Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

When he is onshore, we know full well where the member for O’Connor stands on this, which is a no-holds-barred, complete, total deregulation of the industry. We know that. We also know that there are huge divisions within the coalition, within the National Party and between the National Party and the Liberal Party on this matter.

To go back to the direct answer to the honourable member’s question, ‘How do you best plumb the depths of what actually is the best set of opinions coming forth from the industry?’ what I can say—and I fully acknowledge what the honourable member has said—in response to that is, dealing with the realities that we have had to deal with, coming into office, the minister for agriculture has been out there, on the ground, right across the nation, consulting wheat farmers, I think it is fair to say, in every state of the country on what is the best set of arrangements for the future. Those arrangements have been reflected in the bill that we are putting forward for consultation with the industry very soon. We believe it represents the best balance for the future. But I will not say to all members here present that it will be to the universal welcome of every wheat farmer in the country; it will not. As those who are honest opposite will recognise, there was no alternative set of wheat marketing arrangements which would have met with the universal accord of wheat farmers. You know that as well as anyone else in this place.

Can I conclude where I began: none of this would have happened had the previous government discharged its responsibilities in ensuring that Australia’s important $4-billion-a-year wheat crop was marketed to the rest of the world in a non-corrupt fashion. Instead you allowed $300 million worth of bribes to be paid to the Iraqi dictator, which were then used to buy bombs, guns and bullets for deployment against Australian troops. On this question, the government as it existed at the time has no credibility.

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