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

Mr Deputy Speaker Broadbent, this is about foreign investment. Of course we want foreign investment. We want a proper review of foreign investment. We want to make sure that not only is there foreign investment going into our nation but that we have the capacity to export our product from our nation.

If in the near future—because this has got to go through by Christmas; the Chinese free trade agreement has got to be finalised by Christmas, and we do not have that many more weeks in this parliament. We are relying on the cooler heads, the sensible heads, in the Labor Party to stand up for common sense. If there is one portfolio that has that responsibility, it is agriculture, but we have not heard a whisper out of the member for Hunter about trying to get the Chinese free trade agreement through. We have had commentary on our policies, because he has got none.

Mr Fitzgibbon interjecting—

He is sitting over there like a babbling brook—commentary on our policies, because he has none—but he does not have the ticker to stand up when it really matters.

In conclusion, we are proud of the changes to our Foreign Investment Review Board guidelines, because we believe in the right of the Australian people to understand who owns what. We reacted to what they have asked of us and we have delivered by bringing about these changes. Soon it will be discernible for all—like a Terrence Alick map, which you get in Queensland, that notes all properties—to see who owns what. We believe it is a right, and I think, actually, you support that section. The process has already started.

We also believe in this bright agricultural future, the biggest turnaround in agricultural soft commodity prices in living memory—something that this government can actually deliver; something that you have been nothing but obstructionist about, that you have done nothing for. I can point to two things straight off the cuff—if you want to know about Labor Party policies, I will give you the two big ones: they banned the live cattle exports and absolutely destroyed the cattle industry. You think they would have learnt their lesson but they said, 'Oh no, that was in the past. That'll never happen again. We'll never do that again. We've learnt our lesson. We'd never be that destructive. We'd never be that obstructive. We'd never be such dilettantes that we would make such a catastrophically stupid mistake ever again.' And here they are: back into it. They are about to stop the Chinese free trade agreement. Why? Because they want to stand up for the BLF and they do not want to stand up for the Australian people.

See this speech in context