Andrew Willcox (Dawson, Liberal National Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Manufacturing and Sovereign Capability) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak on the importance of agriculture to our nation, and not as a man who spent his life in Canberra behind a desk but as someone who's actually got dirt under his fingernails, of a generation experienced in understanding what it takes to work this land. Labor want a pat on the back for a $100 billion production forecast, but that success doesn't belong to the government. It belongs to the hardworking families of our primary producers. It belongs to the men and women who battle the elements, not the bureaucrats who battle these producers—and trust me when I say that; these producers certainly have a battle against the bureaucrats.

I want to bring your attention to the final point of this motion, because I can't believe this government has the gall to brag about climate resilience while they're strangling our farmers with environmental green tape. I have seen correspondence from the department of the environment and water sent to farmers in my electorate, farmers who have used their land for primary production for decades. These people are being penalised. Their businesses are in limbo, and they are being targeted by a government obsessed with locking up productive agricultural land just to bank carbon credits.

One of my constituents received a letter from an environmental investigator from Mr Watt's department—a bureaucratic gag order that has put their livelihood on ice. It tells the farmer that the department has found no breach in practice but that the farmer should cease any land clearing activity. What does that imply for the person on the land? Guilty until proven innocent? It means that even though they have category X listed land, and even though they should have the right to clear the land and develop that land for cane, they can't. Instead, they're being forced into a state of paralysis. They've been told to stop work and, while their equipment sits idle, their legal bills mount up and their income evaporates. The EPBC Act reforms were rushed through in this parliament in a shady deal with the Greens—a deal designed to win inner-city votes at the expense of regional survival. Our farmers are being treated like criminals. For what crime? For wanting to grow the food that keeps this nation fed?

While they're being demonised by this Labor government, they're being squeezed at the other end by the big supermarkets. It's been around a year since the ACCC price inquiry. Where is the action? Forty per cent of vegetable farmers are considering leaving the industry because there are no margins and their lifestyles are crushed. We need big stick legislation. We need divestiture powers. We need to protect our producers from retribution from retail giants. The hypocrisy continues in the international trade. This motion brags about diversification while the beef industry is facing a $1 billion reduction due to China's new 55 per cent tariff. Where is the Prime Minister in this? Where is the trade minister while our premium beef is being priced out of the market?

Finally, let's talk about the fuel crisis. Our farmers can't get supply, and they're paying exorbitant prices for those who can. These pure input costs are exploding. With the Strait of Hormuz effectively blocked, the global supply chain for urea and fertiliser has snapped, leaving our growers vulnerable while the Middle East conflict swells. Every hectare that is now planted is a financial gamble because this government refuses to guarantee the delivery of essential chemicals. This motion is a slap in the face to every person who toils in the sun to feed this country, because this government is failing agriculture at every level. Our farmers don't want belated praise. They want their freedom to farm back. Farmers need to spend their time growing food and fibre, not doing endless compliance, ridiculous paperwork and never-ending bookwork—and dealing with red and green tape. The best thing a government can do is give the freedoms back to the farmers. Let them do what they do best—grow food and fibre for this country—and get out of the road.

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