George Christensen (Dawson, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to highlight an issue of urgent concern in my electorate, which covers the two largest sugar-growing districts in the nation. All sugar mills in the Burdekin are owned by the Singaporean milling company Wilmar. In 2014, that company announced it would take over the role of sugar marketing from QSL for the 2017 season and beyond. The lack of transparency this move created was one of great concern to farmers, and the Queensland parliament legislated in December last year to ensure those farmers would retain choice in marketing of their product.

Other milling companies have complied with the sugar-marketing laws and have worked with farmers to achieve the best outcome for the industry as a whole. Wilmar, however, have sought to circumvent the law and exploit their monopoly position. While such behaviour may still comply with the letter of the law, it is most certainly not within the spirit of the law. Wilmar's failure to negotiate a deal with QSL means farmers cannot choose QSL for marketing and are therefore being railroaded into accepting whatever deal Wilmar puts in front of them. The supply agreements they are asking farmers to sign are extraordinarily long, complicated, detrimental and, I have to say, very heavy-handed and unwieldy for farmers. Wilmar's unconscionable conduct in this matter is extremely anticompetitive and precisely the kind of conduct that prompted the establishment of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. I have written to the ACCC today requesting an urgent investigation into Wilmar's anticompetitive behaviour as the industry in the Burdekin, in particular, is now at crisis point.

Sugarcane farmers produce a perishable crop that is dependent on the miller for the processing of the cane and, given that each district can support only one sugar mill, there is no competition for milling. The owner of the mill effectively has a monopoly and is able to negotiate supply contracts with cane farmers from an extreme position of power. To date, this has caused many issues, and almost all power and independence in terms of farm management that farmers once had has been eroded. Of the more than 300 farmers that have been represented by grower groups within the Burdekin region, only a dozen or so farmers have signed supply agreements for the next season, for which farmers are already planting.

Planting without a contract is highly risky. Farmers who do so are at the mercy of the mill and must accept whatever deal is placed in front of them. The only other alternative is to let the crop rot in the field. For two years, farmers have attempted to negotiate reasonable outcomes for themselves and for the long-term viability of the industry, but Wilmar's tactics have been to delay wherever possible, because they know that, as the deadline looms, their negotiating power grows. With sugar prices over $600 a tonne—the best prices that farmers have seen in decades—it is tempting for them to sign whatever deal they can to lock in those prices, but the fact that so few have signed those unfair and anticompetitive contracts is an indictment of Wilmar and a grave situation for the industry in North Queensland. (Time expired)

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