Scott Buchholz (Wright, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to inform the parliament about the conditions of our dairy industry in the electorate of Wright. I am losing dairy farmers in my electorate at a rate too high to mention. I am down from 2,000 dairy farmers to about 550, and it is forecast that at the end of the year I will lose another 50. It is totally unacceptable.

One of the biggest pressures driving dairy farmers to leave the industry is the price being dominated by the retailer. The consumer loves it, but the dairy farmers are getting smaller cheques and, as a result, are finding themselves unable to continue to operate.

Australia, you need to make a decision. If you want to have fresh milk, we need to make sure that our dairy farmers are profitable. If you want to start importing our milk because we do not have dairy farmers who can compete on a global standard here, get prepared to start drinking UHT milk. Percentage-wise, its consumption is far greater in Europe than it is here in Australia. It is a lot easier for the retailers to sell because it does not need refrigeration and it does not need to be rotated through as a stock, so it becomes a higher margin profit line item on their balance sheet.

Please help me. Help my farmers in the electorate of Wright. Help me help my farmers right across Australia. Dairy farmers are bleeding and they need the assistance of the Australian consumer. I beg you.