Maria Kovacic (NSW, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Women) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Industry and Innovation, Senator Ayres. There have been media reports that Australia's largest ammonia plant, the Yara Pilbara facility near Karratha, will be offline for up to two months. In addition, the Australian has reported that a second ammonia manufacturer in Kooragang, in New South Wales, is now also offline. Given these operations are critical suppliers of product used in the agriculture and mining sectors and noting this is occurring while fertiliser and ammonia supplies through the Strait of Hormuz have been halted, what steps have you taken as industry minister to ensure that these facilities get back online as soon as possible?

Tim Ayres (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Industry and Innovation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Australia imports around 65 per cent of its urea based fertilisers from the Middle East. So we are to a very large extent import dependent. Local ammonia capacity matters. It is not all in Australia for the purpose of fertiliser; ammonia has other industrial and, particularly, mining explosive applications.

In terms of the approach that we're taking to those questions, besides watching what is happening in terms of shipments closely and working with suppliers to see if there are additional supplies that can be brought onstream, of course we are working with importers, producers, farmers, the National Farmers' Federation and Fertilizer Australia to coordinate our actions. There are a series of practical actions that we are, of course, considering to work with producers and with the production sector—the people who make these products—to try and make sure that we're doing what we can to support this activity.

I'd just make the point that, in terms of the Dyno Nobel facility near Mount Isa, which is closely related to and in a symbiotic relationship with the copper smelter—

Anne Ruston (SA, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Health and Aged Care) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Ooh, symbiotic!

Tim Ayres (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Industry and Innovation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Symbiotic, Senator Ruston—that is, they use each other's products and rely upon each other. The federal government's intervention in Mount Isa means that that facility has been purchased and will continue to run. We're watching that very closely too. But that is in the national interest because of the federal government's intervention.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Kovacic, first supplementary?

Maria Kovacic (NSW, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Women) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Minister, what contingencies, if any, are currently in place to manage potential shortages or supply chain disruptions arising from these outages?

Tim Ayres (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Industry and Innovation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Well, there is no immediate national shortage of fertilisers—no immediate national shortage. But planting season—

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Kovacic, I haven't called you. Minister Ayres, please resume your seat. Senator Kovacic?

Maria Kovacic (NSW, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Women) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On relevance, and for clarification, I didn't say that there were shortages. I asked what was in place to manage potential shortages.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Sure. I think that's a debating point, but the minister—and I'm not quite sure—

Honourable senators interjecting—

Thank you! Order! Minister, please continue.

Tim Ayres (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Industry and Innovation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I was nine seconds in and just pointing out that there's no immediate national shortage of fertilisers. But winter planting is commencing and, in some parts of the economy, harvesting is happening at the same time. We do rely upon imports. I met, together with Ministers Bowen and Collins, with the National Farmers' Federation and fertiliser industry representatives just last week. That was the second meeting that we'd had. We are continuing to work through making sure that we are contributing what we can here to secure supplies of fertiliser for Australian farmers who need it.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Kovacic, second supplementary?

Maria Kovacic (NSW, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Women) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Minister, yesterday in question time, Minister Wong told the Senate that the majority of fertiliser required is already on the water or in the country, yet the National Farmers' Federation president has warned that, if in-crop urea requirements cannot be met after May, the winter crop in Australia could be halved. Can you guarantee the supply of fertiliser and ammonium nitrate for farmers and miners?

Tim Ayres (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Industry and Innovation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

What I can guarantee is that not just the government but also industry, in cooperation with the government, are using their networks to engage with alternative suppliers, including with producers in South-East Asia. The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry and my department are engaged in that work. We're working on allowing sector coordination to make sure that fertiliser gets to where it is needed, and the government is getting the latest information on what farmers and the agriculture sector need and making sure that we're communicating in a transparent way not just with the producers but with the farming sector itself. The government's coordinator-general is meeting state and territory counterparts today, and her team is making sure that the approach that we are taking at the Commonwealth level is linked up with each of the states and territories, for all of the reasons that you just set out.

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

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