Senator McGAURAN (4:08 PM) —I want to follow on briefly from that marvellous dissertation by Senator Ian Campbell, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasurer. I was provoked by Senator Forshaw and Senator Sherry to say a few words, and I will say just a few words. Firstly, in Senator Forshaw's slow, laborious reading of his speech—quite obviously he had not even checked his notes before he got up; we all know who wrote it—he failed to say, as Senator Campbell confirmed, that from the very beginning the Labor Party and the unions never wanted this industry to get off the ground. The unions did everything to stifle this industry in the very early days, in the early eighties, backed up by their political arm, the Labor Party. Every possible hurdle was put in the way of this industry ever getting started. If it were not for the strength of the NFF, backed by the coalition, this industry would never have got off the ground. There were some big battles, as Senator Carr should know, down on the Warrnambool waterfront.

Senator Carr —It was Portland, actually!

Senator McGAURAN —You were probably down there, Senator Carr. You turn up to every waterfront demonstration possible. I dare say you were down at the waterfront in Warrnambool preventing those ships from even leaving. So, from the first ship back in the eighties, from the infancy of this industry, the Labor Party and the unions were against it ever getting off the ground. They come in here feigning some sort of support for the industry. They never wanted to see it get off the ground. This is a $100 million plus export industry that the Labor Party never wanted to see get off the ground. Once it did, it had an extra hurdle to jump. The Labor Party, for 13 years, were in government. They will probably never see that again, but for the 13 years that they were in government this industry was in its infancy and was growing. Every hurdle was still put in its way—the industrial relations hurdle.

Senator Carr —How many jobs has the meat industry lost?

Senator McGAURAN —For eight years the industry was shut down. For eight years, the Saudi Arabian industry was shut down.

Opposition senators interjecting—

The ACTING DEPUTY PRESIDENT (Senator Ferguson)—Order! Would senators on my left please refrain from interjecting.

Senator McGAURAN —During the Labor years, this industry was shut down for eight years. It could not possibly negotiate with the Saudi Arabian government. Let's face it: there is a lot more politics behind this—Saudi politics—than just Australian politics or machinations. The truth of the matter is that this government opened up this industry. It is only a problem with the Saudi government. This industry is alive, well and respected in many other countries. Saudi Arabia is not the only country we export to. What about Indonesia? Other countries are quite happy with the standard and approach that Australia takes with regard to live sheep and live cattle exports.

The ACTING DEPUTY PRESIDENT —Order! The time allotted for this debate has expired.

Question agreed to.