Mark Coulton (Parkes, Deputy-Speaker) 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 outline to the House what measures the government has taken to support the agricultural sector and hard-working regional Australians? And how does this compare to other approaches?

Barnaby Joyce (New England, National Party, Leader of the Nationals) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the honourable member for his question and note his long experience in the agricultural sector. We have done so much to support the agricultural sector. That support is seen in the record turnaround we have had—record cattle prices, record sheep prices, record pork prices. We have had record prices in sugar. We have made sure that we have opened up three new free trade agreements. We have nine new live animal destinations. We have record numbers and a record value of live cattle going overseas.

On the back of this, we support it with infrastructure—real infrastructure. There is $2½ billion worth of dam infrastructure that we are now promoting and moving forward. In telecommunications, we have put in funds for 499 mobile phone towers and for a further 125 which were promised during the election. We have also put money on the table for the Inland Rail. It is something that never got anywhere under the previous administration. It never happened anywhere under the previous administration. Now, we have made sure that, with our investment into the balance sheet of the ARTC, this major piece of nation-building infrastructure is constructed so as to build a corridor of commerce through regional Victoria, regional New South Wales and regional Queensland.

We have put money on the table and have started the process of: the South West Loddon Pipeline; the Macalister Irrigation District upgrade; Dungowan Dam, with $75 million to further expand that. We have put $130 million on the table for Rookwood Weir and we have seen the completion of Chaffey Dam on time and on budget after getting the approvals through and putting further money on the table for that. We have started the $1.6 billion upgrade of the Toowoomba range crossing and we have launched the Sky Muster satellite, which is connecting 2,000 remote regional customers a week.

And you ask if there are any alternate policies. Well, we have one that reflects the approach of the Australian Labor Party—and, of course, that is the backpackers tax. We have seen that what they intend to do to the agricultural sector and the agricultural workforce is the same as what they did to the live cattle trade: completely destroy it. Even though a reasonable negotiation was made from the member for Lilley, the former Treasurer's position of 32½ per cent, we went about and put the money on the table so we had a period of time so that we could negotiate a proper outcome. But who destroys it? Who has only venom in their heart for regional Australia? Who is nothing but a wrecker? Who can't you trust? The member for Maribyrnong cannot be trusted. The member for Maribyrnong cannot be trusted to look after regional people. It is the only time he has let the member for Hunter off the leash. He lets the member for Hunter off the leash and it is complete and utter devastation for regional Australia.