Kerry O'Brien (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Transport) Share this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. Can the minister confirm that, prior to the 2004 election, the government promised to introduce legislation for a mandatory horticulture code of conduct within 100 days of the election? Did this not match a commitment that Labor had already given fruit and vegetable growers some months earlier? Didn’t the Deputy Prime Minister say on 1 October 2004 that the horticulture code was necessary to give small producers a better deal in disputes with big produce buyers, including the large supermarkets? Is it not the case that many fruit and vegetable growers remain disadvantaged in their dealings with produce buyers, including the supermarket chains, because of the government’s failure to deliver on its promise? Why has the government betrayed Australia’s 20,000 fruit and vegetable growers?