Gavan O'Connor (Corio, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

A fascinating article appeared in the Australian newspaper on 4 September this year. It was clearly a leak from the sources very close to the member for Gwydir, who is the former Deputy Prime Minister and Leader of the National Party. According to that leak, dutifully reported by Steve Lewis, the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry was rebuked for displaying insufficient loyalty to the National Party. According to the Lewis story, the member for Gwydir gave the minister a dressing-down in front of his colleagues, telling him he needed to show more commitment to the party, beginning with turning up to meetings on time. That is a good start!

There is absolutely no doubt that the member for Gippsland has been a disaster in the key agriculture portfolio. The recent decision by the government to abandon and betray farmers in its commitment to a mandatory code of conduct for the horticultural sector is a perfect illustration of the minister’s failure to stand up for producers. Far from standing up for fruit and vegetable growers, the minister has simply rolled over in the face of a Liberal onslaught. In the lead-up to the last election, the Howard government, through the then Deputy Prime Minister, a member of the National Party, committed to establishing a mandatory code of conduct for the horticultural sector within 100 days of being returned to office.

There were endless repetitions of this promise, not only by Mr Anderson but by the member for Wide Bay and the member for Gippsland himself. In fact, the minister came into this place in November last year and restated the pledge. In response to a question without notice he said:

The government, pursuant to its election commitment to develop a mandatory code of conduct, is in the process of doing exactly that.

He said the government would introduce a process which conformed with its guidelines for prescribing mandatory codes under the Trade Practices Act 1974.

But not only is the mandatory code off the table; the management of this important matter has been transferred from the National Party to the Liberal Party. We now see the minister for industry taking over an issue—at the insistence of the Prime Minister’s office—that should be managed by the agriculture minister. The interests of tens of thousands of hardworking fruit and vegetable growers are now being managed by the minister responsible for the big end of town and by a party that is in the pockets of retailers and wholesalers.

The dismal performance of the member for Gippsland—‘Senator’ Peter McGauran, as he was described twice on ABC AM this morning—explains why the Prime Minister removed this important issue from his control. This vote of no confidence by the Prime Minister in the member for Gippsland should have resulted in his resignation from the portfolio. The fact that the minister for industry has completely abandoned the government’s election pledge—he has even denied that the government even made it in the first place—makes the agriculture minister’s position even less tenable. The Prime Minister’s action also shows that the current Leader of the National Party lacks any real authority inside the government because he cannot deliver on a cast-iron promise made by his predecessor.

It is widely understood that the minister for agriculture has been considering following his brother and defecting to the Liberals. Like his brother, he would be no great loss to the National Party, and neither would he be a great gain for the Liberals. Senator McGauran reflected the attitude of his brother when he told the ABC Stateline program on 25 August that in Canberra the National Party is fading out. That statement is no great revelation to people on this side of the House or to farmers throughout Australia. It is clear to everyone, and especially to their constituents, that the National Party stands for nothing and has no future.

In relation to the member for Gippsland’s immediate future, I understand that he has been told to stay exactly where he is by the Prime Minister’s office: it is better to have a compliant junior partner than to upset the coalition by allowing more Nationals to jump ship to save their political skins. The interests of Australian farmers are now being represented by a member who wants to be a Liberal, in a party with a leader who is too weak to stand up to the Prime Minister. Thank God the farmers have the Labor Party in their corner.