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

My question is to the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Senator Ludwig. Can the minister please outline to the Senate the importance of agricultural commodity exports to Asia? What opportunities are there for Australian farmers in the Asian Century?

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

I thank Senator Sterle for his continued interest in not only the future of Australian agriculture but also, particularly, Australia in the Asian Century. Last Sunday the Prime Minister released the Australia in the Asian Century white paper—a plan to ensure that Australia is Asian-ready for the future, a plan that puts Australian agriculture front and centre for the future of the Australian economy, a plan that sets up Australia to boost exports to Australia over the next decade and beyond.

And one of the most important commodities we can export to Asia now and into the future is wheat. In 2010-11, 72 per cent of wheat exports by value went to Asia. That is around $4.6 billion worth of exports. Our top three export markets in Asia include Indonesia, Vietnam and the Republic of Korea. Indonesia in particular is our biggest and most important wheat export market. In 2010-11, $1.16 billion worth of wheat exports went to Indonesia and wheat is our number one export to Indonesia by a long way. Wheat exports to Indonesia are four times the size of the live cattle industry.

Our wheat farmers, like many other commodity farmers in Australia, will benefit from the growth in Asia, particularly the middle class. Our wheat farmers will benefit from the desire of those in the growing middle class in Asia for a reliable, high-quality, clean and green product. Our export wheat farmers from Western Australia—those farmers who export most of our wheat—would benefit if the opposition would, once and for all, decide that the market would be better deregulated than regulated under the coalition. The Gillard government is working hard in WA and with Australian wheat farmers more particularly to ensure we are developing— (Time expired)

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

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. Can the minister please update the Senate on other opportunities for key agricultural commodities in the Asian century? What is the government doing to expand opportunities for Australian farmers?

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

I thank Senator Sterle for his continued interest in the future of Australian agriculture. It is true that having a vision and a plan for the future is important. The Prime Minister has done that with the road map for the Asian century. But there are practical things we can do now. In this place, we should do what we can to improve the opportunities of our farmers, including our wheat farmers, right across Australia, including those in WA.

The Gillard government is trying to finish the job started by the Howard government in 2006, supported by us, to deregulate the wheat market. For six years, the industry has been transitioning towards deregulation, now to be blocked by Mr Tony Abbott and the National Party. The leader of the Liberals appears now to be doing the bidding of the National Party. That is very sad to watch, can I say. The Gillard government want to deregulate the wheat market because we believe, like other commodities— (Time expired)

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

Mr President, I ask a further supplementary question. Can the minister please advise the Senate of any risks to ongoing reform and support to Australian exports? What is required to ensure Australian farmers prosper from the growth of the middle class in the Asian century?

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

(—) (): I thank Senator Sterle for his second supplementary question. The biggest risk to Australian farmers' prosperity these days is the opposition and their out-of-puff leader, Mr Tony Abbott. We cannot get a clear position from them on anything that is important for farmers across Australia. While the government releases policy after policy to set up this country for the future, the Liberals are threatening to split in WA and South Australia. The doormats are calling the shots across Australia and the so-called coalition cannot get their rules together on foreign investment. They cannot agree on a Murray-Darling consensus plan. They cannot agree on deregulation of the wheat industry. The Leader of the Opposition knows only one thing: relentless negativity on all of those issues right across the board. It is the same tired routine being played out every time by those opposite, turning up at the same tired doorstops with the same relentless negativity. (Time expired)

Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask that further questions be placed on the Notice Paper.