Patrick Secker (Barker, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I point out to the member for Blair, who is leaving the chamber as quickly as he possibly can, that he entirely misses the point of this motion. This is about the fact that this government and the previous minister had promised support for the industry in return for these changes. I will expand on that later, but the fact is that the government has again welshed on their promise.

I thank the member for Calare for raising this important issue. Australia has a proud export history, and I think it is important to ensure that this country can continue exporting viably into the future. This motion calls on the responsible minister to commission an independent study of legitimate costs to the government of AQIS export service inspection fees and charges for the six affected industries as evidenced at the AQIS/AMIC joint ministerial task force meeting on 7 May 2010. What could be more innocent than asking for an independent study of legitimate costs?

This motion also calls on the responsible minister to table in the House a document that explains how the government will provide a reduction in annual regulatory costs to the export industries in the order of $30 million per year from 1 July 2011 and also a document that outlines the completion of reforms that were to be delivered as part of the agreement to remove AQIS export service rebates between the government and the six affected industries, as I mentioned earlier. The motion also calls on the responsible minister to note the above commitments were part of a package agreed by the former minister for agriculture in return for the passage of their legislation to remove 40 per cent of the AQIS export service rebate and calls on the government to continue the AQIS export service rebate until the reforms are delivered, as agreed by this government.

The previous Labor government minister responsible for agriculture made promises that to date still have not been fulfilled despite the current minister offering some band-aid assistance. In 2009, the then Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Tony Burke, announced that, in exchange for axing the 40 per cent AQIS service inspection rebate, he would offer the industry a $127.4 million export certification reform package to fund efficient reforms. For two years this government failed to deliver on that promise. The 40 per cent export rebate ceased on 1 July this year, but up until last week there was still no action from the current minister. Because the government had refused to offer assistance to any of the export ministries affected, despite the 2009 promise, John Cobb, the shadow minister for agriculture, introduced this motion. The minister finally last week recognised that there was a problem—about time—and announced the establishment of a $25.8 million package for the meat export industry. This is a small contribution to fix the large problem caused by this government. More needs to be done.

The minister has only offered to the meat industry a package where there are five other industries affected by the removal of the 40 per cent rebate—horticulture, dairy, fish, grain and live export. This package offered by the government only covers a small section of the reforms promised in 2009. An established pork abattoir in my electorate has raised concerns about the government's lack of reform also. The pork industry is required to pay 100 per cent of meat inspection costs with no government contribution. The regulatory costs are a huge burden to the business on top of the removal of the rebate from 1 July 2011. The majority of pork export abattoirs have successfully operated under the meat safety export program for the last 13 years and frankly this package that the government has announced will do nothing to assist abattoirs such as the one I have mentioned. In fact this government could do very well to cost the abattoirs such as this one one more. (Time expired)

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