Michael McCormack (Riverina, National Party, Shadow Minister for International Development and the Pacific) Share this | Hansard source

I'm very pleased that I have been joined here in the Federation Chamber by the member for O'Connor. The reason I'm pleased is that he understands farmers and he understands agriculture. He represents an electorate, as large as it is, that in an average year produces 10 million tonnes of wheat—10 million tonnes of wheat a year. I know that the Grain Producers Australia chief executive officer, Colin Bettles, is also in the chairs behind me, and I acknowledge his presence. Both the member for O'Connor and Mr Bettles were in parliament earlier this week to celebrate all that is good about grain production, all that is good about farmers and all that is good about agriculture. I note, too, on the speakers list—and I'm not using it as a prop, so I'll give it back—that it is dominated by coalition speakers, appreciating that the member for Ryan from the Greens just spoke. But this list is heavy with coalition members addressing this very important matter.

Every member of this House should be speaking on this bill, the Agriculture (Biosecurity Protection) Levies Bill 2024, because it is that important. As Labor has finally admitted—after being dragged, kicking and screaming, to the table—we are in a cost-of-living crisis. It's a crisis, I would argue, that has been brought about on Labor's watch because of its policies. Yet here we are, talking about slugging our farmers—our hardworking cockies; the best in the world, make no mistake—with what Labor calls a levy, but I'll call it what it is: a tax—a tax on them to do what? To pay for the biosecurity of their competitors' products coming in from overseas and going onto the same shelves as their own products. What other nation in the world would do something like this? What other country would be so god damn stupid as to slug its farmers, who produce the world's finest food through their hard work and sweat, to pay a biosecurity tax to prop up the not-so-good products coming in from overseas by their competitors? It just makes no sense!

That is why I can't understand why there are very few, if any, speakers from the Labor side. I saw and appreciate that the member for Moreton is on the list. He speaks on most pieces of legislation, and good on him for speaking. I can't understand why, when we are in a cost-of-living crisis, why every Labor member isn't speaking on this bill, particularly every Labor regional member. They should be defending what they're doing and explaining what this bill is all about, because the essence of this bill will mean that consumers will pay more at the grocery checkout. They'll pay more for their food. They'll pay more for their vegetables. They'll pay more, whether its imported food or whether it is home-grown, fresh produce.

To a degree, I don't really care that Paraguayan pawpaws—I'm not sure if they even grow pawpaws in Paraguay, but possibly they do.

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