Ron Boswell (Queensland, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

They have not hit paydirt yet; that is all I can say. You have been spraying around but you have not struck a blow yet. The Cole inquiry has been established and has expanded its terms of reference to get to the heart of the matter. This is where the matter will be resolved. They have had full and open access to DFAT—all the documents and all the officials. The Prime Minister has clearly stated that all the ministers called will be invited to attend. But you guys have been whipping up hysteria. All you have been doing is driving a wedge into the Wheat Board, upon which Australian farmers depend so heavily to market their product.

There are two distinct things here. Everyone wants to get to the bottom of whether there has been corruption. But there is also a very clear understanding in the country that the Wheat Board is an essential part of marketing the industry. Making the connection that we have corruption on one side and that therefore the Wheat Board is ineffective is totally wrong. We are talking about two totally different issues. One is about corporate governance and the other one is about how we market our wheat, and they should be very, very separate. It is important that we do not play into the hands of vested interests that want to destroy the Wheat Board and see this as an opportunity to get rid of it: international grain traders, people that want to see the Wheat Board destroyed because it provides an essential service to Australian growers and about a $15 a tonne premium to Australian farmers.

As a member of the National Party and a member of the Senate, I want to stand up for the Australian Wheat Board and say that it has provided a wonderful service to Australian wheat growers. When the farmers make the decision that it is no longer useful as a one-desk seller then they can come to us and say, ‘It’s served its purpose; it is the judgment of the wheat growers that it is not required any longer.’ But until they do that the National Party is locked solidly into the Wheat Board. It is an act of faith with the National Party and it will not be abandoned by the National Party. We will fight for its existence. That is not to say that we do not want to get to the bottom of these claims. If there is anything substantial about them, the Cole inquiry will make its report and then it will be duly followed through by a process. Let us not throw the baby out with the bathwater. This is an essential way to sell our wheat. There is $1 billion worth of subsidies going into American wheat and EU wheat every day of the year. While our farmers have to compete against that, the Wheat Board is the way to go. (Time expired)