Lisa Chesters (Bendigo, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

As the final speaker on this motion, there are just a couple of things that I wanted to highlight. Some of them have been highlighted by previous speakers in relation to this motion about the dung beetle. One of the previous speakers, the member for Indi, sums this up quite well. The issues raised in this motion could be settled if the government just acted and funded the CSIRO properly. We have seen funding cuts to the CSIRO and the sacking of scientists in agricultural research and development, which could help solve the issues that are raised in this motion. Now, $250,000 does not sound like a lot when it comes to the broad research budget, but it is a lot of funding if your funding has been cut, as it was so savagely cut by this government in the last budget.

In all regional areas, it is hard to find a farmer who does not have a dung beetle story. We have heard discussion today about dairy farms. The example that I would like to raise from my electorate about the importance of the dung beetle is in relation to pigs and a free-range pig farm, the McIvor Farm Foods.

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