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

I am very happy to answer that in one moment. The Productivity Commission is not always right. No-one is arguing that it is, but we want evidence-based policy in this place, and it is the pre-eminent adviser and the body that gives guidance on microeconomic policy, including regulation.

I will answer the member for Kennedy's question. I am against precipitous compulsory arbitration without notice or without consultation. In an attempt to grab back the initiative from One Nation Queensland and having had the Treasurer say on Monday that the Queensland dispute is all fixed—the Treasurer has fixed it; it is in hand; it will just take another couple of weeks to cross the t's and dot the i's—last night, the Minister for Agriculture, no less the Deputy Prime Minister, and the Treasurer walked out to the cameras and said, 'We are going to have a sugar code. We are going to have a code of conduct under the Trade Practices Act in the sugar sector.' There was no code released, no consultation undertaken, no speaking with the millers, no speaking with the growers; we are just going to have a code of conduct. Extraordinarily, we learned today, confirmed by no less than the Minister for agriculture on Sky News only an hour or so ago, that this code of conduct will go to executive council without being seen by anyone in this place or in the other place, and without being seen by the millers, the growers or any member of the Australian community.

There are two precedents being set here: this will be the first mandatory code of conduct containing compulsory arbitration; and this will certainly be the first code of conduct to go to executive council without any consultation with anyone, sight unseen. This is extraordinary and will send a chilling breeze through the business community right across this country. Every sector tonight, as we speak, will be asking themselves: is this how this government works; are we now going to have mandatory codes of conduct with compulsory arbitration without any consultation or warning? This is economic vandalism at its worst. Those who will be hit most will be the growers of Queensland.

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