Mr ZAHRA —There are two issues I want to talk about today: the closure of Bonlac's butter factory in Drouin and the campaign being run pretty much by the Transport Workers Union and the Long Distance Drivers Committee in relation to getting fair rates for those people who provide transport in Australia.

There was a meeting last night—which I was unable to get to because of my responsibilities here—called by the Drouin Chamber of Commerce and Industry in response to the closure of Drouin's butter factory and the resultant loss of 170 jobs in that community. From the advice I have, it was an event which was organised in good faith by the chamber of commerce. I remember hearing Des Isles, the president of the chamber of commerce, talking about how it would not be and could not be just another bash-up on the Bonlac exercise. I congratulate him on having the courage not to take the soft political option in relation to this issue.

There is a lot of angst in relation to this issue, and I want to make plain exactly what it is that we are asking for. We are asking for exactly the same treatment as was given to the community in Eden in the electorate of the honourable member for Eden-Monaro when their cannery closed, with the loss of 200 jobs there. They got $3½ million from the federal government to assist in the transition of that community to attract new industries and to develop new jobs there, and that is exactly what we are calling for: the same treatment as they got.

In relation to the campaign being organised by the TWU and the Long Distance Drivers Committee, I want to state very clearly my support for the principles of what those people are fighting for. I had the opportunity to go down and speak to the truck drivers who are currently manning a part blockade on the Princess Highway between Trafalgar and Yarragon. These are just ordinary working men and women. These people have a right to a safe workplace and to reasonable rates and conditions just like the rest of us. But unfortunately for them, they are in an industry which is forcing them to really push the limits as far as safety goes and to push the limits as far as their own health goes. When we have situations in this country where we have truck drivers being forced to do unsafe things just to make a quid, just to get by, then this is obviously bad for the rest of us as well, because it leads to unsafe driving practices and a lot of activity on the roads which is going to put the rest of us at risk. I would encourage all members of this House to have a long hard think about the campaign which is currently being undertaken by these people and to support any initiatives at all which make a lot of those truck drivers, those hard-working decent people, safer and our community safer.