Mr FORREST —My question is addressed to the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. I ask the minister if he would inform the House of the benefits for primary producers of the government's business tax reforms.

Mr TRUSS (Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) —I am delighted to respond to the member's question and to remind the House that the government's new tax reform will, as the Deputy Prime Minister mentioned, sweep $900 million of taxes from farmers' budgets. For the first time, farmers will be able to compete on a level playing field with the tax systems of their competitors around the world. The facts are that Australian farmers, along with those in Swaziland, Botswana and the Solomon Islands, are the only ones left in the world who have to bear the burden of wholesale sales tax and a range of other indirect taxes in their production costs. That puts them at a significant disadvantage.

When the fruit producers from the electorate of the honourable member for Mallee are selling their fruit around the world, they have a tax burden that other countries do not have to bear. But when fruit comes into Australia from other parts of the world, it comes in without those taxes. Australian farmers have one hand tied behind their back, because they are paying these embedded taxes on their production. By introducing a modern taxation system, we will be able to compete much more fairly. When New Zealand cheese comes into Australia without the burden of wholesale sales taxes and an old-fashioned tax system, it will compete evenly with Australian cheese. Australian farmers will not have to bear the cost of the WST and fuel tax on their transport which helped to make them uncompetitive.

This is a significant turnaround for farmers—a real advance for them to enable them to compete fairly and evenly with farmers around the world and to help boost our exports. Around 70 per cent of Australian farm produce is exported, so it is vital that our farmers not be handicapped by tax penalties placed on them by old-fashioned taxation systems. That is Labor's way; it is not our way for the future. We are determined to give Australian farmers a fair go and to give them support in competing in the difficult markets around the world.