Fiona Nash (NSW, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

Sorry. He said that Mr Vaile headed off to Iraq to avoid accountability in the parliament. What a ridiculous statement. It is so wide of the mark it is ridiculous. Do the Leader of the Opposition and his frontbench—and even those on the other side in this place—seriously believe that Minister Vaile would head off to a war-torn country simply to avoid some questions from the Australian Labor Party? I don’t think so! And that remark was from a man who claims to be the alternative leader of this nation.

The Grains Council chief, David Ginns, said that Mr Vaile was being unfairly criticised. He said: ‘People are assuming we’ve lost something, but we didn’t. He should be applauded for putting himself in the firing line for Australian farmers.’ Those are not my words; they are the words of the Grains Council of Australia—a body that has got a lot more knowledge about wheat exports than Kim Beazley—