Appropriation Bill (No. 1) 2026-2027

Mr JOYCE (New England) (13:16): There's a range of things I believe need to be addressed in this. We've just had a 0.6 per cent fall in productivity in Australia, and agriculture has a major part to play if we want to turn that around. That fall was premised before any effects of the Iran crisis came through, so I imagine right now it's worse.

I want to know what the current focus of the government is to develop agriculture—where that focus lies and how you're intending to bring it ahead. I want to know what your current plan is for infrastructure, especially vital infrastructure such as dams. Where do you intend to build them?

Do you intend to build any If not, what is your plan for the growing requirements for food security, which is indelibly linked to water security? I want to know how you've been working with industry on a water basis. In certain areas, like the protein hub, which is Tamworth, our biggest issue now is getting hold of water to underpin producers such as Baiada.

Their kill rate will be going up to seven million chickens a week. They cannot possibly do it—they cannot employ the 1,400 people who will work there—unless they have access to water. They want to know what the answer is and, to be quite frank, so do I.

I want to know about an issue that is especially pertinent to the cattle industry of Central Queensland, which my colleague the member for Wright would understand. We currently have an incursion of fire ants. If the fire ants get out of the Brisbane area and into Central Queensland— A government member interjecting— Mr JOYCE: I don't know what's so funny about this.

This could lead to a beef productivity reduction of up to 40 per cent, as has been found in Texas in the United States. I want to know what your plan is for that. How do you believe that is progressing, and what do you intend to do about it?

If you intend to do nothing, I intend to put it on Facebook and let everybody know. I also want to know what you are doing to try to drive the skill sets in agriculture in a decentralised form. Do you have a plan for decentralisation?

Do you have any form of plan to take the resources into the areas where people are? For Western Australia, I want to know what your plan is, as has been brought up by the member for O'Connor, with regard to the massive hole that's been left from the loss of the live sheep trade. Do we just remove it and expect something to organically grow there, or have you now gone out and said, 'This is our plan to promote another industry to take its place, to utilise the transport industry, the labour force that will obviously be looking for further work—such as in the shearing industry, where the AWU started from—and also the export dollars'?

I'd like the minister to comment on exactly where she sees food security in Australia. We couldn't believe this, but, more and more, we are seeing a slip in Australia's capacity and food security. It was most pronounced during what I think they call the tinderbox drought, when we had to import about 60 per cent of our dairy product because we didn't have the capacity to deliver it ourselves anymore.

In areas where this was so prominent, such as parts of Queensland and New South Wales, we no longer have a dairy industry. Is this going to be the way of the future—that we'll be importing dairy product from New Zealand—or do you have a plan as to how we'll once more reinvigorate the dairy industry so as to get that vital part of our agricultural infrastructure underpinned not only for the country but also for the city?

Finally, in the marketing of products, how do you believe we are going in dealing with the major supermarkets? Do you feel that the competitive pressure is there and the honesty and transparency in trade are apparent? Do you believe farmers are getting a fair deal?

Do you think that there is an unreasonable centralisation in our retail capacity?