Mike Kelly (Eden-Monaro, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary for Defence) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, Deputy Speaker. I can understand why the coalition would be so sensitive on this issue, given that it was the greatest failing of public policy in this nation's history, where they let our troops down, let the country down and let wheat growers down. If the Prime Minister, Mr Howard, knew in March 2003 that the system was being rorted, then the question was: how could he not have foreseen that the Australian Wheat Board was deeply involved in that? I cite an article by Evan Whitton, who then summarised his interpretation of that position by saying that really, if Mr Howard had been a witness for AWB, the counsel should have said something like, 'Are you a complete fool, Mr Howard?'

Certainly I think that what we are seeing now is a coalition that cannot come to grips with a much-needed reform. As much as they were completely incompetent at that time in regulating the grains sector, we are seeing now, reflected in these suggested amendments and their lack of understanding of how an agricultural market should work and what is in the interests of our growers, that they are failing our grain growers sector.

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