Matthew Canavan (Queensland, Liberal National Party, Minister for Resources and Northern Australia) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator O'Sullivan for his question, and recognise his great passion and determination to improve the lot of the 70,000 beef producers in this country. It is a passion that the government shares with Senator O'Sullivan. It is something that we are proud of: delivering in some part a better past few years for our beef sector than was there before we came to government.

Prices, of course, have more than doubled in these past few years. That is because of better weather and strong demand, but it is also because the government has been focused on opening up market access for our beef sector—signing new free trade agreements and actually opening live cattle markets, including nine around the world now that we can export our cattle to. That has underpinned strong growth in beef prices.

But we also must focus not just on the price that our producers can achieve but also on their costs, and make sure that we reduce their costs as much as we can as well as they compete in world markets. That is why we are investing in roads for our beef sector—a specific package that builds on the Menzies government beef roads package back in the 1960s and 1970s. I think that the good senator actually worked on some of those roads back in the 1970s. It has taken the full cycle now, if you like, and we are now investing in beef roads across the country.

A couple of weeks ago we announced $100 million of investment in beef roads through Northern Australia, including the $6 million or so for the Clermont Alpha Road; another $6 million for the Burke Developmental Road near Chillagoe, up in the cape, in Senator Macdonald's territory up there; $4 million or so for the Gregory Developmental Road, south of Charters Towers; $4 million out at Boulia for the Boulia Developmental Road—I know that Senator O'Sullivan gets out there a lot; and also funding in the Northern Territory for the Barkly Stock Route, with $10 million and $12½ million for the Great Northern Highway in northern Western Australia.

These are great investments that will help our beef sector, and may help this country make more money for all Australians.