Peter Hendy (Eden-Monaro, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Agriculture. I remind the minister that there are over 2,500 people in my electorate of Eden-Monaro directly employed in primary industries. How is the government strengthening the agricultural sector in my electorate and elsewhere?

Barnaby Joyce (New England, National Party, Minister for Agriculture) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I would like to thank the member for Eden-Monaro for his question on what is a very important issue. The member for Eden-Monaro would know better than most the benefits of dairying in his area, and the member for Eden-Monaro would know better than most the costs of dairying that are currently being inflicted on his people.

In Eden-Monaro, about 100 farmers produce 125 million litres of milk a year and export that to around 40 countries. You might be interested to know that their carbon tax bill is $660,000 a year. Of course, one of the best ways to try and start helping the farmers of Eden-Monaro would be to repeal the carbon tax.

Ms Macklin interjecting—

Mr Dreyfus interjecting—

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Jagajaga and the member for Isaacs will desist.

Barnaby Joyce (New England, National Party, Minister for Agriculture) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

But we have carbon tax deniers over on the other side, and of course they do not want to do that because that would actually give money back to the farm gate. But it is not only that. We have about 250,000 tonnes of hardwood woodchips that go out. We have about 250,000 tonnes of softwood. We have about 25,000 cubic metres of sawn logs that go out. Of course this is all part of the regional forest agreements, which, because of the Labor Party's close arrangement with the Greens, are always, continually, under threat. They are continually attacking the industry of Eden-Monaro. But there is a better place to be, and under the coalition we are looking at a white paper. That white paper will look into the future of agriculture. It will deliver for agriculture a real path into the future. I am proud to be part of a government that actually has it as one of its central pillars, its fifth pillar. It is going to be great to be part of and work with the member for Eden-Monaro to actually deliver a path forward for the people in agriculture.

I am looking forward to working with issues such as drought at the moment, as we try to come forward and look after the people in drought. But we also have a vision for the long term. What the Labor government in the past delivered to us was nothing more than an affliction. They shut down the live cattle trade. That was one of their piece de resistances. They shut down the live cattle trade. There are also abattoirs in that area—and, of course, what do the abattoirs get hit with? They get hit with a higher power bill. Why? Because of the carbon tax. It is not just the dairy processing factory itself that gets hit. It does not matter what the dairy farmer does on their place. If they turn on the kettle, they are going to pay the carbon tax. If they listen to the radio, they pay the carbon tax. If they buy steel from an Australian steel mill they pay the carbon tax. If it comes in from overseas, of course, they do not, because the carbon tax is only to afflict Australian industries. It aim was to attack Australians. What we intend to do is take that cost away from them.