Help Us Advance Free Movement With The UK-Australia Free Trade Agreement
Australia and the United Kingdom have signed the Australia-UK Free Trade Agreement (A-UKFTA).
The agreement was the first finalized deal for the UK since leaving the European Union in 2016, and has been hailed as setting new global standards and creating new work and travel opportunities for British and Australian citizens.
Entry into force of the agreement is expected during the course of 2023.
While the new Free Trade Agreement has made great strides in progressing mobility arrangements between the two nations, there is more work to be done. For example, travel visas and work permits under the arrangement are still subject to age restrictions and time limitations, which prevent the full benefits of reciprocal free movement from being realized.
We believe that this new deal can be an ideal platform upon which reciprocal free movement can be built, but we need your help contacting the Australian and British International Trade Ministers to make this happen.
Please use the editable letter template below to contact your respective International Trade Minister. Your correspondence will then be forwarded to their applicable Ministry.
Dear Minister,
As you know, the UK-Australia Free Trade Agreement is both comprehensive and instrumental in advancing closer diplomatic relations between Australia and the United Kingdom.
Through history and veneration, our two nations share the closest of relationships, and the new free trade agreement will only serve to advance this relationship and ensure reciprocal benefits for our citizens, businesses and economies.
However, I truly believe that more can and should be done.
CANZUK International’s proposals seek to establish free movement of citizens, free trade and foreign policy cooperation between Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the CANZUK countries. In particular, free movement between the CANZUK countries has received significant public support across the four nations, with recent polling indicating 68% support in the United Kingdom, 73% support in Australia, 76% support in Canada and 82% support in New Zealand.
While the UK-Australia Free Trade Agreement has progressed reciprocal mobility of British and Australian citizens, I believe that further advancements should be made via amendments to the trade arrangement.
Most notably, age restrictions on visas and work permit expirations should be minimised over time, thereby allowing citizens of our countries to freely live and work between Australia and the United Kingdom. This would de facto emulate the reciprocal travel agreement that Australia and New Zealand adhere to under the Trans-Tasman Travel Arrangement.
Once enacted, I also believe that such mobility arrangements should be offered, negotiated and applied to Canada and New Zealand, using the UK-Australia Free Trade Agreement - and the aforementioned amendments - as the ideal template upon which a CANZUK travel arrangement can be introduced.
By securing the ability of our citizens to live and work freely across the CANZUK countries, we will create a unique and highly competitive advantage for our four nations. In effect, we will create the foundation of an international labour market servicing the world’s third largest economic area with a combined GDP of $6.5 trillion and a combined trade value of $3.5 trillion.
Throughout this region of like-minded countries, our citizens will be able to live and work freely while our businesses recruit the most skilled international talent, all without the cost, risk and often lengthy delays incurred through arduous immigration controls. Our ability to advance innovation and investment opportunities will also flourish as we will have unparalleled access to opportunities in the European, North American and Asian-Pacific markets.
No other countries in the world share as much in common - through history and veneration - as Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. We each share the same Head of State, common-law legal system, parliamentary system, western culture, respect for democracy, linguistic ties and reverence for human rights and the rule of law. It is now time for us to embrace our close affinities and grasp the substantial benefits that freedom of movement between our four nations would bring.
I respectfully ask for your support in regards to these proposals, and also the support of your colleagues in parliament.
Thank you for your consideration.
Yours sincerely,