1
00:00:00,200 --> 00:00:02,040
Speaker 1: Look, I hate to say it, but it is starting

2
00:00:02,040 --> 00:00:03,920
Speaker 1: to sound like when Ston Peters was right about that

3
00:00:03,960 --> 00:00:06,280
Speaker 1: India Free Trade Agreement and the government is not being

4
00:00:06,320 --> 00:00:09,160
Speaker 1: straight up with us about what's in that document. It

5
00:00:09,320 --> 00:00:12,640
Speaker 1: sounds like the Free Trade Agreement does actually stop us

6
00:00:12,680 --> 00:00:14,880
Speaker 1: from being able to cap the number of Indian students

7
00:00:14,920 --> 00:00:17,439
Speaker 1: who come here. Now, that is not the end of

8
00:00:17,480 --> 00:00:19,439
Speaker 1: the world, given that there actually isn't a cap on

9
00:00:19,480 --> 00:00:22,119
Speaker 1: them at the moment, or a cap on students of

10
00:00:22,160 --> 00:00:26,120
Speaker 1: any nationality frankly, and the government always retains the ability

11
00:00:26,160 --> 00:00:28,520
Speaker 1: to be able to cap all students by tweaking the

12
00:00:28,560 --> 00:00:31,840
Speaker 1: visa settings. What this trade agreement prevents them from doing,

13
00:00:31,840 --> 00:00:34,440
Speaker 1: by the sounds of things, is just targeting the Indian

14
00:00:34,479 --> 00:00:37,120
Speaker 1: students and putting a cap on them specifically. But the

15
00:00:37,159 --> 00:00:40,800
Speaker 1: problem is that the Indian students are a particularly difficult issue,

16
00:00:40,840 --> 00:00:44,479
Speaker 1: given that there have historically been issues with dodgy Indian

17
00:00:44,520 --> 00:00:48,160
Speaker 1: student schemes, sending students over here who get here without

18
00:00:48,159 --> 00:00:51,200
Speaker 1: the required number, a required level of money, or whatever

19
00:00:51,240 --> 00:00:53,599
Speaker 1: the problem is, and they end up being our problem. Now,

20
00:00:53,720 --> 00:00:56,600
Speaker 1: depending on where you sit on this issue, that might

21
00:00:56,680 --> 00:00:59,560
Speaker 1: really upset you. You might hate that, or you might

22
00:00:59,600 --> 00:01:01,200
Speaker 1: just see that as the give and take of free

23
00:01:01,200 --> 00:01:03,360
Speaker 1: trade negotiations. It's a price that we have to pay

24
00:01:03,360 --> 00:01:05,600
Speaker 1: in order to be able to have access to the

25
00:01:05,640 --> 00:01:09,080
Speaker 1: massive Indian market that we now do. The trouble is,

26
00:01:09,440 --> 00:01:12,679
Speaker 1: instead of having that debate, we are now threatening to

27
00:01:12,680 --> 00:01:15,280
Speaker 1: have a debate about whether the government is hiding stuff

28
00:01:15,280 --> 00:01:18,760
Speaker 1: from voters, given that it has been becoming increasingly clear

29
00:01:18,800 --> 00:01:21,679
Speaker 1: that they are hiding something from voters, because it's clearly

30
00:01:21,720 --> 00:01:24,160
Speaker 1: in the FDA, judging by the way the Trade Minister

31
00:01:24,240 --> 00:01:26,320
Speaker 1: is ducking and diving in his language when he's asked

32
00:01:26,319 --> 00:01:28,880
Speaker 1: about this. Now, I don't know about you, but in

33
00:01:28,920 --> 00:01:32,680
Speaker 1: an age of online conspiracy theories which are increasingly gripping people,

34
00:01:33,160 --> 00:01:37,800
Speaker 1: and an increasing mistrust of politicians and declining trust in institutions,

35
00:01:37,840 --> 00:01:40,000
Speaker 1: I'm not sure that this is a smart strategy from

36
00:01:40,000 --> 00:01:43,800
Speaker 1: the government in an election year. Sure I will concede

37
00:01:43,840 --> 00:01:45,880
Speaker 1: either way, the government would have a bit of a

38
00:01:45,920 --> 00:01:48,360
Speaker 1: g nali debate on its hands. But surely it's better

39
00:01:48,400 --> 00:01:50,680
Speaker 1: to have a debate about whether we should trade uncapped

40
00:01:50,720 --> 00:01:54,120
Speaker 1: student access for us accessing the Indian market, rather than

41
00:01:54,120 --> 00:01:57,480
Speaker 1: having a debate about the government's integrity. For more from

42
00:01:57,560 --> 00:02:00,840
Speaker 1: Heather Duplessy, Allen Drive listen, lived and news talks. It'd

43
00:02:00,840 --> 00:02:03,960
Speaker 1: be from four pm weekdays, or follow the podcast on

44
00:02:04,120 --> 00:02:04,920
Speaker 1: iHeartRadio