Glenn Sterle (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I present an interim report of the Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport Committee on climate change in the Australian agricultural sector.

Ordered that the report be printed.

I seek leave to move a motion to set the reporting date for the committee’s final report on this matter.

Leave granted

I move:

That the final report of the Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport Committee on its inquiry into climate change in the Australian agricultural sector be presented by 4 December 2008.

Question agreed to.

by leave—I move:

That the Senate take note of the report.

I would like to make a couple of comments on the report. Firstly, during this inquiry there have been some 42 submissions and we have had the pleasure of having two public meetings in Canberra that were very well attended. A lot of information has come forward to the committee which has all been considered, but there is still a lot of work to be done—there is no question about that. I would like to note a couple of the submissions that came to us. One that struck a chord was about perennial pastures, and was from Mr Tim Wiley, from the Western Australian agriculture department, and Mr Bob Wilson, who is vice-president of the Evergreen farming group and a farmer from Lancelin in Western Australia. Senator O’Brien and I, as a subcommittee, had the pleasure of being hosted on a day tour around the northern wheatbelt area of Northampton and some farms up there. What we saw up there certainly opened our eyes. It is an area of extreme conditions where the farmers have certainly taken the issue of climate change by the throat and are doing everything they can to address the issues they face. It was a worthwhile visit. Senator O’Brien and I took a lot away from that tour. There is to be another tour next Friday, to the western New South Wales district of Warren, where we will be checking out what is happening there.

In terms of where we go from here, there is a lot more work to do, as I said. But I would like to take this opportunity to thank the committee secretariat for their work. It is a small secretariat that is under extreme pressure because there are so many references to this committee, but they do not shirk the load. They have done a lot of work for us. We have been ably assisted by Jeanette and her team of Peter, Rosalind, Trish and Ann, and I want to note that. On behalf of my fellow committee members—my deputy chair, Senator Siewert, from Western Australia, and Senator O’Brien, Senator Heffernan, Senator Hurley, Senator Hutchins, Senator McGauran and Senator Nash—I commend this interim report to the Senate.