Richard Colbeck (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Hansard source

Senator Sterle and some of my colleagues on the other side will probably get up and talk about those that support this, but they will not talk about companies like the Mildura Fruit Company, who have pulled out of export markets to China, South Korea and Thailand because of the increase in AQIS fees. They have stopped exporting. They have pulled out because it is not economical to do it anymore.

The Australian Meat Industry Council have said what the opposition have said all along, ‘Put the reforms in place first. Show us the savings and then come to us with the revised fees and charges.’ That is what the opposition have said all along and that is what the Australian Meat Industry Council say in their submission. They bear $32 million of the $40-odd million cost. They bear most of the cost. They have been saying all along, ‘Put the reforms in place first and then come and talk to us.’ The Australian Ostrich Association tell us that any increase in cost is likely to shut down the industry. What we are getting here is a competition between the big guys and the little guys. The government is happy to go with the big blokes. That is fine, but who on the government side is standing up for the little blokes? Not many that I can see, and certainly not the minister.

The performance, the complete shambles, over the last 24 hours over the Austrade submission demonstrates that the government have absolutely no control. One hand does not know what the other one is doing. There are submissions going through ministerial offices without them even knowing that they are going through. The one thing that we ask, the one thing that the committee have asked today, is that the officers who prepared the submission be allowed to give their evidence tonight. They have been working with industry. That is why they have said what they have said. We know there are some who support this, but we know that there are a lot who do not. That is why we are asking the questions we are asking.