Dairy Industry

The majority voted against a motion to suspend the usual procedural rules (known as standing orders) to let a vote happen.

Motion text

That so much of standing orders be suspended as would prevent the member for Kennedy from moving the following motion immediately:

That the House:

(1)notes that:

(a)it was the National Party which deregulated the dairy industry taking the farmers income from 59c a litre down to 41c a litre;

(b)at the announcement of deregulation there were over 230 dairy farmers on the Atherton Tablelands, now there are 51;

(c)neither the ALP or LNP will introduce arbitration for farmers;

(d)for supply and demand in the free market to work there must be an unlimited number of sellers and buyers; and

(e)dairy farmers in North Queensland have only one processor to sell to and in the whole of Australia effectively only two buyers of milk—the supermarket duopoly; and

(2)therefore, condemns both sides of politics in creating misery and heartache where dairy farmers are the victims of the free market 'fundamentalists' in this House.