Media Release

AUSTRALIAN babies being born over the next 12 months could be the last generation who will drink Australian milk should the federal LNP Government fail to support a minimum price scheme for dairy farmers.

Speaking to the press gallery today, KAP Federal Member for Kennedy Bob Katter warned that his pursuit of a minimum price for milk would not go away, and that he will fight tooth and nail to save one of the nation’s four great agricultural industries.

“There have been nearly 20 years of cruelty which has wiped out the income and livelihoods of 30,000 Australian families and everyone concentrates on the farmers and they forget about the contractors and the employees. Their lives have been blasted.

“Within three years of deregulation (in 2000) we had the highest suicide rates in Australia at the time. The cruelty of what was done here with their eyes open.
“There are only two buyers of food sold in this country, Coles and Woolworths, and there is no way to avoid them. They have a fiduciary duty to maximise profits for their shareholders and to ask them to look after the dairy industry is ridiculous and it is not going to happen.”

Mr Katter said that when other industries were deregulated, like wool, a similar downward spiral occurred and that Pauline Hanson intended to move for a minimum price in the Senate for a second time.

“Pauline was beaten by one vote the first time and there is going to be enormous pressure put on by the farmers, by the employees, by the contractors on those LNP people that vote it down.

“One Queensland senator said “this industry is going to vanish unless something is done”. Well, there is only one thing that can be done – a minimum price scheme.

“You know what is going to happen. They will bring out their own proposal which will just be billows of camouflage clouds before Christmas. They (the LNP) hope they can go through Christmas and get another three months to avoid the reality and cruelty of what is happening and then more farmers will be gone; more of the industry will be gone so they don’t have a problem.

“But every single LNP Member, including the senator who said unless something was done the industry would vanish, have all voted against and spoke against a minimum price scheme.”

Mr Katter said that farmers had minimum price scheme in place for nearly a century before it was abolished by the National Party and slammed the LNP’s response that restoring a minimum price would damage their free trade agreements.

“The LNP are standing adamantly opposing a minimum price scheme and they are the only political grouping in Australia that is opposed to minimum pricing and most of the people out there are asking for a minimum price in this industry. These people deserve some sort of protection from a very, very cruel marketplace.

“So we are not going away, we will ramp up the pressure upon you, in your electorates, and we will see what the outcome is. But I promise you this, we may lose this battle, but there will be plenty of your blood on the floor before we do.”

—ENDS—