Andrew Wallace (Fisher, Liberal National Party, Shadow Cabinet Secretary) Share this | Hansard source

Of course, the member for Riverina would be much more qualified to speak about agriculture, and I'm very pleased that he's made it into the Chamber to talk about agriculture. That said, I come from a small farming family. We had a farm on the Mornington Peninsula with about 280 acres, which for the member for Riverina and many of the people that he represents would be a postage stamp.

We have some fantastic cattle growers in Maleny and west of Maleny in places like Conondale and Cambroon. While they are small, the quality of their produce is incredible. I send a shout-out to Clif Hefner and Theresa Craig, who are stalwarts of the LNP but who also have a stud farm on the way to Conondale. They do a terrific job, not just in their own farming practices but in helping many other farmers as well through their consultancy work. So I give a shout-out to them.

To all those people in Fischer or right across the country who are toiling right now, whether they are working on the land or on a tractor, farmers are the salt of the earth. They work damn hard to put food on our tables. I wish that more people in the city could actually see and experience what it's like to have to earn a living from working with their hands and growing the food and fibre that Australians rely upon. I want to send a shout-out to each and every one of them. It might sound a little strange, but, in my experience, many of these people who are working on the land actually listen to parliament as they work. I know I used to when I was on the tools. So I want to send a shout-out to them and thank them for their service to this country. It's often a bit of a lonely existence doing what they do, but I take my hat off to them and I thank them for their service. I'm very pleased now to hand over to the member for Riverina.

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