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

The Mallee, I am sorry. I have done it again! I apologise to my esteemed colleague the member for the Mallee for that mistake. Can I say that the member for the Mallee is one of many members—all on this side of the House—who actually know something about the Australian wheat industry. There are a couple on the other side who do, but we may not have them much longer—and I think that will be a great shame.

I want to very warmly welcome the announcement made yesterday by the Iraqi government that it will continue to buy Australian wheat. This excellent outcome is due to the visit to Iraq by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade. I want to congratulate the Deputy Prime Minister, very ably supported by Senator Jeannie Ferris, the chairman of the government members’ committee on these matters, for the excellent work they have done in very difficult circumstances over the weekend. They should be commended by all Australians who are interested in the future of the wheat industry.

In a joint statement released yesterday by the Deputy Prime Minister and the Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister, Mr Chalabi, the two governments ‘reaffirmed their strong desire for the longstanding ... wheat trade to continue into the future’. The statement also said:

In this context, the Iraqi Government will continue to welcome offers to supply high-quality Australian wheat through participating in competitive tendering in Iraq.

The government will now consider how best to achieve this and we will continue to do all we can to assist Australian wheat farmers to supply wheat to Iraq. This outcome reflects the strong relationship between the two countries, including a very long and fruitful economic relationship, a wheat trade that stretches over half a century, our shared commitment to bringing democracy to this troubled country and Australia’s generous contribution of aid and reconstruction following the fall of the former regime.

The Deputy Prime Minister went to Iraq with the sole purpose of protecting the interests of Australian wheat growers. I believe that he has risen to that occasion in a very effective way. I thank him and I congratulate him on a very successful mission.

See this speech in context