Angus Taylor (Hume, Liberal Party, Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As we get closer to the end of the year, many of us start thinking about the joy of Christmas and, of course, Christmas would never be complete without a tree. There's nothing that says Christmas is around the corner quite like seeing the tree go up at home. That is something I always cherished as a kid, and I'm sure many Australians feel the same way. There was a great routine about our tree each year. For us, it was cutting down a pine tree or cutting a branch off one of the pine trees around the house where I grew up, just as we do today. It's exactly the same thing. For every family, it's different, as they put up their tree and put up their decorations.

That's why I want to share with the House the story of a local family in my electorate who have been, literally, at the centre of so many Christmas celebrations over many, many years and over a large area. For 45 years, the Boag family from Wingello have been at the heart of growing and supplying Christmas trees to thousands of Australian families. No doubt Christmas can be a busy time for so many of us, but none more so than John and Louisa Boag of Wingello. They supply premium retail Christmas trees right across Australia. Their farming business, called the Christmas Tree Man, is set on a 1,200 acre farm at Paddy's River and was established by John's father, Robert, 45 years ago. John and Louisa have also raised their young children on their property.

Between October and December, the Boags hand-pick 18,000 trees which are then supplied to wholesale and retail markets. I know they have in recent years supplied trees to the Prime Minister of Australia, such is their quality. These amazing local trees end up in the homes of families all over Sydney and the Southern Highlands. This year the Christmas Tree Man will be supplying trees as far away as the Atherton Tablelands in Far North Queensland. These trees are in high demand, and one has even been on display here at Parliament House. It's farming businesses like these that are the absolute lifeblood of local communities like mine. They make a huge contribution to the local economy. The Boags themselves employ 12 to 15 employees each season, including a mix of backpackers, locals and permanent workers. Lots of hard work goes on behind the scenes to grow the perfect Christmas tree. Each year, 28,000 radiata pine seedlings need to be planted. They need to be pruned into shape twice yearly over a four- to five-year period. Then there is fertilisation and a very intensive harvest. Is it any wonder the Boags breathe a sigh of relief come January?

Of course farming doesn't come without its challenges, and there are many on this side of the House who have farmed for at least part of their careers and have seen those challenges. In the Boags case, there have been droughts of course, but in particular there with the devastating bushfires in the Shoalhaven River valley in January 2020. It formed the Morton fire, which ravaged Wingello. We saw a number of houses destroyed. We saw people lose their homes, and we saw impacts on many of the surrounding businesses and villages. It didn't end there. There were floods after that. Whilst radiata pines are a hardy crop, the trees struggle with saturation. There were many seedlings lost due to the heavy rains. Fortunately the drier conditions have now improved across the paddocks, and there is some balance in the seasons that they've seen since then.

John and Lou say the secret to growing a great Christmas tree is all in the pruning—promoting the right growth and maintaining that iconic Christmas tree shape. It requires dedication and persistence, and patience also helps. It's farmers around Australia like the Boags who work tirelessly behind the scenes to make sure that Australians can have a great Christmas. I know there are many farmers now working to make sure that they can provide pork, lamb or beef for people's Christmases. Those Australian farmers deserve our thanks for the incredible work they do every single year. I pay tribute to those wonderful farmers—not just the Boag family in Wingello but right across this great country of ours. As we lead up to Christmas, we should all keep the hard work they do in our thoughts.