Michael McCormack (Riverina, National Party, Shadow Minister for International Development and the Pacific) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My mum said, 'Always be careful of fair-weathered friends.' When it comes to farmers, there are no friends more fair-weathered than those opposite. Yesterday the Agriculture (Biosecurity Protection) Levies Bill was officially withdrawn from the Senate Notice Paper. This is a good thing, but it took so long to get there, and the farmers' fair-weathered friends over there said nothing. Where were those regional members when the biosecurity tax came in? Why would a country expect foreign imports to be having their levies paid for and their biosecurity measures paid for by Australian farmers? What country would do that to their own farmers? Those opposite would do it. The Grain Producers Australia chair and WA grain producer, Barry Large, welcomed news of the flawed biosecurity tax proposal finally being scrapped. He said:

I'd like to genuinely thank those members of parliament who took time to sit down and talk to farmers … The Coalition has been particularly strong on this matter, understanding the policy design failures, led by the strong voices of rural members who spoke with farmers in their local electorates.

I'd also like to thank the CEO of that organisation, GPA, Colin Bettles. With friends like those opposite, who needs enemies?