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

We have put forward a program of making sure that we create the best impetus for the creation of fencing that both begins and ends at the same spot so we get the greatest enclosure of the greatest possible area, but with a plan to eradicate the dogs within that area. I think that is vitally important. We are hoping—and this is the feedback we are now getting—that in certain areas the councils would work together. This also will increase our capacity to deal with this. Whilst we are dealing with the eradication of wild dogs, we also have greater capacity to deal with other feral pests, especially wild pigs. Also, because predominantly there is no natural predator to the kangaroo except us, we have to get the kangaroo meat industry going again. It helps us with some form of control there as well. This is vitally important.

I know we are getting to the end of the time, so what I will do, to pay proper respect to the questions that were asked by the shadow minister in regard to concessional loans, is to take it on notice to deliver to the shadow minister the precise answers. He can take that as a correction of anything I have said. Rather than read you through all the tabulated data here, we will get it to you. That, I think, is the most concise way. I think you deserve the respect of trying to get you as much detail as I possibly can on that issue.

In conclusion—because we are coming to a conclusion—on the water infrastructure, I know that, especially in the member for Parkes's area, in Walgett, it is a travesty that once more I hear that they have missed out on rain. But in other areas in the member's electorate there are some of the best irrigated farms with the highest yields in the world—the best in the world. They are going to grab the capacity with both hands. Whilst they are getting good prices for cotton, they now have the capacity to refurbish and make their farms even more efficient, with a 100 per cent write-off. It is that sort of investment.

I will give you one example. We have the IFED project, which the state Labor government in Queensland and the former Treasurer of Queensland, Keith De Lacy, are discussing. That is a $1.7 billion or $1.8 billion project in North Queensland, predominantly irrigation. This is the sort of thing that brings the jobs into the area. When we are talking to the people in the area, these are the sorts of projects they want in order to get the Indigenous community employed. Fred Pascoe from the lands council comes down and says, 'These are the sorts of issues that I want you to stand behind and drive.' Within our dams policy, we are going to have to have some reach across the chamber in a bipartisan way to drive some of these projects through. It is going to be vitally important in the refurbishment of the agricultural assets of Australia.

In conclusion, we will get to the shadow minister the tabulated data on exactly where those loans are. On the issue of wild dogs, I do not think it is going to wait too much. We will be paying further attention to the water infrastructure space in the white paper. That was actually part of the white paper, and it is of vital importance that we have a policy for refurbishment of the irrigated assets on the property. That goes hand in glove with the construction of further dams in our nation, in the catchments. In the area where I formerly lived, between Surat and Hebel, they have created a small dam for the fattening of lambs. It became a precinct that produced about $1 billion worth of cotton a year. But you have to have that seed capital—that seed investment. It is that sort of entrepreneurial spirit, driven by the individual, that actually puts money on the table for our nation.

There are so many other things I would have liked to be able to go through had I had the opportunity. There are further issues in our research and development field that are being dealt with. We are now developing a new rust for blackberries. We are looking at the biological treatment of parthenium weed. This is in our most recent tranche. We are looking for better efficiencies in irrigation. In the dairy industry, we have a $4 million grant for greater efficiencies in dairy. (Time expired)

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