John Howard (Bennelong, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

Did I say the member for Forrest? I apologise. I thought I was talking about the member for Lindsay, Mr Herbert! I apologise for that slip. I meant to say the member for Mallee, who is a great member for a great wheat-growing district of Australia and a passionate advocate for the interests of Australian wheat growers—as indeed are the member for Grey, the member for O’Connor, the member for Barker, my good friend the member for Gwydir, the member for Riverina, the member for Maranoa and so the list goes on. So too is the member for New England; they grow a bit of wheat there as well.

Let me return to the essential grain of the question that was asked by the member for Mallee. I think the House is aware of the provisions of the existing legislation, and that legislation provides effectively a monopoly unless consent is given by AWB Ltd. On AWB Ltd, I will discuss all aspects of this issue with Mr Stewart tomorrow and that discussion will take place against a very simple proposition: our primary concern is the interests of the Australian wheat growers. The Australian wheat growers’ best friends in this parliament are the Liberal and National parties. Let that be very clearly understood.

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