Preliminary Pages
Foreword
I
welcome the opportunity for the House of Representatives Standing Committee on
Agriculture, Resources, Fisheries and Forestry to provide an advisory report to
the House on the Wheat Export Marketing Amendment Bill 2012, which seeks to
fully deregulate Australia’s wheat industry.
A
range of views were put forward on the Bill, including concerns that wheat
quality and access to supply chain infrastructure would be compromised.
However,
there is no clear link between current arrangements and quality assurance. In
reality, quality will be more likely assured through market competitiveness,
not export accreditation rules. Industry should manage quality and, in fact,
the current law reflects this situation.
The
Bill will not abolish the ‘access test’ unless a sufficient voluntary industry
code of conduct has been agreed and approved by the Minister. Further, market
power over infrastructure will gradually dilute over time as new operators
enter the market and competition increases.
Numerous
concerns about the implementation of the Bill were considered by the Committee,
and the Committee has made a number of recommendations regarding wheat industry
issues more generally.
The
Committee has recommended the Bill be passed.
The wheat industry has a great potential for growth, and I
look forward to seeing the reforms in this Bill assist in achieving this
growth.
Hon Dick Adams MP
Chair
Membership of the committee
|
Chair |
Hon Dick Adams MP |
|
|
Deputy
Chair |
Mr Alby Schultz MP |
|
|
Members |
Mr Darren Cheeseman MP |
Mr George Christensen MP |
|
|
Mr Tony Crook MP
(supplementary member) |
Mr Geoff Lyons MP |
|
|
Mr Rob Mitchell MP |
Mr Dan Tehan MP |
Committee Secretariat
|
Secretary |
Mr David Brunoro |
|
Inquiry
Secretary
Research
Officer |
Mr Thomas Gregory
Mr Nathan Fewkes |
|
Office
Manager
Administrative
Officer |
Mrs Dorota Cooley
Ms Louise Goss |
List of recommendations
3 Issues raised in evidence
Recommendation 1
The Committee recommends that the Australian Government work
with industry to overcome the uncertainty around Wheat Quality Australia and
Grain Trade Australia to develop a single industry-funded entity to deliver
industry services in the areas of quality, standards and stock information. The
Australian Government and Industry should aim to have the entity in place by
October 2014, when full deregulation occurs.
Recommendation 2
To allay grower concern as to how the voluntary code of
conduct will be monitored, the Committee recommends that the Australian
Government consider appointing for a five year period an industry-funded
“Grains Industry Ombudsman”.
Recommendation 3
The Committee recommends that, to improve the efficiency of
the wheat export market, the Australian Government actively encourage and
support the wheat industry in its efforts to improve wheat stocks information
sharing, possibly by allocating funding from the proposed Wheat Industry
Special Account to develop an industry mechanism, as part of the newly created
industry-funded entity.
Recommendation 4
The Committee recommends that the House pass the Wheat Export
Marketing Amendment Bill 2012.