Christopher Back (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

We have all been in this place, as Senator O’Brien is well aware. Yesterday afternoon, the shadow minister attempted to meet with Minister Burke to put to the minister what the real issues are. The real issues are straightforward: firstly, that the 40 per cent rebate would be retained; secondly, as part of the reform process, that we would see agreement of work plans in each of the six industry sectors; and, thirdly, that those work plans would be fully funded. Only this evening have I had the courtesy, through Senator Milne, of receiving a copy of a letter from the minister to Senator Milne—not to others on the committee—in which he states that he will provide $20 million of extra funding. It was not there yesterday afternoon but was there by last night or by this morning, or by whenever this letter arrived. As Senator Nash has said, far from there being a guarantee of the 40 per cent rebate still being in place—I image the letter is accurate—the letter states:

The additional funding will effectively allow a rebate on fees and charges for the 2009-10 financial year—

How much is it? Is it two per cent? Is it 40 per cent? What is it? Why could the minister not have said in that letter to Senator Milne and why could he not have entrusted others by copying it to them? I do not even know whether my two colleagues on the other side of the chamber, Senators Sterle and O’Brien, have seen a copy of this letter. But why would it be that the minister could not have come straight out and said, ‘There will be a retention of the 40 per cent rebate while we go on with the reform process’? No. We have not been involved in this process. We have not been given the courtesy of the minister’s confidence. All we know, per the courtesy of Senator Milne, is from a copy of a letter to her in which the minister says that he will effectively allow some sort of a rebate on fees and charges while we go on. But it does not stop there either because he then says:

... all affected sectors will ... benefit from efficiency gains and cost savings—

but that these cost reductions—

... will accumulate to the benefit of affected sectors within the Industry Liability Accounts—

which are themselves at this time accruing. So we may or may not get cost savings and if we do, they will go into the industry liability account. Then the letter says:

potentially—

potentially—

enabling downward adjustment of fees and charges for 2010-11 ...

He has no confidence in industry and he has no confidence in his AQIS executives. Industry has confidence in the AQIS executives—they told us so—but the minister clearly has not because he is talking about cost reductions going into a liability fund and only then potentially will they enable downward adjustment of fees and charges. What a cop-out to go about this in this process, when there was a time when all of us working collectively and collaboratively could have achieved something. I am only new in this place, as you know. If this is the way business is done for an industry which is worth $30 or $40 billion, employing hundreds of thousands of people, with a downside possibility if this fails, as Senator Colbeck said, in Western Australia we will have to go from South Australia around the north of Australia to Townsville to find another export abattoir that kills cattle. That could be the effect of this and to see this opportunity lost in this fashion is a deep disappointment.