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

The Wheat Marketing Amendment Bill 2006 has been brought in as a necessary measure for the Australian wheat industry. As Senator Siewert said, one of the reasons for this temporary measure is to end the impasse that currently exists with the Western Australian wheat farmers who are not delivering their wheat to the pool but are storing it on their properties—thousands of tonnes of wheat that are not going to either CBH or AWB. The government want to ensure that the single desk selling arrangements retain the confidence of growers in the short term and that growers are not disadvantaged in the long term. I urge Australian wheat growers to take advantage of the next three months of consultation to ensure that a united position is presented to the federal government on the future marketing arrangements for bulk export wheat.

There is a push for deregulation of wheat exports and there are all sorts of variations on the single desk. But the Nationals have held the line on this important issue for regional Australia and we have bought some time for wheat growers. I say to growers today: you have 17 Nationals representatives here in the federal parliament; we are your voice here, but your voice, the voice of growers, needs to be loud, clear and distinct when you give us the message to carry for you on the way you want your wheat marketed overseas. Your future is strongly linked to the future of the single desk, and make no mistake: the future of the single desk is at stake right at this moment.

The minister, under this bill, will be handed the veto for a period of six months up until 30 June 2007 before it comes back to AWB, and this gives growers time to confirm: firstly, if they want to retain the single desk, which I believe they will; and, secondly, what format the single desk should take and who should ultimately exercise the veto. I have met with representatives of the wheat industry already and understand that they are preparing to undertake a comprehensive consultation process over the next three months to confirm that wheat farmers want the single desk retained and to present all the options available to growers. I understand that Minister Peter McGauran will be writing to wheat growers soon on this matter to kick-start the consultation process amongst the farmers.

This consultation must form a basis for presenting a unified case to government at the end of the three-month consultation. The export veto power for bulk wheat has been placed with the minister as an interim measure to ensure grower confidence in the current arrangements in the short term. Putting the veto in trust with the minister will potentially reduce the chance of pool-contributing growers being left with a disproportionate share of the cost. That is one reason the bill is being put forward. An export licence will continue to be granted on terms where it will have to assist in maximising the bottom line for wheat growers. In this way, the minister’s veto will help to ensure that those who contribute to the pool are not penalised for the benefit of growers outside the pool.

When the three months are up, it is essential that growers have made a clear decision on what constitutes a single desk and who is the appropriate entity to control it. I have made my position on the single desk patently clear. The Nationals have always defended the single desk as a fundamental defence for Australian wheat growers against the protectionist policies and subsidies of our overseas competitors, totalling more than $17 billion per year or 39 per cent of farmers’ income in the EU and 32 per cent of farmers’ income in the US. While ever growers remain united and can clearly demonstrate a requirement for the single desk, the National Party will continue to support them. Most of the world prefer to buy through a single desk, so we must continue to sell through a single desk to suit our markets.

To me the single desk is defined by five clear principles: a single desk entity is grower owned; it is the operator of the national pool; it is the holder of the export veto; it is the buyer of last resort; and it provides security of payments for growers. As far as I am aware—and I am pretty certain of this—a farmer has never not been paid by the AWB; never at any stage has the AWB reneged on a payment. This is not the case in many other markets where people trade. These principles must be changed only with the support of a clear majority of growers. Most growers, the Nationals and many of our Liberal colleagues support the current definition for the single desk. Logically, the next step in the government decision-making process is determining what alternatives are being put forward that uphold the principles and definition of the single desk, and whether growers agree with any of the new proposals.

Australian wheat growers must take advantage of these next six months and ensure that they present a united position to the federal government on future marketing arrangements for bulk export wheat. I sound this warning: let there be no uncertainty at the moment; the single desk is under threat. The only way the single desk can be maintained is by a strong voice of growers who want it. That voice has got to be loud, definite and united. If a united voice is not coming through into the parliaments of Australia then the single desk is definitely under threat. So it is time for the voice of the 22,000 wheat growers to be heard and it has got to be heard loudly and clearly. There cannot be meetings where 200 growers get up and come up with 200 different variations of what a single desk is because the single desk has got to be defined out there amongst the growers. That message has got to come through into the parliament and then we, the various parties, will know what the farmers want.

There is a period of six months before the government make a decision: three months for negotiations and three months for the government to come up with a proposition. So, 22,000 wheat growers, it is over to you. If you want it, fight for it. Go out there and fight hard for it because if you fight hard you may be able to maintain it the way it is.