Slade Brockman (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to talk about the disdain and ignorance with which this federal Labor government and the Labor government in my home state of WA treat the agriculture sector. I'll give you three examples of the disdain, the contempt, that they hold for that sector. We had yesterday and the day before a motion put forward by my good friends Senators Cadell and Colbeck concerning the acquisition of agricultural land—a simple motion to have an inquiry into the issue. Could the federal Labor government find the will to say, 'Yes, this might be an issue that is genuinely of concern to some agricultural producers, and we should have an inquiry into it'? This is not a radical idea. They weren't political terms of reference. It is just an issue that needs to be looked at. But, no, they couldn't support that.

In my home state of WA we've had rushed through a parliament that has a significant Labor majority—and I acknowledge that—with no proper consultation, no proper consideration of its impact, Aboriginal heritage legislation which has farmers right across my home state of WA desperately concerned about their ongoing farming operations.

Finally, and something very close to my heart, I want to talk about the live export trade in sheep. Just this week we've seen what this Labor government's position on the live export trade, its decision to ban that trade, is doing to business confidence in my home state of WA across all agricultural producers but particularly sheep farmers—a devastating impact—when, at the same time, the evidence shows that the Australian public's support for the live export industry is actually increasing. (Time expired)