Kevin Hogan (Page, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources. Will the Deputy Prime Minister update the House on how the government's policies are facilitating jobs and investment in agriculture? How is the delivery of these policies restoring agriculture as a fundamental pillar of the Australian economy?

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

I thank the honourable member for his question. It is absolutely apparent that the most important thing in so much of regional Australia is jobs. Throughout Australia it is about jobs. It is about making sure that we bring about an economy that brings stronger jobs growth, and we on this side absolutely believe in that stronger jobs growth. And we have seen it in the member's own seat, in Page, near the town of Tabulam, with the expansion of Ridley Bell's blueberry farm—600 new jobs in an area where there was not employment in the past and where we are driving that employment factor forward, because we believe that it is so vitally important that we give people the opportunity of a good job.

In the area we also have 22 full-time-equivalent positions going into warehousing. It is all about driving this agenda. And it is not just there, not just around Tabulam. It is also making sure that at the Costa Group's new tomato factory at Guyra we bring forward new jobs as well. With their expansion there are 170 new jobs in that area for the people of Guyra. That means the town is going ahead.

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

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

I know the Labor Party is not very interested in jobs, but at Thomas Foods at Tamworth we have further jobs, with the expansion—200 new jobs at Tamworth. This is vitally important. To the north of the area, in Toowoomba, with the new airport that has been put in by the Wagner brothers, we see that we have further facilitated the growth of jobs in that area, especially in the horticultural industry. It is quite apparent that our belief in making sure that we get new jobs is based on our knowledge of the areas. I was also very pleased to see that the Labor Party—

Opposition members interjecting—

It is good to see you are referring to your old colleague. The Labor Party, too, has had a survey to see if they are interested in jobs. They had the candidates for Page and Richmond. How did they spell Page? P-a-i-g-e. Paige and Richmond—it sounds like a wonderful young couple down at the surf club. They cannot even get the name of the seat right. This is how ridiculous it is. They put it on a forum, and who was the grand light at that forum? It was you! It was Bill Shorten. I wish to table the community town hall forum at a seat we have never even heard about: the seat of Paige!