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The Hon. DUNCAN GAY (Deputy Leader of the Opposition) [5.05 p.m.]: Last week the great John Howard celebrated 10 years as Prime Minister. His approval rating for February was 52 per cent. Compare that approval rating with that of the wheat single desk. According to a survey reported in the Land newspaper, the single desk has an approval rating of 80 per cent. At a successful rally held in Parkes last Friday 100 per cent of the 600 farmers in attendance supported the single desk when it was put to a vote. It has been used to sell our wheat since 1939—almost 70 years! I am sure that even our great Prime Minister would appreciate a record and an approval rating like that.
The Australian Wheat Board's single desk has proved to be effective over a very long time in selling Australia's wheat to the world. Despite the work of Beazley and Rudd, it is interesting to note that the Australian Wheat Board still has an approval rating of 72 per cent. Compare that rating to the approval ratings for Beazley, 42 per cent, and Rudd, 31 per cent. It is pretty interesting. Before the single desk, world wheat merchants colluded to force prices down for their own profit margins. Farmers needed a fair price to survive—a price that only the single desk could deliver, and has delivered. Now the world's merchants are again looking to seize control and destroy the single desk.
Who among the members of this House believe that the disinformation peddled by Kim Beazley and Kevin Rudd in 100-odd questions has not had its origins in multinational companies and Australia's American competitors? That is right. I am sure not one member would believe that the information did not come from that source. Gutsy Mark Vaile went to a war zone last week to sign a deal to protect Australia's wheat sales, while Kim Beazley was not game to go to Melbourne to protect struggling Simon Crean—not that Simon needed Kim's help anyway. Once again we have the "can-do" and "will-do" Nationals and the "won't-do anything" and the "try-to-pull-them-down" Labor Party.
The New South Wales Deputy Premier, John Watkins, is in the same league as Beazley and Rudd. He will not even make a decision on the future of grain rail lines. His reason? The Cole inquiry. He has indicated that because of the Cole inquiry he will not be making a decision for 12 months or so. Frankly, it is just a load of rubbish! He should resign his post as Minister and get a job writing fiction at the National Institute of Dramatic Art. The Labor Party could not be bothered showing up to the Save the Wheat Single Desk rally in Parkes last Friday. Not one Country Labor member from the area—not the Minister for Rural Affairs, the Minister for Primary Industries or the Hon. Tony Catanzariti—attended the rally. The only contribution was a media release from the Minister for Primary Industries to the effect that it was wrong for The Nationals to attend. We challenge him to support the single desk and to attend some of the rallies supporting the single desk.
The Nationals are 100 per cent behind Australia's grain growers and the single desk, and we are willing to stand with them to show our support. If the Labor Party really does support the single desk, it should do more than allow the Minister for Primary Industries to issue a media release accusing Mark Vaile of making his trip to Iraq just for show. So just what did result from that trip to Iraq that the Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Labor Party in the Federal Parliament said was "just for show"? I will tell honourable members what resulted of it. Iraq has indicated that it will buy 350,000 tonnes of Australian wheat in the current tender. That is 350,000 tonnes of wheat more than it was going to buy and would not have bought if Beazley and Rudd and Labor had had their way. It was hardly a trip for show. It was actually a trip that indicated that people care and are willing to have a go to protect the people of this country. Well done Mark Vaile, and may the single desk continue.