Tyron Whitten (WA, Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party) Share this | Hansard source

Fertiliser is not merely an import in Western Australia, along with diesel; it is the backbone of one of the most productive agricultural regions in the world. Western Australia produces roughly 40 per cent of Australia's grain exports, and that output is only possible because of consistent large-scale fertiliser use across the wheat belt and the south-west growing region. Urea is normally around $700 a tonne. It is now almost $1,400 a tonne and is predicted to go to $2,000 a tonne. That's if you can get it. All fertiliser prices have almost doubled. Our farmers are hurting. Our farmers are seeding soon, and putting a crop in at a much greater cost is a potential double hit. If farmers can't put enough in at seeding due to availability and cost and if fertiliser is not available for the spring crop application or as an ongoing requirement for horticulture, dairy and beef, the situation gets exponentially worse, and then there's a diesel shortage and the extra costs that go with it, adding even more uncertainty for our farmers, who already have enough variables out of their control even before the supply and the cost of their two biggest imports were unreliable.

Banks are expecting foreclosures if businesses slow or stop their operations. It's a disaster. In the Pilbara, the Yara Pilbara Fertiliser plant on the Burrup Peninsula near Dampier is one of the largest ammonia facilities globally. Unfortunately, the Yara plant is currently shutdown for two months. Just-in-time systems have led to WA being particularly susceptible to shock. Decades of government mismanagement, neglect and irresponsibility have led to this vulnerability. We're the lucky country no more. One Nation has been saying that we need to be self-reliant and that Australia must stand on its own two feet for decades. We must take control of our country and our future.