John Cobb (Calare, National Party, Shadow Minister for Agriculture and Food Security) Share this | Hansard source

to move:

That this House:

(1)

notes with concern the impact on the Dairy Industry of the Coles milk pricing strategy, and that:

(a)

dairy farmers around the country are today seriously questioning their future, having suffered through one of the worst decades in memory including droughts, floods, price cuts and the rising cost of inputs such as energy and feed;

(b)

unsustainable retail milk prices will, over time, compel processors to renegotiate contracts with dairy farmers and the prospect that these contracts will be below the cost of production may force many to leave the industry;

(c)

for many dairy farmers, the fact that supermarkets are now selling milk cheaper than many varieties of bottled water will be the straw that finally breaks the camel’s back; and

(d)

the risk of other potential impacts include:

(i)

decreased competition as name brands are forced from the shelves; and

(ii)

the possible loss of fresh milk supplies to some parts of the country as local fresh milk industries become unviable; and

(2)

calls on the Government to:

(a)

ask the ACCC to immediately undertake an investigation into the big supermarkets and milk wholesalers after recent price cuts to ensure they do not have too much market power and are not anti-competitive in their behaviour; and

(b)

support the new Senate inquiry into the ongoing milk price war between the country’s major supermarket chains.

to move:

That this House:

(1)

notes that:

(a)

this year marks the two-hundred and fiftieth anniversary of veterinary education with the establishment of the first veterinary school in Lyon, France, in 1761; and

(b)

around the world, 2011 is being designated World Veterinary Year to honour the contribution and achievements of the veterinary profession in the community to animal health and production, public health, animal welfare, food safety and biosecurity;

(2)

recognises that:

(a)

in Australia, 2011 marks the one hundred and twentieth anniversary of the first class of graduates from the inaugurated Melbourne Veterinary College;

(b)

seven schools of veterinary medicine are now established in Victoria, NSW, Queensland, WA and SA;

(c)

veterinarians:

(i)

are dedicated to preserving the bond between humans and animals by practising and promoting the highest standards of science-based, ethical animal welfare with all animals, large and small;

(ii)

are on the front line maintaining Australia’s status as free from exotic diseases which threaten the environment, human and animal health, providing extensive pro bono services annually through ethical treatment of unowned animals and wildlife;

(iii)

are vital to ensuring the high quality of Australia’s commercial herds and flocks and security of our food supply; and

(iv)

provide a valuable public health service through preventative medicine, control of zoonotic disease and scientific research; and

(d)

significant contributions and achievements have been made by many individual members of the Australian veterinary profession including:

(i)

Nobel Prize winner and Australian of the Year, Dr Peter C. Doherty, who achieved major breakthroughs in the field of immunology which were vital in understanding the body’s rejection of incompatible tissues in transplantation, and in fighting meningitis viruses;

(ii)

Professor Mary Barton, a leading veterinary bacteriologist with a distinguished career in government and in veterinary public health, who has a strong research background in bacterial infections of animals and in antibiotic resistance in animal and human health; and

(iii)

Dr Reg Pascoe, a renowned equine surgeon and dermatologist and leader in his profession for more than 50 years, who published 70 research papers and many texts while earning a doctorate and running a busy practice in Oakey, and dedicated years to the National Veterinary Examination and the Veterinary Surgeons’ Board of Queensland; and

(3)

recognises:

(a)

that 2011 is World Veterinary Year;

(b)

the valuable and diverse roles veterinarians perform in the Australian community; and

(c)

the veterinary profession as it celebrates the past and continuing contribution by veterinarians.

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