The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) has launched a new educational tool for school students to teach them about the role played by trade in Australia’s economy.
Titled Australia’s Trade Through Time, the new website is expected to be a useful tool for students and the public to explore and understand the significant events that have shaped the nation’s trading history.
Launching the website at the Asia Education Foundation Australia-ASEAN Youth Forum, Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment, Senator Simon Birmingham said it would assist students to navigate the often complex trade issues in the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) region.
‘These two resources, the forum and the website, are practical ways students can appreciate the importance of open trade to the Australian economy, and our responsibilities within the region as a major trading partner,” Senator Birmingham said.
“Huge progress has been made in terms of strengthening Australia’s position in the ASEAN.”
He said this included the trade agreement with Indonesia which marked a new chapter in Australia’s partnership with one of its closest neighbors.
“The link between trade and Australia’s economic prosperity has never been closer and it is agreements such as these that build on the historical events that have paved the way for Australia’s positive trajectory in the global trading environment,” Senator Birmingham said.
“Through this website students will learn about the early influence of trade on important elements of Australian history such as federation, where the push to remove customs duties on goods traded between the six colonies became the lever to federation.”
He said the website’s interactive timeline also allowed users to discover how exports, imports and trading partners had all played a role in developing Australia.
