Graham Perrett (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I am not a cattle producer. I do have some cattle in my electorate, member for Wide Bay, and I have some familiarity with the cattle industry. My grandfather was a butcher, my father was a butcher, my uncle was a butcher and my brothers were butchers. In fact, my brother-in-law still trades in meat. So I do have some connection with the meat industry. In fact, my first job was in a butcher's shop. My mum used to own a butcher's shop, and I even worked in abattoirs when I was going through teachers' college. I have a little bit of a connection with the meat industry but there are not a lot of cattle in my electorate, I will admit that—apart from one school's herd. Nevertheless, I do know a little bit about it; it involves ships going overseas with live cattle in them. My understanding is that you have vets on the ship, obviously sailors, and I think there are people who focus on making sure that they clean up after the cattle—all the bovine faeces. It is only appropriate I have a bit of respect for those people, coming on after the member for Wide Bay. This is an amazing MPI from the member for Wide Bay, who took 18 months to bring in a scheme for the national identification of animals and then comes out today and says, 'We can do it overnight, instantaneously, in 24 hours.' For the benefit of those people listening and the copious number of people in the gallery, I will give you a little bit of history. I take you back to 1997 and a statement by the federal Minister for Primary Industries and Energy, John Anderson. He was talking about the initiation of the Meat and Livestock Association. He issued this press release in Brisbane. Mr Deputy Speaker Scott, you may even have been there with him. I know you have a lot of cattle producers in your electorate. It is appropriate that it was released in Queensland where 42 per cent of meat processing takes place. In fact, it is one of the strongest manufacturing sectors in Queensland. This was his statement:

The new structural arrangements for the red meat industry, which come into effect on 1 July 1998, are a watershed for the industry. They deliver a more efficient structure, increased responsibilities and, of most importance, give ownership and control of the industry back to everyone involved in meat production in Australia.

These arrangements are my most significant and important reforms ever undertaken by government. They signal a new direction of cooperation between government and industry.

Very clearly, right from the word go, the Howard government minister said that the Meat and Livestock Association will have control. And they do it by putting a compulsory levy on cattle sales and the slaughter of beasts. So whatever the sales and whatever the slaughters, money goes to the MLA. People pay a levy and then they can choose to become a member of the MLA. It sounds a bit like a bargaining fee to me, but being union thugs, we have retreated from such behaviour! The union movement never went for that. We do not believe in bargaining fees—rather, some people in the union movement do, but most union members say that you must volunteer to be in the union. In fact, yesterday I heard the member for Wannon proudly saying that he had never joined a union. He did not say that he had refused pay rises negotiated by the Community and Public Sector Union or anything like that.

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