Ross Cadell (NSW, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

What we heard there from Senator Sterle was, 'If you've got something, throw it at me.' Well, here I am. Get ready to catch! It's a two-trick pony. We talk about China. We talk about how great it is for farmers that we've got China. We're suckling on the teat of China as our one trick in trade. The other one is we're talking about trucks and truckies and their great input costs. We won't have things to put on the trucks. We won't need truck drivers, because we won't be able to grow anything with the way this government is going.

The role of government is to look after its people and its national interest and its security first, and this government is not doing that. This government is looking after other interests. We go out there in the world and we say: what are we going to do about our Pacific island friends? We need to do something for them, so we're going to change the visa regime for farm workers. We do that for our Pacific island friends—I get it—but not for our farmers. They can't use the same thing of foreign workers on their land. They can't hire the same people. They can't have the same arrangements. We'll just do that—we'll just look after that there.

We talk about what we're going to do for the world on climate change. We're going to take their land. We're just going to put some transmission lines here. We're going to put some solar farms here. We're going to put some wind farms there. We'll just take a bit of their land; the farmers will be alright with that. That won't be a problem. It's bit by bit by bit. What are we going to do with water? Oh, we have to have more water flowing to meet our obligations. We'll just take a bit of water off them here. The farmers will be fine with that. It's not a problem. Oh, we need offset zones, so what do we do? We'll allow companies to buy zones and put these zones on this land and those zones there. Farmers will be okay with that. It's death by a thousand cuts.

No-one is keeping up on all of these things—on their staff, on their water, on their lands and on their productivity—'Oh, you can't use this method now. You can't grain feed this. You can't do that.' In this building, we think we know better than the people that actually grow things, make things and build things. That's the No. 1 problem here, and it's the problem with this government. No-one is keeping up with these things that have all been done in the last 18 months. I think we were in estimates when the trade minister was saying, 'What a great deal we've done for farmers in this country.' It's not. The price of protein now shows that. The meatworks can't get enough meat workers to slaughter the meat. They can sell more meat, but they can't kill enough meat to keep the protein prices down.

All of these things are happening because of the decisions made by this government. When we sit here on this side and say, 'Can we have an inquiry to look at transmission lines and the effect they have?' the response is: 'No, we can't do that. We don't want to know the problems. We don't want to own up to the problems. We don't want to do this. We want to stop the people that feed this nation and feed the region.'

If you want to do something that helps Australia and helps the region both at once, let's make agriculture better so we can feed everyone. We're good at it. Our farmers are great at it. They care for the land. It's their asset. It's their livelihood. They've been on it for so long. Let them have their way and keep farmers farming because that's what they deserve to do. They look after their animals because it's in their interest. They look after their crops because it's in their interest. They look after their land because it's in their interest. But here we go—we know better. And it's not just that side; it's not just this side. It is this opinion that across the world we know better than the people who actually do things. We don't want to talk to them. We don't want to inquire about it. We don't want to hear their stories.

Down at Henty ute muster, I was told a New South Wales farmer's story. He has solar farms on three sides of him. He has a half-billion-dollar investment around him. How great is that for the region? It's a great investment. What can this farmer not do? He can't get public liability insurance anymore. His neighbours have half a billion dollars worth of equipment, so he can't get public liability insurance, because if there's a fire—his tractor starts something up or he's burning off and goes away—he burns half a billion dollars worth of other stuff. These are the added-on layers upon layers upon layers of new government policy that means that all we'll be exporting in 50 years will be pollution and jobs. There won't be food. There won't be manufacturing. There won't be this.

Australia is a lucky country because we got in and we did things. We trusted our people to do things well and they did. This government, this parliament, should be out there backing our people, letting them be the best they can be—and Australian farmers are the best—and feeding the people of the region. Every bit we do hurts that. Every bit that we restrict them costs Australian people in cities more for their food. Everything we do to restrict them means they aren't as innovative as they could be and Australia is less productive. Let them have their head, and keep farmers farming.