Tony Abbott urges open slather post-Brexit trade with UK

Former prime minister Tony Abbott has proposed a radical, comprehensive free-trade deal between Australia and Britain.

Former prime minister Tony Abbott wants a comprehensive FTA with Britain. Picture: AAP

Former prime minister Tony Abbott is proposing a comprehensive free-trade deal between Australia and Britain to be negotiated now and come into force on the day Britain formally leaves the EU.

Under Mr Abbott’s proposal, it would be both the most complete, and simplest, free-trade deal Australia has engaged in. “There should be no tariffs or quotas whatsoever on any goods traded between our two countries — there should be no exceptions, no carve-outs, nothing,” he will tell a high powered London business breakfast tomorrow.

The second big element of his proposed deal is “full recognition of each country’s credentials and standards”.

The objective, Mr Abbott believes, should be “an entirely seamless economic relationship based on free entry of goods, ­mutual recognition of services and standards, and easy entry of qualified people”.

He will argue that “if a motor car (say) could be registered in the UK, it should be registrable in Australia; if a trade qualification (say) was recognised in Australia, it should be recognised here”.

Mr Abbott pronounces himself an enthusiastic convert to Britain’s decision to leave the EU.

“Post-Brexit, the stockmarket’s up, employment’s up and economic growth is up; the pound’s down, but that should more than compensate for any tariffs that the EU is foolish enough to impose,” Mr Abbott will say.

He hails Brexit as the British people taking back their country and lists a slew of advantages for economic management in Britain as a result, among them that no new Brussels directives will apply, British courts will no longer be subject to European courts and Britain will no longer need to admit everyone with an EU passport. He does not believe any British Australia free-trade agreement should wait on any broader European deal.

Free-trade deals involving the whole of the EU are notoriously slow and difficult processes.

Mr Abbott challenges the ­European practice of trying to harmonise regulations and standards across Europe and proposes instead mutual recognition as a much simpler, more effective way of creating an agreement between Australia and Britain.

Such an agreement, he will say, could be a template for the kinds of free-trade agreements Britain could easily do with Singapore and New Zealand.

He sees no reason why negotiators should delay getting the agreements worked out soon, even if they don’t take effect until Britain formally leaves the EU, which will happen two years after it triggers the formal commitment to depart.

“Because Australia and Britain are like-minded countries with similar systems and comparable standards of living, there should be no need for tortuous negotiation and labyrinthine detail,” he will tell a UK Australia Chamber of Commerce breakfast

The former prime minister believes Australia and Britain could achieve almost free movement of people between the two nations.

“For the first time in a generation, Aussies shouldn’t face a passport queue at Heathrow,” he will say.

“Britons and Australians already have more than 200 years’ experience of each other, so why not allow them more freely to travel and work in each other’s country, provided no one’s bludging.”

This reference presumably means that Mr Abbott would envisage restrictions on visitors receiving welfare payments.

Mr Abbott believes Brexit offers enormous opportunities. “Both Britain and Australia should be looking for a quick win.”