Scott Morrison meets the Queen during whirlwind tour of the UK after Australia trade agreement
Scott Morrison meets the Queen in the Oak Room at Windsor Castle during whirlwind tour of the UK – hours after thrashing out a major trade deal with post-Brexit Britain
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has had an audience with the Queen at Windsor Castle.
The meeting, where Mr Morrison wore a crisp suit and blue tie and the monarch opted for a summery yellow dress, took place just hours after a UK-Australia trade deal was announced.
In a historic deal that was Briton’s first negotiated from scratch since leaving the European Union, Aussie producers will be able to export more of their world-leading beef, lamb and cheese to the UK and young people will be able to move more freely between the two countries.
The agreement was thrashed out by Scott Morrison and Boris Johnson over a three-hour dinner in Number 10 Downing Street on Tuesday night where the friends feasted on Scottish salmon and Welsh lamb, washed down with Australian wine.
The distinguished pair appeared to hit-it-off as they were photographed smiling and exchanging pleasantries in the Oak Room.
The Queens is seen greeting Scott Morrison at Windsor Castle on Tuesday (pictured) as relations between the two nations were strengthened by a new trade deal
The meeting, where Mr Morrison wore a crisp suit and blue tie and the monarch opted for a summery yellow dress, took place just hours after a UK-Australia trade deal was announced
The pair appeared to hit-it-off as they were pictured smiling and exchanging pleasantries
After today’s breakthrough announcement, Britons under 35 will be allowed to live and work in Australia for three years without farm work under the terms of a UK-Australia free trade deal which will hugely boost exports for Aussie businesses by removing tariffs.
‘I said we’d wait for the right deal and I think we’ve got the right deal, Boris,’ said Mr Morrison as he welcomed the agreement which will boost the Australian economy by $1.3billion a year.
The historic deal means Aussie producers will be able to export more premium beef, lamb and cheese to the UK – a major windfall after China slapped Australia’s beef producers with a litany of arbitrary bans.
Young people will be able to move more freely between the two countries.
The bombshell change to visas will delight young Britons who are forced to carry out three months of gruelling work on a rural property if they want to stay in Australia for a second year on a working holiday visa. Young Australians will have the same rights to work in the UK for three years.
The move will have a huge impact on Australian farmers who are dependent on 10,000 British backpackers a year to pick fruit and vegetables – but a new agriculture visa, allowing British farmers to work in Australia, will help offset the impact.
The changes will not come into play until at least July 2022 when the free trade deal – which has been agreed in principle – is expected to be officially signed.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson (right) and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison (left) announced the deal in the garden of number 10 Downing Street
The two prime ministers celebrated by exchanging hampers of British and Australian goods in Mr Johnson’s garden where they gave a press conference hailing a ‘new dawn’ for UK-Australia relations
It is has not yet been decided if Britons who have already used a working holiday visa will be able to re-apply and benefit from the extended working rights.
Prime Minister Morrison said there would be no limit on the number of young people who would be able to move between the two nations.
‘There is a great opportunity for young people from both the UK and Australia to move and operate in different countries.
‘That builds capacity, in both countries, with that easy engagement,’ he said in London on Tuesday.
In a huge win for Aussie farmers, the trade deal will liberalise Australian imports of beef, lamb, cheese and sugar into the UK, which became free to set its own trade policy after the Brexit process ended in January.
The tariffs will be gradually reduced to zero over 15 years and the amount of product allowed into Britain will be gradually increased so UK farmers have time to adjust to the competition.
Australian beef producers currently face a 12 per cent tariff and are only allowed to send 3,761 tonnes of meat to Britain, while lamb exports were capped at 13,335 tonnes.
The deal will eliminate UK tariffs on Australian wine, swimwear and confectionery such as Tim Tams.
Britons (pictured in Manchester during England’s football clash with Croatia on Sunday) will be able to work in Australia for three years and Aussies will have the same rights in the UK
British people under the age of 35 will be able to work in Australia for three years
Meanwhile, Australia will be able to import cars, whisky, machinery and medical drugs and other products without the existing five per cent tariff.
Mr Johnson said the agreement marked a ‘new dawn’ in the countries’ relationship and joked about the exchange of similar goods.
‘You give us Tim Tams, we give you Penguins. You give us Vegemite and we give you Marmite. We give you Burberry mackintoshes, and you give us RM Williams,’ he said.
‘Our new free-trade agreement opens fantastic opportunities for British businesses and consumers, as well as young people wanting the chance to work and live on the other side of the world.’
More to follow.
