Bridget McKenzie (Victoria, National Party, Minister for Agriculture) Share this | Hansard source

Senator Sterle—through you, Mr President—I want them to receive it as soon as possible. We can't get that done till it's legislated. That's our job as a Senate this week—to get this legislation passed so we can get royal assent and we can actually get this payment out to farmers. I'm hoping we can get this done by the end of the year. If the Senate gets behind the legislation, we're ready to go behind the scenes to get this payment able to be applied.

I'm very happy to reinforce what I've always said, and what the National Farmers Federation have said, and what AgForce has said and the VFF have said, that farmers are business men and women and they need to make decisions. Sometimes that is about selling up and getting out. Sometimes it's about changing how I farm or how my business is structured to make it more profitable. Sometimes it's about saying: 'You know what? I'm succession planning, and the next generation can have a crack.' These are valid decisions. (Time expired)