Mr CAMPBELL—My question, which is addressed to the Minister for Primary Industry, follows what the Prime Minister was talking about concerning the outrageous Lightfoot letter. I ask the Minister: Is it true that, if Mr Lightfoot's exhortation to the American Government leads to a continuation of its policies, not only wheat growers but also cotton, sugar, rice and the soya beans-competing lupin growers will be affected? I further ask whether it is important for the salvation of the Australian industry that we maintain a bipartisan approach to the Americans on this issue of dumping. In that context, would it be important for the honourable member for O'Connor, who has an electorate very largely devoted to wheat growing and who was feigning boredom through the Prime Minister's answer, to dissociate himself from Mr Lightfoot's remarks?
Mr KERIN—I thank the honourable gentleman for his question. I concur fully with what the Prime Minister has already said on this. I am quite amazed that the Leader of the Opposition, the Leader of the National Party or indeed the honourable member for O'Connor has not seen fit to repudiate the statement by one of their conservative colleagues. I guess that it is because they must agree with it. They are prepared to put petty politics ahead of the interests of farmers. Of course, that accords with the Liberal-
Mr Howard—Do you repudiate Joan Coxsedge?
Mr KERIN—Madam Speaker, could you keep this yabbering thing quiet?
Madam SPEAKER—Order! The Leader of the Opposition will cease talking across the table and he will also cease interjecting.
Mr KERIN—Lightfoot and big mouth. I would like to comment on the latter part of the honourable gentleman's question because a recent all-party delegation went to Washington with a truly bipartisan if not tripartisan approach and we were all there for Australia.
I hope that Mr Lightfoot's comments do not represent a change of view, given the seriousness with which we regarded the Dole amendment to the export-import Bill in the United States Senate and the Daschle Bill itself. The initial United States subsidisation proposals-the Dole and Daschle proposals-could have cost Australian wheat growers $470m this year on top of the $1 billion that the United States Farm Act has already been calculated to have cost us.
I find it difficult to imagine anything more reprehensible than for people in the Opposition parties to be seriously saying that they want to see this continuation of a detrimental trade effect to enhance the Liberal Party's and their own electoral prospects. Already the Leader of the Opposition has said that he is relying on an economic recession for his political salvation. I would simply like to say that, under this Government, honourable members opposite will get neither a recession nor their salvation.
The honourable gentleman also asked a question about crops other than wheat. With respect to cotton and rice, one element of the United States farm program-the target export assistance program rather than the export enhancement program-will have an even more insidious and more devastating effect than some of the other measures under its farm program.
With respect to sugar I do not think we can point the finger so much at the United States, even though it subsidises sugar production at US18c a pound and the world price is US6c a pound. But the main cause of the problem in the sugar industry still remains with the European Economic Community where its degree and level of subsidisation are even more pronounced. Of course, I think we all regard with dismay, and I am sure that the Deputy Leader of the National Party and his colleague the honourable member for Hume regard with dismay, the fact that when we came back we had this fire sale proposition to China of sugar at a little bit over US4c a pound.
All these things add up to an immense cost to Australian farmers and, as this Government has been trying to make quite clear, Australia's farm problems are very much a part of Australia's economic problem-that is, the problem with out balance of payments-and that is the reason why we have problems with our dollar. All these things are interdependent. I would have thought that all people in this House, when they are abroad and when they are reflecting on international matters, would speak with one voice rather than utter this damnable reprehensible nonsense.
