Pauline Hanson (Queensland, Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

I seek leave to table an explanatory memorandum relating to the bill.

Leave granted.

I table an explanatory memorandum and seek leave to have the second reading speech incorporated in Hansard.

Leave granted.

The speech read as follows—

SAVING AUSTRALIAN DAIRY BILL 2019

The Liberal National party government might be willing to give up on the dairy industry, but I am not going to do that. The main purpose of Saving Australian Dairy Bill 2019 is to introduce three measures to ensure a viable dairy industry in Australia for generations to come.

Firstly the Bill calls for a minimum farm-gate price to be set for milk, by milk region. The second purpose of the Bill is to introduce a mandatory code to replace the current voluntary Food and Grocery Code of Conduct and to widen the scope of that Code to include the dairy supply chain. The third purpose is to make a referral to the Productivity Commission in respect of divestment powers.

This Bill replaces the Protecting Australian Dairy Bill 2019, which the government voted against on the 11th of November, despite having no alternative proposal to save the Australian dairy industry.

The government, now in its third term sits safely on the sidelines as dairy farmers take their chances with larger and more powerful foreign-owned multinational milk processors. The result is that 500 family owned dairy farms have gone out of business in the past twelve months leaving just 5200 to battle with large corporate multinational milk processors, such as Fonterra, Saputo, Parmalat and Lion.

Australians need to know that New Zealand milk processor Fonterra (trading as New Zealand Milk Australasia) reported sales in Australia of close to $7.5 billion in the period 2013 to 2017, but paid not a single dollar in income tax. When Australian dairy farmers cannot make any money year on year they exit the industry, but foreign owned dairy giants in the same situation stay in business and just keep on growing their revenues.

The Australian government has comprehensively failed every Australian, because it will not deal with tax avoidance by multinational businesses. In my view we should not make an exception for the largest exporter of dairy products in the world. The fact that New Zealand owned Fonterra can manipulate the Australian dairy market to advantage its farmers in New Zealand should be of concern to the government, but they don't care.

Fonterra pays New Zealand dairy farmers a regulated farm-gate price which is often more than Australian dairy farmers receive, despite the fact New Zealand has lower costs of production. Regulation has helped New Zealand double its milk production since 2000 while in Australia the lack of regulation has seen milk production go backwards, with production falling 30% since 2000. This Bill provides a minimum level of regulation based on the New Zealand model.

industry, because productive dairy cows are being sent to the meat packers daily and In the period 2013 to 2017 the other major milk processors also paid a pitiful amount of tax. Canadian owned Saputo earned close to 12 billion dollars over four tax years and paid a pitiful 20 million dollars in tax. The story is the same for the French owned Parmalat and Japanese owned Lion Pty Ltd.

I don't understand how the government can allow these foreign owned multinationals to pay next to nothing in income tax and at the same time destroy our dairy industry.

In response to those who say a minimum farm gate price could lead to a reduction in dairy exports, I say that there will be no exports unless we can stem the decline of the dairy industry. The suggestion that the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) would set the minimum farm gate price at a level which would support the most inefficient farmer in a milk region misunderstands the purpose of the legislation.

The Bill does not involve a subsidy by the government paid by the taxpayer. The intention of the Bill is to increase prices paid to farmers, which will be paid by consumers.

The proposition that the Bill would offend the World Trade Organisation's (WTO) Agricultural Agreement rules depends on whether we can expand our dairy industry to the point where world prices fall as a direct result. Time will tell but it seems highly unlikely given our milk production has fallen and demand in the world is rising.

New Zealand is the largest exporter of dairy products in the world contributing 19.3% of world exports in 2018. They have similar legislation to this Bill and no one has yet taken New Zealand to the WTO for a breach of the non-tariff rules.

The Minister for Agriculture has repeatedly said no-one wants a base or minimum farm-gate price set for milk as proposed in my legislation. I suggest the Minister read the story on the front page of the Australian Financial Review on Tuesday 26 November in which Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce called for a floor price for the farm-gate or retail price for milk as a condition for the sale of Lion Dairy and Drinks to a Chinese company which is also seeking to buy Bellamy's Organic Foods (known for their range of baby foods and powdered baby milk).

The writing is on the wall for the dairy industry in Australia. Either the Liberal National government permits the destruction of the dairy industry with the result they create the opportunity for foreign ownership at bargain prices or we keep viable dairy farms, owned by Australians. Australians, who live here, pay taxes in the good years, keep rural towns viable and supply Australians with fresh milk and dairy products.

Fresh milk export trials to China have opened a new export market for the industry over the past five years. Chinese-owned Tasmanian processor Van Diemen's Land Company has started exporting fresh milk from Hobart to Ningbo reportedly filling two Qantas Jumbo jets a week with fresh milk.

If the Bill is supported then we can retain the experience and knowledge of dairy farmers and give hope to current and future dairy farmers. We don't have much time to save the dairy

dairy farmers are leaving the land.

The Liberal National government wants to solve every issue economically, and will not balance that consideration with the ongoing need for food security and the social issues which follow when farmers go out of business, and the rural towns that depend on them and support them go too.

There is a deep sorrow in the bush at the failure of government to respond to their issues in a meaningful way. I am sick of hearing Ministers say they know others are 'doing it tough' when they don't act in a way that makes people know that they mean what they say.

I commend this Bill to the Senate, because it is a sound and sensible piece of legislation based on the evidence of what works and what does not in the dairy industry around the world. It is possibly the last chance to save the dairy industry in Australia.