Mr KATTER (7:50 PM) —I applaud the motion we are debating on the importation of bananas and I applaud the LNP for taking up the issue. By the same token, the comments by the government members are entirely valid. In seven years there was not a single application to come into this country that was rejected, so it is an act of extraordinary hypocrisy if they are coming up here and criticising the ALP. If the ALP deserve to be criticised for this decision, which they do, then those on the other side should be condemned a hundredfold because pork, salmon, vannamei prawn, grapes, durian, oranges and apples were all allowed into this country. The list is a mile long. We asked the AQIS people in North Queensland at their big meeting on bananas: ‘What application has been rejected?’ They went out and rang up Canberra and they could not find anything that had been rejected.

There was an IRA produced. In fact, there were actually four IRAs produced, and at each stage there was a chance to object. The final IRA was done not by the ALP. The fourth IRA was done by the National Party. And the only question was whether these blokes were going to rubber-stamp your decision or whether they were not. Well, they did.

Mr Hartsuyker interjecting—

Mr KATTER —No, he said there is no decision. He does not understand what he is talking about, Madam Acting Speaker. An IRA is a decision—that is the decision. You do not seem to understand the process. I am quite happy to explain it to the honourable member afterwards. I have fought rearguard actions, as has the member for Mallee, on these issues continuously for a protracted period of time. Devastation has been wrought upon the Australian economy by the decisions which, in the main, were LNP decisions. Most of them took place under the LNP, not under the ALP. I am sure if Mr Keating had been there they would have taken place under him, but he was not there. They were there when all of these things happened. The net result is that this country is now a net importer of fruit and vegetables. This did not happen under the ALP. This happened under you. Each year it got progressively worse, and we have cried and screamed. The honourable member for Leichhardt says that we have got to be truthful and scientific. Well, I am very sorry but, being honest and truthful and scientific, these have endemic contaminating diseases. You should not allow anything that is an endemic contaminating disease to come into your country. Look at what they have permitted. They permitted beef to come in from Brazil!

Mr Forrest —Madam Deputy Speaker, on a point of order: I apologise to the member for Kennedy but the whips have declared this discussion would take 30 minutes. The member for Kennedy has made his points. In accordance with the whips’ wishes, I suggest we move on to the next issue.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER (Ms S Bird)—I thank the whip for drawing that to my attention. I allowed an extra speaker as we had a few extra minutes, but he is correct. I am sorry, Member for Kennedy—the 30 minutes for debate has expired, even though your time has not.

Mr Katter interjecting—

The DEPUTY SPEAKER —Those on my right will not cast aspersions on the chair! The time allotted for the debate has expired. The debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting.