Mr HARTSUYKER (3:02 PM) —My question is addressed to the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. Would the minister advise the House of recent developments in the negotiations on cuts to agricultural subsidies?

Mr McGAURAN (Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) —I thank the member for Cowper for his question. Australia exports 65 per cent of its farm produce and consequently we have a vital interest in breaking down distorted international trade caused by subsidies, restricted market access and the like. Farmers have been anxiously awaiting the successful conclusion of the Doha Round under the WTO in December in Hong Kong. There is a long way to go in reaching that goal, and so little time. However, some promising developments have emerged overnight from the WTO agricultural talks in Zurich, where various trade ministers have gathered, and the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade, Mr Vaile, is in attendance. The United States has tabled at that meeting an initiative to cut its most trade-distorting farm subsidies by 60 per cent and to reduce other farm subsidies by 50 per cent. The United States has put this proposal in the context of a highly ambitious vision of eliminating all agricultural barriers within 15 years. That is 15 years too long for Australian farmers, but it is the first time we have had a timetable enunciated in that way.

Promisingly, the European Union has responded to the initiative by increasing the extent to which it is prepared to cut its distorting farm subsidies—from 65 per cent to 70 per cent. There is no doubt that the United States proposal is a significant development that could help bring about a breakthrough in the current impasse in agricultural negotiations. The Minister for Trade has urged all WTO members to use the United States initiative as a building block to achieve tighter constraints on farm subsidies. It now falls on the European Union to take the courageous but necessary step of agreeing to improve market access in a way that delivers real commercial opportunities. There is no doubt that while elimination of subsidies is crucial to Australian farmers—because they give our competitors an unfair advantage in third markets—the No. 1 issue is market access. We must be able to trade in the various markets around the world and especially in the European Union. This is an opportunity that needs to be seized by all participating countries.