Peter Whish-Wilson (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

The Greens have a proud history in this chamber of fighting for a better deal for farmers, including dairy farmers, who are up against the market power of big food and big grocery companies. Indeed, Senator Christine Milne, the previous Leader of the Greens, was herself the daughter of a dairy farmer.

When I started in 2012, we went to the 2013 election with a full suite of policies to tackle the supermarket duopoly and provide an effective set of competition policy laws, as well as backing in increased powers for the ACCC and putting in place laws and better legislation, standing up for small business and supporting farmers. I'm proud to announce that in 2013 we called for mandatory codes of conduct between the supermarkets and the dairy farmers. In 2016, we called for unfair retrospective price changes to be removed from these contracts. I'm exceptionally proud to say that in 2017, having campaigned on it for four years, we worked with the National Party and the Liberal Party to bring in what was one of the most revolutionary changes to competition policy in this country in a decade, which was an effects test.

For those who don't remember, it was one of those extraordinary moments in time where, although we had put up motions to bring in an effects test and it had never been supported—but the Nationals had crossed the floor and voted with us—the day we got the law up was the day that Mr Malcolm Turnbull had just assumed the leadership, and they had done a deal to get the Nationals' support. That deal was that the Liberals that day would vote for an effects test. So we have a great set of competition policies because of an unusual time in history. But it came from the persistence of the Greens and the Nationals in this place to work to get that in place. Senator Xenophon would, I'm sure, be very disappointed in your stance today too for voting down One Nation's motion, but I'm sure you will explain that.

The question of how milk prices are regulated is obviously an important issue for this parliament, as it is for many industries. It's clear that the current free market approach is working more for big producers and supermarkets than it is for farmers. As Senator Sterle acknowledges, this has been the case for many years. I remember us having exactly this same debate back in 2012, 2013 and 2014, yet nothing has changed. We let One Nation know today that the Greens won't commence the need to directly regulate the price of milk paid by processors, and I thank One Nation for amending their motion today to perhaps leave it more open-ended for more discussion on that point. But we do believe very strongly that we need to regulate how milk prices are negotiated to protect farmers.

The important point to consider with milk, as with other perishable products, is that farmers can't hold out to get a better price, unlike a wheat farmer, for example. For those of us who have been on RRAT for a number of inquiries that, for example, looked at wheat boards and wheat markets, wheat farmers can hold out by putting their crop in their silos for a month or so to wait for better prices. Dairy farmers need to move their product on the day that it's produced. Of course, this puts dairy farmers at the mercy of producers and the contracts they have signed.

Two points, one about my home state of Tasmania: our party has often argued that for a small state like Tasmania the future for dairy producers is to value-add, to leverage off the brand. Brand Tasmania is one of the best things my state has going for it, So produce high-value products, leverage off the brand and of course diversify your product. From King Island all the way to Bruny Island, we've got some of the best dairies in the country, producing products that are sold on supermarket shelves right around the country while leveraging off that brand. Going value-added is always a good way to diversify your risk and get good money and not rely on the commodity markets and not get screwed over by supermarkets and milk processors.

Lastly, I'd like to mention an issue in Tasmania, especially in the dairy industry, that is very acute and very sensitive, and that is the sale of Tasmanian businesses to Chinese interests. I have raised in this parliament that Van Diemen's Land was bought by a Chinese investor who'd made an undertaking to spend $100 million in upgrading the business and employing locals. That undertaking has never been met. This government refuses to hold that investor to account, and it's totally unacceptable. It's totally unacceptable that our Foreign Investment Review Board laws aren't worth the paper they're written on if the government's not prepared to act and stand up for dairy farmers in Tasmania. I also made the point that the sale of Bellamy's, which is currently being considered by FIRB, looks like open direct market manipulation by Chinese state-owned enterprises. Stay tuned on that one! (Time expired)