Sam Birrell (Nicholls, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Tomorrow evening at six o'clock in the Senate courtyard, we are welcoming some very special members of the Australian community, and I would implore everyone to join us and to celebrate with them. We're welcoming here the food and fibre producers of the Murray-Darling Basin for an event called 'Taste of the Basin'. Members of both places will be able to come and talk to producers in the Murray-Darling Basin about what they produce, how they produce it and what makes their businesses tick. They'll be able to talk to SPC about their iconic products, including snack packs of peaches. They'll be able to have a juicy steak from a place called Greenham, and talk to them about the farmers that produce that magnificent meat. They'll be able to understand the nut industry, have some citrus and, of course, my favourite, an apple from the Goulburn Valley.

If we taste their wonderful produce, talk to them about what makes their businesses go and what makes them tick, then we'll make better policies. I particularly hope that the minister for water can come—and this is a very good-faith invitation—and talk to some of these producers about what makes the Murray-Darling Basin work and policies that could affect them. It will be a great night; come for a steak, some fruit and a glass of wine. I hope to see you all there.