Barnaby Joyce (New England, National Party, Minister for Agriculture) Share this | Hansard source

Agriculture is once more painting its position as a major pillar of our economy. When we started with the agriculture department, during the change of government, we had a budget that was less than half of what had been handed over at the conclusion of the Howard government. In that process we have tried to make it our aim to get the best return back through the farm gate, to make sure that we focus on those families on the land and do what is within our power to expedite a change in circumstance, so that they can be part of the refurbishment of the rural asset and so that we can bring real dignity back into their lives.

That process—and I am not saying that we are completely responsible for it, but we have been a vital part of it—now sees cattle at record prices. We have had sheep at record prices. Wool is now attaining the highest prices it has had since the conclusion of the wool floor price—the wool southern scheme—and it continues to go up, and we will soon have record prices there. Even in the wine industry—from my discussions with our agriculture advisory committee—we are starting to get sustained contractual obligations coming into play, assisting us in the wine industry, and we were starting from a very low base. If you go to other sections of our industry, such as the caprine section—the goat section—there are record prices. Cotton is at a very strong price. Our forward grain prices are strong. For our citrus, we are getting a good turnaround. And we have brought about things such as the opening of the tropical fruit market into the United States of America, with the first exports of mangoes and lychees to those markets. The agriculture portfolio is many and varied, and it requires a dedication and intensity. I like to always thank the work of my department and my colleagues for what they do.

We have also started on a process of proper country of origin labelling. This has been in its first pass of cabinet and we have finished the consultation phase with industry, and we are currently in the midst of a consultation phase with the public. I think we have around 8,000 submissions there at the moment. This will give us a descriptor which is diagrammatic, reflective of proportionality, simple to understand and compulsory.

We have also engaged for the first time in a formidable campaign to deal with issues such as wild dogs and pest control. We are now getting submissions back from the western districts about proper fencing programs, supported by the government, so that we can create the mechanism for the exclusion of wild dogs so we can repopulate those areas with sheep. That goes hand in glove with the revitalisation of a lot of the towns to bring back the wool industry. The wool industry comes with shearers and wages, and it is of vital importance to some of the western districts.

On a biosecurity level, our most recent fight was probably with Panama disease. We enacted the flying squad, which was part of our election commitment. The flying squad has been part and parcel for why we now have only one confirmed area of Panama disease. We had a false negative at Mareeba and we have one section in Tully. It is a very important industry to that area—approximately $600 million—and it is something we need to protect.

We have brought about accelerated depreciation of 100 per cent for fencing and 100 per cent on water reticulation so we get refurbishment of the irrigation asset on the property. We also brought the depreciation on fodder storage in silos and haysheds from over 30 years down to three years. We are trying to make sure that the better returns the farmers are now receiving are invested back into the farming asset, so they can work hand in glove in increasing the volume of our agricultural exports because our nation needs it. This is the sort of money we need to bring in to mitigate some of the effects of the downturn in coal and iron ore.

We have also started on the investigation and relocation of sections of the department. No doubt we will have some questions about that. I think this is important. We have to have a vision for the future. We have to have a vision for centres of excellence. We have to have the same sort of vision in agriculture that brought about Canberra. That involved a visionary process. I look forward to questions.

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