Appropriation Bill (No. 1) 2026-2027

Mr SMALL (Forrest—Opposition Whip) (13:26): I do want to acknowledge the presence of the minister here today. She's offered to respond to our questions, so I'll be nice and brief to reflect that. Invasive species are a concern to anyone involved in the agricultural sector.

Indeed, on my own property in the Ferguson Valley, I've got a problem with pigs, and a south-west farmer recently spoke to me about their property, which has been in the family for 170 years. Never have they had a problem with pigs, but they do now. So I do want to know why this budget, of all budgets, has seen the axing of the established pest weeds control program.

Additionally, my patch is home to that little emerging wine region called Margaret River. It's globally renowned for its quality wine but an industry that is nonetheless facing its worst oversupply crisis in recent memory, so the axing of the cellar door grant program in the out years of this budget and the allocation of nothing towards the transition funding that the industry has advocated for over several years now is a disappointing oversight in the budget.

Minister, your government's own forecasts show that farm incomes are expected to fall significantly in the year ahead, and this budget contains so little by way of direct support to help farmers facing lower incomes and tougher conditions over the coming years. Finally, it would be remiss of me not to mention the demersal fishing ban that has crippled our local fishing industry in WA as a result of the Western Australian government's ban on demersal gillnet fishery.

The last correspondence from the Commonwealth, on 31 October 2025, said nothing about the sustainability of the sector, yet 33 days later the industry had its licence to operate cancelled. I'd like to know what consultation the Commonwealth received from the WA government before making this decision and how the Commonwealth departments were seemingly so unaware of the precarious state—if we're to believe the state Labor government—of the demersal fishery.

I've galloped through that, Deputy Speaker Fernando, so we can hear from the minister.