David Littleproud (Maranoa, National Party, Minister for Water Resources, Drought, Rural Finance, Natural Disaster and Emergency Management) Share this | Hansard source

This is about respect and about restoring a relationship that was destroyed by a panic in 2011, overnight destroying the live cattle trade. What we are doing is slowly putting an environment around the agricultural industry, particularly the live export industry—$1.8 billion a year it is worth to this country. It is important that we continue to make that investment and make that money available for industry to continue to work through the supply chain, particularly more important now, since the ratification of the Indonesian free trade agreement, a proud moment for our nation to be able to trade with our nearest neighbour—267 million people on our doorstep that we now have the opportunity to trade with to give opportunity to our farmers, who will be able to recover quicker from this drought because of the free trade agreements that we have put in place. This is about a suite of measures that complement everything in the agriculture sector, whether it's in infrastructure, whether it's in the agriculture department or whether it's in water, because we understand regional Australia, we understand agriculture and we will deliver for them.

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