Ian Macdonald (Queensland, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I was about to pay Senator Sterle a compliment, because he is one of the few Labor senators who I think is sensible and rational and actually tries to help, and he chaired the committee that looked into this issue very, very well. But he tries to make some division between the Liberal and National parties when there is none. I remind him that some federal parliamentarians are vitally interested in the sugar industry, and I am one, of course, because I am one of the few members of parliament who actually live in a sugar town—as do Mr Christensen, Mr Pitt, Michelle Landry, part of whose electorate is in a sugar region, and Stuart Robert. Of those, three sit with the Nationals in Canberra and two with the Liberals, and one of those Nationals has a different view to Mr Christensen on the issues that Senator Sterle was talking about.

The matter that Senator Sterle raised is a complex issue and it will not be resolved in a five-minute debate, but I disagree with Senator Sterle's comment that the sugar industry was 'in danger of collapse'—or he used some other term like that. Can I tell you: the sugar industry in Queensland, particularly in the electorate of Dawson, where I live in my home town in the Burdekin, is a very vibrant industry with lots of different farmers, many of them better businessmen than most other businessmen you would find around Australia. The sugar industry will continue to flourish in North Queensland and will continue to be guided by sensible leaders and sensible representatives. I decry that the industry is in any danger. Any danger coming to the industry is from this campaign to abolish sugar from our diets. That is a real issue, and that is what millers and growers should be getting together to fight. (Time expired)