Kay Hull (Riverina, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak on the one resolute feeling that I share with all my wheat growers in the Riverina, with the Deputy Prime Minister and The Nationals—that is, the continued operation of the single desk. I share with the House a letter that one of my constituents has written to the Prime Minister in anguish. He said:

I am writing to you as a wheat grower who depends on the AWB conducting a National Pool(s) in conjunction with the Single Seller Monopoly to have my returns maximised.

I beg you not to take any action that will jeopardise this system which is the only aid which we as growers, in a country of small population, have to compete with treasuries of USA and Europe.

Changes to the AWB Power of Veto over Bulk Export permits will destroy the ability of AWB to run pools, and lead to multiple sellers disposing of our grain at discounted prices.

In another letter to me that same constituent indicated:

Why have we as a Nation allowed our National Wheat Marketer to be so undermined ... As far as I am aware there have been no other companies investigated in other countries—there were over 2000 named in the original Vokker report.

We can see by the discussions held in this House day after day who is allowing our wheat growers and our national wheat marketer to be undermined. Let me tell you that the Labor Party are without doubt the best friend the American wheat growers have ever had. It is without question that they are in favour of the American wheat growers, because they are inflicting too much damage on the wheat growers of Australia by continuing this unrelenting and unswerving attack. The innuendo and accusation that have been directed at the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade are unparliamentary and absolutely unforgivable. Anyone who takes on the National Party and undermines the Deputy Prime Minister is no friend of the National Party and no friend of the coalition.

As I said, there is one resolution that I have in common with the majority of wheat growers in the Riverina and hopefully right across Australia—that is, the Deputy Prime Minister and The Nationals’ support of the operation of a single desk. Our policy is to support a single desk, and we will fight to the end to achieve that policy. The single desk policy cannot be allowed to come under question. I have always supported single desk marketing. I have stood in this House time and time again and supported it, because I happen to represent the people who do best out of single desk marketing, whether it be in wheat or in rice. I will continue to do this.

I have never, ever been convinced as to how multiple sellers competing and discounting against each other with the hard-worked product of Australian wheat or rice growers bring our growers better returns. Nobody has ever been able to convince me of that. I remember that in long-gone years we had multiple sellers, and that is why we developed this clear and concise way of delivering a good single desk policy that brought about better returns for our growers. It is my view that a single seller monopoly maximises returns to our growers over the long term, sometimes through difficult, drought affected years.

There is no doubt in my mind that the push to dismantle the single desk comes from the fiercely competitive and highly subsidised United States farm lobby. I have to say that the opposition is assisting that cause to the very end. We simply cannot allow the single desk to be the victim of the opposition’s and the US’s anticompetitive views and their anticompetitive behaviour.

So I rise in support of all farmers and producers across my electorate of Riverina—and the majority of them support the single desk—to urge everybody to get their mind on the damage that is being caused to the growers that we represent and to ensure that they will do everything possible. (Time expired)