Mark Vaile (Lyne, National Party, Minister for Trade) Share this | Hansard source

the Australian Labor Party on this. When we are talking about the interests of Australian wheat growers, it is interesting to note that there are not too many people on the Labor Party side that have much experience, let alone any interest, in Australian wheat growers and wheat farming in Australia. There are a couple of people. One is the shadow minister, the member for Corio, who presumably has taken the opportunity to talk to wheat growers across Australia. But what has the Leader of the Opposition done to him? He has cut him adrift in his preselection to get rid of him—to get out of the system the one person who knows something about it. The one person in the Labor Party who has had any ministerial experience in the Australian wheat industry is the member for Hotham, and the Leader of the Opposition has certainly cut him adrift. At least he has had experience—and you are going to get rid of him. You are going to get rid of him from your front bench. You are going to let some union hack come in and represent the seat of Hotham. He is finding it hard to keep it. We wish him well. But it is a fact: he is the only member of the Labor Party that has any experience with Australian wheat growers.

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