Senator ABETZ (Minister for Fisheries, Forestry and Conservation) (5:44 PM) —First of all, can I say that it was a delight to be able to welcome Senator Cormann into the chamber. In relation to the motion that is before us, the government will oppose this motion to refer the legislation to a committee. As I have previously stated, the Wheat Marketing Amendment Bill 2007 provides extended certainty to the wheat-growing sector. I trust that Senator Siewert was not seeking to be too provocative to those of us on this side of the chamber with the suggestion that the Greens were championing the cause of the farming community. That is a very difficult one for us to swallow but I will leave it there.

The bill really deals with administrative issues and I am not going to go any further into the facts of this again. I have already put the government’s position on the record in relation to a previous debate, and once again I can indicate that the government opposes the motion.