Meryl Swanson (Paterson, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) notes recently released forecasts from the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences show that:

(a) Australia's farm gate production value is forecast to exceed $100 billion this financial year, four years ahead of the National Farmers Federation's 2030 target; and

(b) agriculture, fisheries and forestry exports will reach a record high of almost $85 billion in 2025-26, with more demand than ever for Australia's world-class food and fibre;

(2) recognises that this significant milestone was achieved with the hard work, resilience and skill of Australia's primary producers; and

(3) acknowledges the significant investments the Government has made in agriculture, fisheries and forestry since coming to Government in support of the industry's target including:

(a) strengthening biosecurity with more than $2 billion in new funding to keep Australia free from the world's most invasive pests and diseases;

(b) boosting the agricultural workforce bringing employers, unions and government together to tackle the workforce challenges impacting Australia's agriculture and processing industry;

(c) making agricultural trade the most diversified it has ever been through 256 market access achievements since July 2022; and

(d) building a climate resilient agriculture sector through the Agriculture and Land Sector Plan backed by more than $2 billion in investment to ensure our farmers and producers can confidently face our climate future.

I rise today to speak about the strength, resilience and future of one of the most important sectors in our nation, Australian agriculture, and what it means for communities like mine in the broader Hunter region. Across our region and right across the country, farmers, fishers and freight operators are navigating a period of real uncertainty. The world is in flux at the moment. The ongoing conflict in the Middle East is creating pressure on supply chains and global markets, and people on the ground are feeling it. We see you. In the Hunter—where agriculture, transport, mining and regional industry are deeply connected—we know these global challenges are never far from the farm gate or the supermarket shelf, but what I see every single day in communities like mine is resilience. I see producers who keep showing up, adapting and adopting, getting on with the job of feeding and clothing our nation and our neighbours in the Asian region.

Recently I had the privilege of seeing the future of that resilience firsthand when I attended the graduation at Tocal agricultural college on Friday. There I stood among hundreds of students, young people who've chosen a life on the land or in the agricultural industries. I saw graduates stepping forward with skills, confidence and determination—and some of the best seventies mos and mullets I've seen in a long time, from some of those lads. And the amount of young women was just incredible. These people are embracing agriculture as the future. I also saw tens of scholarships awarded to current students—real, tangible support that is helping them stay in their training and education to build their knowledge and pursue careers in agriculture and the agtech services. It was a powerful reminder that, while we often talk about challenges in the sector, there is enormous optimism and so much youthful energy because the next generation of farmers is already in there making and doing. They're learning how to innovate, how to adapt and how to lead. They understand that agriculture today is not just about tradition; it's about technology, sustainability and global opportunity. And that gives me so much confidence in the future of agriculture in regions like the Hunter and in Australia more broadly.

Despite the challenges—despite the droughts, the floods and the increasingly unpredictable weather—there is a very strong story to tell. The latest forecast from the Australian Bureau of Agricultural Resource Economics and Science—ABARES, as it's affectionately known—shows that the value of Australia's agricultural production is on track to exceed $100 billion—with a B—this financial year alone. That's an extraordinary milestone. It means we are set to meet and exceed the National Farmers' Federation 2030 target four years ahead of schedule. Just a few years ago, it seemed impossible, and we're already beating it. When our government came to office, agricultural production was valued at around $88 billion. Since then, it's grown by 15 per cent. Exports are also reaching record highs with agriculture, fisheries and forestry expected to hit almost $85 billion this financial year. That's more Australian produce meeting and reaching more markets than ever before. And that matters to regions like mine and to our country.

Our farmers don't just produce world-class food and produce; they underpin our regional economies. And that's why the work we're doing to diversify trade opportunities is so important. By removing trade barriers and restoring access to key markets, including securing the return of $20 billion worth of trade with China, we're making sure our producers have more options, more resilience and more certainty.

But I know this government knows that behind these numbers are real people. Behind these numbers are real problems too. People have faced floods. They're dealing with increasing costs, managing the stress of an increasingly unpredictable climate and world. It has been a difficult period for many, and we get that. That's why our focus is not just on growth but on support. We're strengthening biosecurity to protect our industries. We're investing in the agricultural workforce and we're backing innovation and sustainability so that farmers have the tools they need to adapt to the changing challenges and conditions because we know that getting it right is so important for our farming futures.

Zaneta Mascarenhas (Swan, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is there a seconder for the motion?

Shayne Neumann (Blair, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I second the motion and reserve my right to speak.

Mary Aldred (Monash, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It's a pleasure to follow my colleague the member for Paterson, with whom I'm pleased to be co-hosting a screening of Just a Farmer, a really important film, next week in this parliament to promote the importance and understanding of mental health in our farming communities.

In the Monash electorate I'm proud to represent a community that grows, makes and manufactures things the rest of our country relies on. When my region does well, the rest of Victoria and Australia succeed. So this week I'm really looking forward to the annual Farm World event. It's one of our largest field days in Australia. I think it's the best field-day event in Australia, and it's the hottest ticket in West Gippsland this week. Farm World is a celebration of our region, the produce and the people that are behind our agricultural sector, and this year it's going to celebrate 59 years. I think, give or take maybe three or four years, I've attended every Farm World event over the last 20 years.

This year it'll run for three days and draw more than 40,000 visitors to our region. We'll see close to 500 exhibitors showcasing 700 brands across 100 acres. It never fails to draw a big crowd, providing an opportunity for local farmers to browse machinery, share best practice, look at the latest technologies, talk with experts and, most importantly, have that peer-to-peer connection which is so important for our regional and agricultural communities. All visitors can browse an array of stalls, showcasing items from lawn mowers to plants and clothing, and enjoy the equestrian showcase, rodeo action and motocross, and see a number of working animals in action. It educates people from the city on regions like Monash—electorates like Monash—which grow and make things the rest of our country rely on. I will be sad to miss the women in ag lunch this Thursday, due to parliamentary commitments, but I know it will be a great success.

I've been working with local farmers who are waiting on fuel orders to arrive. I'm speaking with dairy farmers who have been forced to make several trips a day into town with jerry cans while they're waiting on those fuel orders, because without fuel they can't operate machinery to feed their herds, harvest or irrigate. I know that is causing a lot of mental and emotional stress for local farming families in my electorate of Monash right now. I want to say to them I stand with you, I'm standing up for you and I'm doing everything I can to back our community through this fuel crisis.

Added to this stress, a number of farmers from my electorate have also reported diesel thefts from their properties. These farmers are already paying through the roof for fuel, and now they're facing thieves on their farms. I know of a number of situations where farmers are sleeping next to machinery or driving all the equipment off farm, as far as 30 minutes away, to guard against thieves drilling into tractor fuel tanks and siphoning diesel. I want to acknowledge Krowera farmer Shane Uren, who had 250 litres stolen from a tractor at 2 am on Friday; Nyora farmer Russell Follett, who last week discovered a drill hole in his tractor's fuel tank; and Krowera farmer Andrew Thomas, who's also had some concerning incidents on his farm.

I want to say also that I am a huge supporter of agricultural field days across Australia, along with Farm World. There are around 35 agricultural field days across our country, and they play an incredibly important role in sharing best practice, availing farmers of the latest technology and providing that really important peer-to-peer support. That's why I'm backing calls from the Association of Agricultural Field Days of Australasia for the federal government to step up and recognise events like Farm World in my electorate as essential regional infrastructure. We know these events are key to Australia remaining a world-class provider and producer of food and fibre, and I want that contribution to be recognised, understood and supported at a federal government level.

Collectively, those 35 national field days represent over a million visitors annually, 20,000-plus participating businesses, $2 billion plus in facilitated trade every year and $120 million in regional economic output, and they have over 50 per cent farmer attendance. Many of these events have operated continuously since the late 1800s and remain a critical economic driver for federal electorates like mine. But since COVID, with flood, drought and bushfire, with operating costs increasing up to 300 per cent and with a reduced capacity for sponsorship, a lot of these field days are under great strain, and that's why I'm standing up on their behalf.

Shayne Neumann (Blair, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Paterson for the motion. I acknowledge her longstanding commitment to the regions and to our farmers and primary producers in agriculture, fisheries and forestry. The recently released forecast from the Australian Bureau of Agricultural Resources, Economics and Science, or ABARES, was terrific news. It shows that Australian agriculture is due to hit over $100 billion—in fact, $101.4 billion—this financial year. This means, of course, that we have $100 billion for 2030, four years ahead of the National Farmers' Federation target. They anticipated and hoped and aspired to $100 billion of production by 2030. We've got this four years ahead of schedule, up from $88 billion when we came to power in May 2022. We've achieved the target set by industry by working together—industry, our farmers and the Albanese Labor government.

Our government's careful and considered approach to restoring international relations has helped Australian agriculture, and our support for Australian agriculture remains strong during this period. We know, of course, there have been many challenges, and that's why the $100 billion is totally worth supporting and celebrating. The $100 billion target has come at a time when we know some of our farmers have been impacted by drought, floods and rain and by trade displacements across the globe. Conflicts like we're seeing currently have flow-on effects in terms of localised fuel shortages in some areas. I see that in the floods, rains and cyclonic conditions across Ipswich and the Somerset region in my electorate and in the fires which have impacted the farming communities as well. So this is an extraordinary result, and it's a testimony to Australian farmers, industry and government working hard together.

Our trade is more diverse than it's ever been, and we're on target; for agriculture, fisheries and forestry, it is $85 billion in exports during the financial year. That's a very significant figure, and of course it's down to the careful and considered work we've been doing to restore our trade relationships—I pay tribute to Don Farrell, the Minister for Trade and Tourism—and, of course, to work with industry. Over 250 new market achievements have been reached by this government since we came to office. We're working with industry closely and carefully and working with international partners to achieve the record figure that we're talking about in this motion today. This is important for many communities in my electorate, such as in rural parts of Ipswich and the Somerset region, where beef farming in particular and poultry production are major industries. This $100 billion forecast translates to thriving regional communities and thriving rural places, and that's great for a country as big as Australia. This year's outlook is a remarkable achievement and testimony to the immense resilience and skill of our agricultural workforce.

We've worked to ensure Australians can gain the skills they need for good, secure regional jobs that help keep Australian agriculture strong. At the same time, it's worth noting the PALM Scheme is one of the things that has helped achieve this $100 billion figure. We've got over 17,000 people contributing to our agricultural sector through the PALM Scheme, including some in my electorate and surrounding areas like the Lockyer Valley in South-East Queensland. It's been an outstanding success for this country. We're also working with our neighbours at the same time to give people opportunity and financial security both here and in their home countries. There are 10,000 workers working in meat processing as well. That again gives you a sense of the workforce, the work that's going on in this area and the contribution that's needed to achieve the $100 billion figure. We've got a number of big meat processors in my electorate, including the JBS plant at Dinmore in Ipswich and Kilcoy Global Foods in the Somerset region, both in Kilcoy and Coominya. They're some of the biggest employers in the region. They make a huge contribution to local economies and to farmers who produce beef cattle and send their produce to these particular meat processing areas. I'm very proud to be part of a government that supports our meat processors and our farming communities.

I want to congratulate the NFF, for their vision, and the government. Over $100 billion for Australia's agricultural production is significant, and it's worth celebrating. It's a result of the advocacy of the NFF and the cooperation and collaboration we've had with them, and I want to congratulate them in particular. I acknowledge the challenge our farmers are experiencing now and look forward to our recommitting ourselves to their welfare and their families.

Anne Webster (Mallee, National Party, Shadow Minister for Regional Development, Local Government and Territories) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

How refreshing it is to hear Labor talking about productivity and agriculture! Farmers know very well about supply and demand, but, unfortunately, Labor doesn't. Energy Minister Chris Bowen claims there's no fuel supply issue, but we now know six supply ships have been cancelled or delayed so far. In Mallee, fuel is running out. Farmers can't sow the seed, spray the weeds, dry out their wet crops after unseasonal rain or harvest without diesel. If farmers don't plant a crop, or lose a crop, or lose yields, or are downgraded on quality because they don't have fuel, guess what? The export returns that the member for Paterson talks about will simply evaporate.

Labor doesn't understand supply or demand and certainly doesn't understand regional Australia. The former coalition government bolstered diesel supplies by increasing our storages by 40 per cent when we were in government. Great farmgate returns are one thing, but huge spikes in input costs are another. One of my Mallee constituents saw fuel prices at his local bowser go up 10c per day.

Fertiliser is another major input cost, and the conflict blocking the Strait of Hormuz is impacting around two-thirds of Australia's annual urea imports. Prices have gone up from around $840 per tonne to about $1,400 per tonne, higher than the spike we experienced when Russia invaded Ukraine. The coalition understand urea supply, which is why we funded the Perdaman urea project—through the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility—which we gave major project status. Perdaman will produce around two million tonnes per year of urea, starting in less than a year's time—2027—and estimated to reach full production in June 2027. You're welcome.

One million tonnes of that output, about half, has been earmarked for the Australian market, which would meet about 96 per cent of our total domestic demand, with Incitec Pivot—through Macquarie Group—to manage all of the offtake from that project. The coalition supported Perdaman through the NAIF and the Export Finance Authority. Some $744 million in support has been provided for the $6 billion Perdaman project, largely through NAIF loans, to support the ports and water supply elements that Perdaman needs to be successful.

Through the NAIF, the former coalition government also funded the Water Corporation's seawater scheme to the tune of $95 million, to underpin the industrial precinct in the area—including Yara Pilbara, which I visited in my former capacity as shadow minister for regional development in October.

One million tonnes per annum of urea, meeting almost all of our demand—that's what the Nationals, as a party of government in coalition, deliver for regional Australia and for our productivity into the future. We have a fuel supply and price emergency in Australia, particularly in regional Australia right now. Without fuel, Australian farmers won't produce the food we need. The last things we need during Labor's homegrown cost-of-living crisis are fuel and food price spikes that further reduce the value of Australian wages. Australians deserve better than this Labor government.

Luke Gosling (Solomon, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank God there is a federal Labor government! People listening may be a bit confused, but, under those opposite, we went from six refineries down to two refineries, and most of the fuel reserves were offshore, somewhere in the United States, whereas we have ramped up fuel reserves so that we can respond in times of crisis like this, having that capacity here onshore or in our EEZ. That is important, and it is helping us manage the situation at the moment.

I want to celebrate our primary producers, but right from the outset I want to acknowledge that we understand that it has been a difficult period for many farmers across the country. Australia's weather extremes—it is a place of drought and flooding plains, such as what we're seeing in the territory at the moment—mean it has often been a hard time to be on the land. That makes it even more impressive that ABARES, the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences, forecast that in the current financial year we're on track to reach that $100 billion in agricultural output, which is outstanding—four years earlier than the 2030 target. I want to give a shout-out to the National Farmers' Federation and everyone who has advocated to help our primary producers reach that target. The metres of rain, such as is falling on the Territory, is good for feed, but of course it degrades the roads over which cattle trucks, as an example, travel, necessitating repair and investment.

The conflict in the Middle East is a reality. It's affecting the globe and it's creating renewed uncertainty for our producers and our regional communities. From day one our government, the Albanese federal Labor government, has been working closely with industry, monitoring the impacts of that conflict and helping to keep our food and fibre moving across the country. We've released reserves. We're working with stakeholders to keep Australia and Australia's primary producers moving.

Since coming to government we've backed Australian agriculture in very practical ways, strengthening biosecurity, boosting the ag workforce, opening new trade opportunities and supporting more sustainable and climate-resilient production. That's important, because if we get that balance right we protect the future of the sector while creating the conditions for continued and further growth. Nowhere is that more important than the place that I'm proud to represent, the Northern Territory. The Top End, as all honourable members know, is famous for its cattle. It was great to catch up with the Northern Territory Cattlemen's Association president, Henry Burke, and their CEO, Romy Carey, in the past few days in Darwin at their annual conference. The cattle industry alone is valued at $1.2 billion, and in 2024 those ringers from the Top End exported 274,181 head of cattle from the Northern Territory through Darwin Port, up from 184,597 the year before—a big increase, and well done to all our cattlemen and cattlewomen.

While the NT is known for its vast cattle stations, its agricultural story is bigger than that. In financial year 2024, the agriculture, forestry and fishing industry is contributing around $1.4 billion to the Territory economy, which is up by 10 per cent on the previous year. The Territory is also Australia's largest mango producer, generating $128 million in gross value of production and accounting for more than half of national production—more than four million trays annually. Melons, watermelons, rockmelons, honeydews and even pumpkins are the second largest horticultural activity in the Territory, valued at $70 million, making up around 23 per cent of the national supply. And aquaculture, driven primarily by barramundi and pearling, was valued at $77 million in financial year 2024. That's huge. Ag is so important to the Territory. Last but not least, the Territory is famous for its crocodiles, and not just for tourism; crocodile farming is a serious export industry.

I want to celebrate all the primary producers in the Northern Territory and around Australia. Our federal Labor government has your back. We are working with you as valued and respected stakeholders.

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

Trish Cook (Bullwinkel, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Today, I rise to speak in strong support of the agriculture, fisheries and forestry motion. It's a privilege to stand in this place and acknowledge the sheer scale of the success currently being seen across our agricultural landscape. We're witnessing a historic moment for our Australian primary production, one that underscores the resilience of our farmers and the strategic vision of the Albanese Labor government.

The latest forecasts from ABARES are, quite frankly, staggering. Australia's farm-gate production value is now forecast to exceed $100 billion this financial year. To put that in perspective, we have hit the National Farmers' Federation 2030 target four years ahead of schedule. Furthermore, our exports are set to reach a record high of almost $85 billion for the 2025-26 year. This isn't just a number on a spreadsheet; it represents the premium value that the world places on Australian food and fibre. From our grains to our livestock to our world-class forestry products, the product of Australia brand has never been stronger. However, these milestones didn't just happen by accident and didn't happen in a vacuum; they were achieved through the grit and resilience of our primary producers, who face droughts, floods, and global market shifts with unwavering resolve. They were achieved through the innovation and skill of the industries that are constantly finding ways to do more with less.

On behalf of our Labor government, I say to farmers, fishers and foresters: we see your hard work. We thank you for feeding and clothing not just this nation but across the world. The Albanese Labor government understands that global success requires domestic support. We haven't just cheered from the sidelines; we have made significant structural investments to ensure that this growth is sustainable. I have a few examples.

Biosecurity: we have committed over $2 billion in new biosecurity funding. In an era of global travel and trade, our biosecurity is our strongest shield against invasive pests and diseases that could devastate industries overnight. We are tackling the labour shortages that have long plagued the sectors by bringing employers, unions and government to the table. We're ensuring that the people who harvest our food are treated fairly and that farmers have the workers that they need. Trade diversification: since July 2022, we have achieved 256 market access milestones. We're ensuring that our eggs are not all in one basket, making our trade more diversified and resilient than ever before. Climate resilience: we know the climate is changing. That is why we're backing the agricultural and land sector plan, with over $2 billion to ensure our producers can remain productive and profitable in a changing environment.

The Australian agricultural sector and other primary producers are the powerhouses in the engine of our Australian economy, and they're also at the heart of our regional communities. By supporting this motion, we're not just celebrating past achievements; we're committing to a future where Australian agriculture and primary producers continue to lead the world. I commend this motion to the House.

Ben Small (Forrest, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Electoral Matters) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I woke up almost like I was in an alternate universe reading this motion, because, frankly, the hypocrisy of Labor MPs who crow about agricultural fisheries and forestry exports reaching a high of some $85 billion in this financial year comes as a complete shock to the fishermen in my part of the world, in the south-west of WA, who have had their businesses cut from underneath them by the decisions of the Labor government there. They crow that this is recognising a significant milestone achieved with hard work, resilience and skill of Australia's primary producers—the same primary producers and indeed the same fishermen that have had their businesses lawfully cut from under them by the Labor government.

To listen to a Labor MP just quote 'global success requires domestic support' will come as an absolute slap in the face to the Bunbury fishermen who, like I say, have had their licences cancelled with less than one month's notice, just before Christmas, because we hear in this motion moved by the Labor Party that there is more demand than ever for Aussie produce. So, if that's the case, why are they standing by and allowing their state counterparts to impose this destructive and reckless demersal fishing ban? They talk about exports, but I want to talk about the result, and that's imports.

Australians love to support Australian businesses. Aussies love to eat locally grown or locally caught produce. The reality is that the WA demersal fishery produces some 400 tonnes of fish each year across both the recreational and commercial sectors. But, thanks to Labor, that figure will be less than half this year. Aussies will be eating God knows what caught God knows where, because the reality is that the supply gap will be filled with imported produce, and we can tell you exactly where that's coming from. It's coming from less sustainable and less ethical fisheries across Asia. Last year, Australia imported 211,000 tonnes of seafood from Asia. That accounted for more than 70 per cent of the seafood consumed in this country. It came from elsewhere, and yet Labor have got the gall to come in here crowing about their support for the global success of Australia's primary producers.

It is shameful, and I won't stand for it. If you look at Vietnam as just one example, the degree of fish extraction per square kilometre of fishery controlled waters means that Vietnam fishes at a concentration some 23 times higher than the WA demersal fishery, and yet this government's looking West Australians in the eye and claiming that the fishery is unsustainable. Just 33 days after the Commonwealth signed off on the fishery as being sustainable and in fact meeting global standards for sustainability, the state government knocked these businesses out at the crease. It's another example of a government obsessed with its image rather than the reality experienced by locals.

Last month, hundreds of angry locals rallied together to support our local fishing industry and to cry out for a fair go for our recreational anglers. Where was the state member for Bunbury? He was having dinner in Perth. If you've got a job title like Minister for the South West, it's time you got out from under the doona, Don, and did your job: standing up for the people of the south-west who have been hit with this unfair and unexplained fishing ban. It is frankly disgraceful that he's got plenty of time to turn up for photo opportunities, but, when it comes to listening to locals who have been impacted by a decision of his government—a Labor government—he's nowhere to be seen.

Every day, this ban is having a detrimental impact on my community. Last week, I visited a fish and chip shop owner who's proud to source his produce locally, prepare it locally and sell it to locals. The reality is that prices are going to escalate for him, and the supply will have to come from elsewhere. Local people who enjoy eating local seafood are now, as a result of the Labor government, going to be eating God knows what caught God knows where. To come in here and listen to the hypocrisy of a Labor government that's crowing about its support for Australia's primary industries—it's shameful.

Jo Briskey (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There being no further speakers, the debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made in order of the day for the next sitting.