Joe Ludwig (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Hansard source

The fees and charges are set based on the forecast of running the program on a year-by-year basis. It is fair to say that I liaised with exporters to see if there was a better way to apply the fees and charges while at the same time addressing the chronic undercollection issue in the program. I distributed three separate models, which I am happy to provide to Senator Xenophon's office, about how we could move forward in making sure that there was not a chronic undercollection in this industry. The government provided transitional assistance to give effect to assistance and worked to achieve acceptance of the authorised officers in key markets to reduce costs. That is the government's role. I note that the opposition, as well as you, Senator Xenophon, have called on me to cut a deal for small exporters. I would argue that the package provided goes well beyond that: $6.5 million in transitional assistance— (Time expired)