Joel Fitzgibbon (Hunter, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Agriculture) Share this | Hansard source

I have nothing but the greatest respect for the member for Kennedy. Over 24 years in this place, and before that in the Queensland parliament, he has been a great champion for the people of north central Queensland and, indeed, all of that state and, indeed, all of the country. I should say that, throughout the course of the sugar debate—which I think is what this motion is largely about—it is only the member for Kennedy who has serious conversations with me as the opposition spokesperson. It is only the member for Kennedy who has been lobbying me on behalf of canegrowers. I have not heard from One Nation and I certainly have not heard from Minister Joyce or anyone representing the government. There has been no greater fighter for Queensland canegrowers than the member for Kennedy.

But the opposition will not be supporting the suspension, because we cannot support the motion in these terms. I am not sure what has brought this unusual motion on at this unusual time, but I have no doubt that more than anything else it is about the current debate in the sugar industry and this particular report, which the minister for agriculture finally released this week. He received in November. It was his initiative—one of the initiatives of his white paper—but having received it in November, he snuck it out only this week without any response whatsoever. Why is that so? Having commissioned the report, the minister now finds that the commission has been broadly critical of just about everything he has done in agriculture. It is pretty voluminous; there is a lot of reading in there and a lot to learn about how Minister Joyce has made a mess of his portfolio. Of course, we now learn through the newspapers that, having wrecked the joint, Minister Joyce plans to flee the portfolio and leave it for someone else to clean up the mess.

This report is specifically critical of Minister Joyce's intervention in the sugar market. Indeed, this report is critical of the Queensland LNP's intervention in the sugar market. This report says that the Queensland legislation is flawed and a re-regulation of the sugar industry in Queensland, or anywhere in this country, will be a bad thing for growers, millers, people who work in those mills and the broader Australian economy and, therefore, a bad thing for the broader Australian community. The Productivity Commission—

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