Neale Richmond (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

This Saturday the people of Australia go to the polls in a hotly anticipated general election, but it is on a sad note that they do so, knowing that the former Prime Minister, Bob Hawke passed away earlier this morning. As a very young child, following politics, I would have admired him, not least for his abilities in cricket and a couple of beers as well. It brings a focus to a wider discussion on potential Irish-Australian and Irish-New Zealand connections in the post-Brexit era, where we see Australia and New Zealand are just two of 19 countries that trade with the EU solely on WTO terms, terms that are simply not good enough and terms that can be changed. I am calling for a debate and a push from our Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to work with our European colleagues to facilitate and accelerate trade talks between the EU with Australia and New Zealand and I ask the Leader to raise this as soon as possible.