David Littleproud (Maranoa, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak on the important issue of wild dogs in my electorate of Maranoa and the important role our federal government is playing in tackling this scourge that is affecting many primary producers right across Maranoa and impacting the $58 billion agriculture industry in this country. Wild dogs and weed pests are costing $4 billion to the agricultural sector every year. This federal government, through the agricultural white paper, has committed $25.8 million to tackling this issue.

Opposition Member:

An opposition member interjecting—

David Littleproud (Maranoa, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I will talk about what is not enough in a moment. Ten million dollars has gone to my electorate of Maranoa. My electorate takes up 43 per cent of Queensland—10 per cent of the landmass of this country. We are actually the economic drivers in terms of agriculture in this country. This $10 million has given economic advantage to those who are coming out of drought, those who have been impacted by four or five years of drought and have been unable to diversity away from cattle into sheep or goats. This has allowed them to build the resilience in their businesses to move forward, to be able to provide a future and to be able to diversify and take advantage of the trade agreements that this government has achieved. We are now putting real dollars in each and every producer's pocket because of the trade agreements that this government has undertaken.

I have to acknowledge that the state government in Queensland, during the Queensland state election campaign, committed $5 million to the wild dog and pest management program. Then on Labour Day, in Barcaldine—the home of the Labor Party—in my electorate, I might add—in a National Party seat, they were proud to announce in front of Bob Hawke another $5 million. Five months later the state government are still wondering how they are going to do that. Only last Friday, after I called them out and said that they were too slow, they came up with the same mechanism that is already in place. They put $4½ million into the wild dog program—an established program that has science predicated behind it to achieve real outcomes for regional and rural Australia—and $500,000 on a research program. It is shameful to think that it has taken five months for a state government to get off their backside and actually deliver to the people of Maranoa. It is a disgrace.

The reality is that my Deputy Prime Minister has been able to deliver a further $2 million to wild dog and pest management in this state. I challenge the state government to come forward and match the further $2 million and to come on this journey, because of the resilience it will build in rural and regional economies right across Australia, but particularly in Queensland. I am proud, because we have delivered. The state Labor government have been frozen to the wheel and have done nothing. As usual, they have done nothing—like with dams, fences and the whole way through. The Queensland Labor government are like the previous federal Labor government. They have done nothing. They achieve nothing. They just talk.