where we are particularly interested in strengthening our trade and business links, and that is the whole reason we set up the Santiago office in the first place. Globally Connected: Victoria’s Latin America Trade and Investment Strategy was released in 2018 and specifically calls out Argentina as an area of priority for us as Victoria. When it comes to the opportunities and the key sectors that we look to work with Latin America on, it would be in relation to the sectors of agrifood, energy and mining, advanced manufacturing and technology. I think the METS sector in particular was one of the driving forces for setting up the office there, and I had some experience in my former portfolio as the Minister for Resources.
There are ongoing opportunities for Victorian exporters to engage with Latin America to continue to diversify their markets. Increased collaboration between Victoria and Latin America, including Argentina, to support the global energy transition is a topic of conversation. Growing engagement between Victoria and the universities in Latin America is something that is proving particularly fruitful in terms of the amount of international students that are starting to come from that region in particular. I was with Nigel Warren when I was in New York. He is the commissioner to the Americas and holds the responsibility for Victoria’s interests in Latin America as well. He was previously on the board of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trades Council on Australia Latin America Relations and was previously posted in Santiago. I had a really good conversation with him about the opportunities for regional development in terms of attracting investment to the regions, not just to Melbourne. He is just finishing that role, but he is going to Austrade, so he will be particularly valuable in that new role in relation to strengthening relationships between Victoria and South America, particularly Argentina.
David LIMBRICK (South-Eastern Metropolitan) (12:30): I thank the minister for that answer. The Victorian Industry Policy was released last week, and amongst other things highlighted was the impact of Victoria’s foreign trade offices. Argentina may represent a fantastic opportunity to maximise this impact. When the Latin America trade office was launched, it highlighted, as the minister pointed out, skills where Victoria has expertise to provide value in the sector. Argentina is on the cusp of a mining boom, and Victorian businesses are well positioned to capitalise on this. But it is not only mining; there are opportunities to assist in agricultural development as well. Conversations about expanding trade in Argentina are really pushing on an open door. Global Victoria should be coordinating with the federal Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to discuss a free trade agreement. My question for the minister is: will you ensure that Global Victoria publishes an update on activities in Argentina?
Jaclyn SYMES (Northern Victoria – Treasurer, Minister for Industrial Relations, Minister for Regional Development) (12:31): I thank Mr Limbrick for his question. My understanding is that Global Victoria publish information quarterly. I will have a close look at that to see if there is any sort of greater detail that picks up some of the suggestions that you make. As I indicated with my comments in relation to Commissioner Warren moving to Austrade, I think that close connection between Global Victoria and Austrade will be invaluable for identifying new opportunities, and I think, as I am on the record of saying, there is a lot of interest in looking at countries outside the US in relation to diversification et cetera. We have recently also had some inbound trade missions or delegations, particularly mining delegations, including those from Argentina. I do not have the details of that inbound mission; I just know that it happened. I know you have mentioned the METS sector and the mining sector in particular. I also, particularly with the regional development hat on, have an interest in agriculture and AgTech. There are some things going on, but now that I know your firm interest, I will make sure that any information can flow to you.