Alby Schultz (Hume, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

As Deputy Chair of the Standing Committee on Agriculture, Resources, Fisheries and Forestry, can I compliment the committee as a whole on reinforcing its reputation for working together in a bipartisan way on issues related to agriculture, forestry and fisheries. I endorse the opening remarks made by the committee chairman about the recommendations of the committee on this particular issue of wheat exporting.

Some of us in this place can well remember the issues centred around the Australian Wheat Board at a time when there was significant activity which indicated some graft in the marketing of wheat, particularly export wheat. It is also true to say that, at that time, the behaviour of some individual senior officials within that organisation verged on criminal activity. These are the things that I am reminded of as I make my contribution within the committee process. Whilst we do not like to think about those things, the point I am making is that there has always been controversy in wheat marketing, whether it is at the local level or at the export marketing level. Some people in this place, including myself, were criticised by elements of the wheat growing community in this country because we believed that we should be protecting people in Western Australia and South Australia who were growing export wheat from being ripped off to the extent of $60 to $100 per tonne of their export wheat just to satisfy the A and B class shareholders within the Australian Wheat Board organisation.

In closing, I would like to thank the committee for the wonderful way in which we worked together to come to the recommendations that the chairman has outlined here in the House today. To the chairman, can I say that it is always a pleasure to work with him, because politics are put aside and we as a committee make our decisions on the basis of the open and transparent evidence that is taken within the committee process and on the basis of what we believe to be in the best interests of the people that we are representing. The outcome of this hearing—this recommendation that the House pass the Wheat Export Marketing Amendment Bill 2012—has been based on the independent evidence that we have taken and on the wonderful contributions by people within the industry. It is my hope and I know it is the hope of the committee as a whole that the House will embrace the recommendations of this committee today.

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