Barry O'Sullivan (Queensland, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

They banned live export, cutting a billion dollars. Now, what have we done in the last 100 days? We have reinstated the live cattle job. We have now got nearly—help me out; I think it is a million head exported in the 12-month period to about seven destinations around the world. We have created an environment for agriculture, particularly beef producers—listen carefully—their income has gone up by 500 per cent under this government. And we have done that because we have promoted the live export trade. We have done that because we are introducing reforms right across the sector. We have done that because we have continued to support Meat and Livestock Australia. We continue to support all of R&D in agriculture to the tune of hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of million dollars every year, particularly in the last 100 days. Do you know what? I hope one of you is taking notes. I do not want to have to come back in here and do this again, so someone needs to take some notes over there.

We made $50 million available to irrigators in South Australia. Of course, the irrigators have a problem now because they cannot get power to run their pumps, but I am sure that over the next 30 years the Labor government there will make changes. We put $1.7 million into the New South Wales government for projects under phase 4 of the Great Artesian Basin Sustainability Initiative—what a great initiative. We did phase 3 in my home state of Queensland and phase 4 in New South Wales, where we have capped off millions and millions of litres of water that each day were running down bore drains all across agricultural enterprises. We talk about it, and we get challenged on our sustainability and environmental credentials, but no-one makes mention of that when it happens. We put $53 million worth of funding into the Queensland irrigators. We provided $18 million to upgrade and augment the Chaffey Dam, $59.5 million to funding the National Water Infrastructure Development Fund and $12½ million into the Hay Private Irrigation District. Some of these areas are supported by some of the senators here in this chamber. We made $238 million available for Murrumbidgee Irrigation Limited and $25 million in funding for irrigators across the Murrumbidgee. Through you, Acting Deputy Chair Ketter: Senator Williams, please pay attention. You need to get ready to get up and move an extension because I have about 10 pages of achievements here—