Press Release

Western Australian farmers are furious over WA Liberal Senator David Johnston’s questioning of their resolve to fully deregulate the wheat export market saying that the only one whose resolve should be questioned are those WA Liberal Federal MP’s and Senators who are prepared to leverage the interests of wheat growers to secure their own long term political survival in Canberra.

“What is more concerning than Mr Johnston’s continual use of cliché’s and mixed metaphors is the fact that the only liberal thing about him is in his use of the truth,” PGA Western Grain Growers Chairman John Snooke said today.

“To claim that the PGA submission to the Senate - which was sent on the Monday following the Friday deadline - was very late is laughable, as is his suggestion that the issue is beat up by the media.”

“The only reason that the media have taken an interest in this matter is because of the back flip that has been done by the Liberal Party in order to strengthen their relationship with the Nationals.”

“As Senator Johnston well knows the Nationals have stated in Parliament that their reason for wanting to defer the Wheat Export Marketing Amendment Bill is to allow them the opportunity to increase the regulatory scope and powers of the WEA, or replace it with another suitable body.”

‘And they want to do this because the Eastern States bulk wheat industry has been suffering as a result of the success of the container trade and the increase demand for Western Australian wheat since deregulation, so the best way to even it out is by re-regulating bulk exports.”

Perhaps instead of attacking his WA Liberal colleagues like Senators Dean Smith and Alan Eggleston who are prepared to stand up not only for the wheat growers of Western Australia but for the Liberal policies of deregulation and free enterprise, Senator Johnston should be more concerned about his own resolve and whether he is truly acting in the best interests of the State he was elected to represent.”