Catryna Bilyk (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Agriculture, Senator McKenzie. I refer to an article published by The Guardian, entitled, 'Row between two National MPs—

Government Senators:

Government senators interjecting—

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! Pause the clock! I would like to be able to hear the question. I've got to the title of the article, Senator Bilyk; please continue.

Catryna Bilyk (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

'Row between two National MPs prompts bullying complaint from Michelle Landry'. When did the minister first become aware of the bullying allegations, and has she, as Deputy Leader of the Nationals, taken any action as a result?

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

Thank you for your question, Senator Bilyk. We take bullying very, very seriously within the National Party. Any matters of that ilk are dealt with by the administrative wing and are taken very, very seriously. We have a fully developed bullying policy, and our federal president, Larry Anthony, and our federal director, Ben Hindmarsh, take any such accusations very seriously.

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Bilyk, a supplementary question?

Catryna Bilyk (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Guardian reported that the argument between Ms Landry and Mr O'Brien broke out after Mr O'Brien:

… had accused McKenzie of allowing One Nation to take credit for … the dairy code of conduct, and said it had been his intention to call a spill against her.

Can the minister confirm that her poor performance as Minister for Agriculture is causing tensions in her own party room?

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

Thank you very much, Senator Bilyk. It's been great to head down to your home state recently to talk about how gangbusters agriculture is going in the great state of Tasmania.

And it's not just agriculture: thanks to the election of the Liberal Hodgman government, it's fisheries and forestry as well. Our side of politics backs agriculture, its growth and development. The National Party knows how important a vibrant agricultural industry is to regional employment and how it underpins our national economy. That is exactly what we've been doing post the election: focusing on how we grow and develop agricultural employment and more market access; ensuring that our farmers are more competitive internationally—

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Bilyk on a point of order.

Catryna Bilyk (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'm rising on a point of order, on relevance. The minister has not gone anywhere near answering the question, which was: can she confirm that her poor performance as Minister for Agriculture is causing tensions in her own party room?

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order. Senator Bilyk, I'm not going to allow the word 'relevance' to be inserted before re-reading the second part of a loaded question. It would be difficult for me to rule the minister out of order because, as I said yesterday, as long as ministers are directly referring to or addressing, including challenging, material or assertions contained in a question or a preamble—as long as they are directly doing that—I think that is being directly relevant. Senator McKenzie.

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

I reject the second part of that very long-winded question, but I'm very proud to talk about our government's performance in agriculture since the election.

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Bilyk, a final supplementary question?

Catryna Bilyk (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, thank you; it is my final supplementary question, so maybe we can get an answer. Is the minister confident that she retains the support of her party room? One question.

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

Well, Senator Bilyk, yes I do. We are very excited about the program we, as the National Party in government, continue to deliver for our regional communities, as we have for 100 years in this place. We're ensuring that not just our dairy farmers, through delivering a mandatory code six months' earlier than planned, but also our research and development corporations are fit for purpose in the 21st century. We're ensuring that we're going after new market access so that our beef industry, our fishing industry and our dairy industry have competitive prices around the world for our safe, sustainably harvested food production. We're making sure the changes we're making in workforce application right across the country ensure farmers have the workforce they need in the places, the areas they need them to get the crop off. We're making sure our water policy is right, because in this country you can't grow anything if you don't have your water policy settings right. I am absolutely confident in our agenda to deliver for agriculture. (Time expired)