Glenn Sterle (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Eight years—thank you, Senator Williams. In our great state of Western Australia we have had those terrible conditions of drought for a number of years. But, if you were a stranger to this place and you read Senator Fifield's motion, you would think that we were absolutely in dire straits in this country and that, if it were not for that great bastion of freedom fighters for the farming community, the Nationals, nothing would get done. I actually find that quite insulting.

I concur with Senator Nash in that Senator Nash and I came in at the same time, back in the 2004 election, and took our seats in 2005 and we are still on the same committees. Senator Nash was a highly regarded and respected chair of the Senate Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport References Committee, and her work has no doubt been second to none in trying to represent rural communities. But there is something that the people of Australia have to understand. This great coalition on the other side of the chamber, which has stood up for farming people all of these years—well, there is something going on. It is a secret. I do not want everyone to know, so I am just going to tell you lot in here. Back in 2007, when the Rudd government came to power, there was a great push—if there are any interested Australians listening to this debate—about some issues around a company called AWB. There were some shenanigans going on in Iran and Iraq and whatnot. To cut a long story short: there was a great desire by certain parts of the farming community that we deregulate the export wheat market.

For those who are not quite sure of the split on who exports and who does not, the great majority of export wheat comes from WA. Western Australian farmers are the major exporters of wheat around the world. That is not to say that wheat growing is not a huge industry in the eastern states; in South Australia, where Senator Gallacher comes from, it is. But in the majority of eastern states wheat is sold on the domestic market; it is not bulk export.

So under the guidance of the then Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Mr Burke, we set about seeing how we could assist the export wheat market and the export wheat growers to deregulate the industry so they could sell their wheat to whomever they wanted to sell it to and not through a single desk being controlled by AWB. That was met quietly, behind the scenes, with great support from the Liberal Party. The Liberals, those bastions of free enterprise, thought this was a wonderful thing. Ladies and gentlemen, through you, Acting Deputy President: when it comes to agricultural issues, they are not a coalition. They are head-butting, they are bluing. But the smart, grown-up people from the Liberal Party back in 2008 supported the deregulation of the export wheat market and sided with the government.

We have heard nothing but rantings and ravings from the National Party about how unfair it was to deregulate the export wheat market. We did not hear that it was a great thing for progressive farmers from Western Australia that they could choose who they wanted to sell their wheat to; no, that did not come into it. It was all about looking after The Nats' constituents on the eastern seaboard who did not export bulk wheat, who were selling into a domestic market but expected the Western Australian growers to take all of the grief and the pain.

So we had what was called the Wheat Export Authority—it was set up with a timeline; it was only going to be around for about three or four years—and for that wheat growers would pay a levy of about 22c per tonne. This Wheat Export Authority would oversee the export of wheat, check accreditation to make sure there were no shenanigans going on, give everyone an opportunity to sell their wheat to who they wanted to, and the rest is all history. Part of that was that by the end of 2012 the Wheat Export Authority's job would be finished, it would be disbanded and everyone would get on with business. That was not good enough for The Nats—all good to them; I know I get passionate about certain issues and I want to keep representing my constituents who have certain views—as they thought the matter was not good enough.

So what we have seen over the past few months is something that is very interesting. We have a situation now where the bill is up, we are going to disband WEA and The Nats—the smaller, the junior partners of the coalition—have actually convinced Mr Abbott and the Liberals that they were wrong in 2008 to look after the Western Australian wheat exporters and producers and that it should come back to being a single desk again.

It has got to the point—I am taken by surprise!—where I have been bombarded in the past week by press releases from the PGA, the Pastoralists and Graziers Association of Western Australia, who represent a heck of a lot of wheat growers. The PGA, since day 1, when we said we were going to deregulate the export wheat market, have been on board. They want this; there are no ifs or buts. There were some dramas in WA, but, as it is in a normal democracy, you have a count: 50 plus one per cent wins and that is the way it moves on. They have been very supportive, but they are showing massive frustration, to the point where every day or every second day a media release comes out.

It is no secret they have been lobbying Ms Bishop, the member for Curtin and the Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party in the other house, that she has to direct the Western Australian Liberals, those Western Australian senators and members, to come back to the table and to remember why in 2008 they voted with the government to deregulate the export market. They have been pleading publicly through the media—it has been an ongoing thing; it is in the West Australianandit is no secret—that the Liberals have to stand up for Western Australian growers and Western Australian producers. It is not a lot to expect that those of us from a certain state, when we have a major industry that we have supported for the past four years to do their best to be successful in international markets, that they should continue that support and they should say to their junior partners: 'It's over. We voted for the deregulation in 2008. We're not going to rat on our constituency. We have morals and we're going to continue to stand by those morals and we are going to deliver not only for Western Australian growers and producers, but also we are going to stand up for Western Australian rural communities and agricultural businesses and continue to support the government's move to completely deregulate the export market.'

Not good enough. There has been a public showdown; it has been a public brawl. The heading of the latest media release from the PGA is 'Bishop’s gambit fails—WA wheat growers call on Abbott'. They have said:

Western Australian wheat farmers are calling for Opposition Leader Tony Abbott to step in and front up to the nation’s largest export wheat growers and explain why his Federal Liberal Party is refusing to follow through on its previous commitment for full deregulation of the wheat industry.

Not uncommon.

I want to quote a couple of very important lines here. This has come from the PGA Western Grain Growers Chairman, Mr John Snooke, who yesterday said:

The vacuous comments made today by Deputy Liberal Leader Julie Bishop in defending the Federal Coalition’s decision to not support the full deregulation of WA's $2.5billion wheat export industry—

That is $2.5 billion. This is not a small industry.

clearly shows that Mr Abbott's Liberal Party Deputy is either ineffective, incompetent - or both - in advocating the interests of Western Australian wheat farmers.

That is quite a damning statement to make on the public record. It is difficult to understand what is going on over there. I cannot work it out.

What we have seen as a nation is some shocking statements and media stunts around none other than the Leader of the Nationals in the Senate, Senator Joyce, about Chinese or foreign investment. I may digress a bit but I have to lay it on the table so everyone can understand. Senator Joyce has made it absolutely clear that he is going to grab some attention, get a media caption or grab, or get his head on the front page of the local rag or on the TV by having a go at Chinese investors who are coming in to buy out an Australian operation at Cubbie Station. It had gone broke and there are no other investors around. Let us not forget that when companies go broke a lot of things bad come out of it, but jobs are lost. We have a Chinese company that says that they are going to pay whatever money they are going to pay. The receivers of Cubbie Station have said, 'That's great,' and they can continue to keep the operation going and continue to keep rural people employed. That can only be a good thing. Not from Senator Joyce. All we hear about is Chinese investment and how China is going to come and take over Australia.

Thank goodness Senator Joyce has no role to play in a government—at this stage. We must be so happy that he is not sitting at the right hand of Mr Abbott as the Prime Minister, because what else would he not want in this country in terms of foreign investment? Do we go to the mining industry and say, 'We are not having you because you have Japanese owners or Korean owners'? Come on! What sort of a conversation is this to have in this day and age? I could understand that conversation back in the 1800s, but I clearly do not get it in today's day and age.

So Senator Joyce 'freelanced'. That is the word that Mr Abbott uses when some of his backbenchers or frontbenchers or whatever go haywire and start speaking out against Liberal Party policy, if they have some policies. Anyway, I am starting to confuse myself now, so we had better get back on track. I apologise to the Senate for misleading the Senate by saying that the Liberal Party had some policies.

We saw Senator Joyce, I think, on Sky News where he said that he lost the argument. He got pulled into line by Mr Abbott. How embarrassing for the only member country of the OECD that never went into technical recession during the global financial crisis was is that Mr Abbott had to come out all of a sudden and say, 'We're going to have a look at some of this foreign investment stuff, but can I keep telling you: we love foreign investment.' Whoa! What a mixed message that was. Maybe I am a little bit slower than half of the coalition there, but I saw that as Mr Abbott thinking, 'Oh my God, my loose cannon of my right hand, who could be the Deputy Prime Minister in an alternate government, has gone completely crackers and now he wants to fight Chinese and anyone else who is not Australian, but we do not want to save jobs.' So he comes out with some silly statement. It does not stop Senator Joyce, who is on the soapbox in rural Queensland around Cubbie Station and is not worried about jobs.

Then all of a sudden we have a public showdown where Senator Joyce confesses that he lost an argument. So virtually he was gagged. He was told to shut up. It is quite entertaining but after about 13 seconds of Senator Joyce's carry on about foreign investment it is not funny any more—it is boring.

Next a Newspoll came out and all of a sudden there are some changed figures and the opposition go into meltdown. All of a sudden the reason for the drop in support of the Liberal-National Party is, according to the member for Curtin, Ms Bishop, and also the deputy leader, is because the Labor Party is picking on Mr Abbott or something, but another reason is because of Senator Joyce. So here we have the deputy leader, who will not stand up for West Australian producers and farmers, West Australian exporters, West Australian rural communities, and Western Australian agricultural businesses, because it is not in the best interests of—whatever it is; I do not know what planet she is coming from in that argument. But it is all about Senator Joyce.

By the same token I have some interesting comments from Ms Bishop doing a TV interview. I want to share this with the Senate. She was being interviewed by Mr David Speers on Sky on the backflip of not supporting Western Australia and farmers, producers and wheat exporters. The heading is: 'Libs backflip on support'.

Julie Bishop: This is a matter that we have been looking at over recent times.

'We' being the Liberal Party, I assume—or it could be the Western Australian party. Who knows. Anyway.

This is a transition period and there are views depending on which side of the country you live and whether you are.

Okay! That has sunk in! If you understand what that means, please tell me. David Speers pops in and says:

But what is yours?

Which she answers by saying:

Wheat grower in the west or wheat grower in the east, I believe that we need to go carefully on this one. Of course we believe in deregulation. It is a question of timing.

This is the same person who has just slapped Western Australian farmers, who have supported the Nationals and do not want deregulation.

I am bringing the Senate back to the confusion that I am experiencing while I am watching the Leader of the Opposition, Mr Abbott, talking about having more of an inquiry into foreign investment review boards and foreign investments in agricultural land and, before he has even finished the statement, talking about how much we support foreign investment. Talk about confusion and mixed messages! Talk about the rabbit in the spotlight. But David Speers goes on to say:

So it could be another couple of years before deregulation happens? A fair question. Ms Bishop says:

Not necessarily. It is a question of timing and we are looking very closely at it. We are national opposition so you have to take into account the views of the West Australians, who have a very good case about deregulation, but also on the east coast, those who want a smoother transition to full deregulation.

What the heck is she saying? Ms Bishop is a West Australian member of parliament. In 2008 Ms Bishop, along with every other member of the Liberal Party—both in the House of Representatives and in the Senate—sided with the government to support the deregulation of the export wheat market. Then there is the confusing situation between whether she has her way with standing up for West Australians or does she just toe the eastern state line of: 'Shut your mouth. Don't say anything to upset the cart. It is bad enough Senator Joyce is saying things that are upsetting the cart. We are going to back the five Nationals in this place.'

I must confess that I do not know how many Nats are on the other side. I will hazard a guess. I am sure Senator Williams will correct me if I am wrong. I think you could count them on two hands. So, all of a sudden, we have got the dog wagging the tail.

Senator Williams interjecting—

I am taking that as a term of endearment when you stick your fist up like that, Senator Williams. You out there in media land, don't think that he was threatening me with a blue; he wasn't. We are having a bit of fun.

So I suppose I should take this as: 'We don't give a toss about standing by the principles that we held in 2008'—we being that side of the chamber, the Liberals over there—'and we do not give a toss about a $2½ billion market in Western Australia. We don't give a flying toss about the agricultural industries or rural communities in Western Australia. All that matters to us is that we have taken a bit of a kick in the backside in the last poll and we have to get our head back down again. We can't upset the Nats. We don't care what West Australians think; we'll change our views on the whim of a poll.'

I am West Australia and I am going to stand up for the Western Australian wheat industry. I am going to stand up for those rural communities and for West Australian agricultural businesses. I will fight to see that we get this bill through.