Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Hansard source

If he wants me to read more from the paper, I am really happy to:

New South Wales’ most agriculturally dependent economy has failed to capture the attention of federal minister for agriculture, Warren Truss. Mr Truss has not shown his face in the Griffith area—

this was the beginning of their campaign—

for more than 14 months, a community that relies on the farming sector to generate 26 per cent of its wealth. Local agriculture industry leaders are calling on Mr Truss to visit, particularly given his state counterpart, Ian Macdonald—

Labor—

has visited twice in 12 months and has planned another visit for June. The Griffith branch of the New South Wales Farmers Association President, Peter Flanagan, said it is disappointing that Mr Truss hasn’t shown more interest in the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area.

The member opposite said that I should have read what came later in the paper. I have to say—and I do not have a copy of it here—I read the editorial in that same addition. We all know the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area is known as the MIA; the headline of the editorial reads ‘MIA in the MIA’, because that was the case for the minister for agriculture.

So I have gone to the trouble of getting him some help—the great website that we all know about, whereis.com. If you leave now, we have got the directions for you to get yourself to Griffith. It will take four hours and 34 minutes. There is a great coffee shop I can recommend you drop into, and they will be there. So I will table the ‘Where’s Warren?’ with the subheading ‘Can you find the elusive minister for agriculture in this picture?’ and I will table the directions from Whereis. It is going to take you 4½ hours—it will be a late dinner but I reckon you will make it. I table these documents.

So the highly misleading points that were made at the beginning of this MPI go to a central core: embarrassment. They know the way that they ran policy in rural and regional areas. They know the way they pork-barrelled. They know the lack of science behind their grants programs. They know the lack of foresight in their ignoring of climate change. We even saw it from the member for Kalgoorlie, not a member of the National Party, the other day when he said, ‘It’s just hot weather,’ with respect to climate change. You get a one-in-3,000-year heatwave and the response from members opposite is: ‘It’s just hot weather.’

There are real challenges out there for people working the land, and climate change issues affect the core business of everybody working in agriculture. They need to be provided with leadership, but leadership that is not going to sit back in the electorate on the front verandah in Wide Bay sipping a cup of tea and saying, ‘Isn’t it good to be in touch?’ as it goes back on its rocking chair. They need people who are willing to go out there, spend their time listening to people on the land on their land—not saying, ‘I’ve grown up in the area therefore I know it all,’ but saying, ‘I’m the minister and I want to hear what your concerns are and I want to listen.’ People are sick and tired of having to deal with people who have spent their lives in agripolitical organisations but who do not have a moment to sit back and listen to the people who work the land to make sure that they have consistency, being willing to say: ‘These are the challenges. Here’s the policy. We’re willing to deliver.’

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