John Forrest (Mallee, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is addressed to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade. Would the Deputy Prime Minister update the House and the wheat growers of Mallee on the outcomes of his visit to Iraq over the weekend?

Mark Vaile (Lyne, National Party, Minister for Trade) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the honourable member for Mallee for his question. Of course, we know that the wheat growers in his area and in fact wheat growers right across Australia are very interested in the ongoing relationship that we and they have with the markets across the world. Given recent events, it was decided that I should lead a delegation to Iraq over last weekend to meet with senior ministers in the Iraqi government in terms of the ongoing ability of Australian wheat growers to have access to that market. I can report that that delegation and that visit have been extremely successful in getting a clear indication—announced as part of a joint ministerial statement between myself and Dr Ahmad Chalabi, Iraq’s Deputy Prime Minister—that the Iraqi government is going to continue to welcome tenders from Australian wheat growers and Australian exporters to get wheat into that market in Iraq.

Whilst I was there I had meetings with Prime Minister Al-Jaafari, Deputy Prime Minister Chalabi and trade minister Basit Karim—three senior ministers in the Iraqi government. At the time, the Iraqi government was dealing with a very sensitive and difficult domestic circumstance after the bombing the week before of the Golden Mosque in Samarra, but they saw the importance of the relationship between Australia and Iraq as having such standing that they saw me in the middle of all that was going on there. I received a guarantee from the Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister—the man directly responsible for wheat trade—that Australia can continue to tender for Iraqi wheat contracts.

Kim Beazley (Brand, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

They said that the week before.

Mark Vaile (Lyne, National Party, Minister for Trade) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Leader of the Opposition said, ‘They said that the week before.’ We know how the Labor Party operate: they send messages to each other through the media. The member for Batman, who is not here, sends messages to the Leader of the Opposition. The member for Griffith is always doing it, sending messages to the Leader of the Opposition. We are not prepared to accept that—

Roger Price (Chifley, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On a point of order on relevance, Mr Speaker: how can that be at all associated with his visit to Iraq?

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the Chief Opposition Whip. Has the Deputy Prime Minister completed his answer?

Mark Vaile (Lyne, National Party, Minister for Trade) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

No, I haven’t.

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I call the Deputy Prime Minister and bring him back to the question.

Mark Vaile (Lyne, National Party, Minister for Trade) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

So the object of the exercise—

Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade and International Security) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise on a point of order. With respect, Mr Speaker, you did not rule on the Chief Opposition Whip’s point of order.

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Griffith clearly was not listening. I said to the Deputy Prime Minister that he would come back to the question. So that was a frivolous point of order.

Mark Vaile (Lyne, National Party, Minister for Trade) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The point that I was making was that there might have been media reports but it was important that an Australian government minister participated in a direct personal meeting with an Iraqi government minister to confirm the relationship and the arrangements that would continue to exist in trade between our two countries—where you could stand face to face, eyeball to eyeball, and shake hands on an arrangement that was being put in place.

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

Mark Vaile (Lyne, National Party, Minister for Trade) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Labor Party can carry on like a bunch of schoolgirls all they like, but the reality is, if they were running this country, they would have done exactly the same thing. They would have got on a plane and gone over—and, if they did not, they would be abrogating their responsibility to Australian grain growers. They would be abrogating their responsibility.

As members would have clearly recognised when they read the joint ministerial statement that I issued with Dr Chalabi, there is a clear commitment to Australian grain and Australian exporters being welcome in that market. I might say, while I am on the subject, that in the discussions Dr Chalabi was very complimentary of the quick action the Australian government has taken to establish the Cole inquiry. He was very complimentary of the way we have done that and recognised that there had not been any other government that had taken the action that the Australian government had taken. Regardless of what the Labor Party have to say on this matter, Australian wheat growers should be comfortable in the knowledge that they will have continuing access to this market in Iraq. They will be welcome to continue to compete for tenders in the Iraq market.