Media Release

THE Australian Party has drafted legislation to provide dairy farmers with collective bargaining rights, the federal leader Bob Katter, state leader Aidan McLindon and candidate for Nanango Carl Rackemann have today announced.

Mr Katter said the legislation provided, through a division of the arbitration commission, collective bargaining rights in exactly the same way they’re available to five million other Australians whose wages are covered by awards.

"Both sides of politics will be exposed for the hypocrites they are if they don’t back this legislation," said the Federal Kennedy MP of the bill to be introduced into the Australian Parliament.

"The ALP won government on the right to collectively bargain through an arbitration commission (Fair Work Australia); while the Nationals, who pulled the trigger of deregulation that assassinated the dairy industry, are already arch‐hypocrites parading themselves as a farmers’ party when they’re actually the anti‐farmers party, having deregulated everything down to Grandma’s sleeping habits."

Mr Katter said when five or six thousand dairy farmers negotiate against two buyers controlling 85 per cent of Australia’s food market, "there would not be an economics text in world history that would not describe that as an oligopoly – anything but a free market".

"When the dairy industry was deregulated on 1 July 2000, farmers’ incomes were cut on the day by more than 30 per cent in Qld, from 52c/L to 42c/L, while the price to consumers within two years went up nearly 40 per cent," he said.

Mr McLindon said: "Dairy farmers and primary producers in this state have been repeatedly hit from both sides of politics and it's time their voice is heard and represented in the Parliament. This legislation will ensure our dairy farmers are empowered again to take ownership of their industry."

Mr Rackemann said: "We cannot lose one more dairy farmer from the industry. If we want future generations to be drinking Australian produced milk, things have to change and change now. Our dairy farmers must have a viable future."