EXPORT INDUSTRY

Mr WHETSTONE (Chaffey) (16:07): I rise today to speak about small exporters, particularly in the electorate of Chaffey in the Riverland. The phasing-out of the new AQIS inspection fees last year has seen the cost of registering a packing shed increase from around $500 to over $8,500. This fee increase shows the impact of the government's decision to move to full cost recovery and removal of the rebate for the AQIS inspections.

Understanding that this is a federal issue, it appears that this state government is willing to stand by and watch small and low volume exporters forced out of an industry. Last week we listened to the Premier, with his economic statement, talking about high value food and wine. These businesses are the people who are high value food and wine exporters, yet we have the Minister for Agriculture and the Premier standing by and watching them forced out of the exporting world.

Under new charges, packing sheds must pay for export inspections for protocol markets, particularly Japan, USA and New Zealand. In the Riverland, a number of small businesses have sheds that pack for only two to three months to export markets. As I said, the cost to renew the establishment registration charge has gone from around $500 to $8,500. It is unworkable. These unbelievable fee hikes are costing small exporters out of business, many of whom will only realise the extent of new registrations midyear. The state government should be lobbying federal counterpart minister Ludwig, who appears to have little or no regard for small exporters.

It has been reported that already 75 per cent of the Sunraysia table grape growers are now not registered for exports due to the rise, and this will put added supply pressure on the domestic market. A prominent lime exporter in the Riverland, known as the Lime King, has missed his export window to New Zealand this year. Another exporter I have had calls from found that exporting his sugar plums to China is now unviable due to regulatory costs, and a family business in Loxton, Linspan, which runs their own packing shed and exports their own fruit, said that the fee increase means that the small to medium sized packing sheds will need to reduce exports, expand their business or close down completely. This poor attitude from government, 'either get bigger or get out', is just not on.

Minister Gago has written to one of the exporters, a local grower, to answer his questions around the inspection fee problems and has given him incorrect advice on these AQIS charges; an AQIS authorised officer removing the need to pay for the federal government's inspection. That is not correct, minister. It is absolutely outrageous that a minister could give incorrect advice to an exporter, to jeopardise that export business. The AQIS authorised officer is not accepted by protocol markets.

Why is the state Labor government not sticking up for small export businesses and does not know the legislation? They have invested time, costs, risks—it has taken many years to set up and establish these markets and we are putting exports into the hands of the big players rather than making it a fair playing field for everybody, including the small exporters; high value crops for high end markets. In the Riverland we have got nearly 4,000 small businesses which will all be impacted in one way, shape or another by these export regulations.

The minister has given the wrong advice to a small exporter who has taken the time and, as I said, the risk, cost and effort to get a niche market, and he cannot afford these escalating costs. The government could be costing him out of his export business. This type of regulation is geared towards the bigger businesses and, guess what, Mr Deputy Speaker? Who was sitting around the table and negotiating the legislation? Yes, that is right: it was the big business, the big end of town, that gave the advice. This regulation must not continue.

Another issue in the online establishment registration is the cost of the software, which is extremely expensive for these small businesses. This window of export opportunity is open for only small periods of time during the harvest season, and these small businesses are forced to pay the same charge as these bigger businesses and it is forcing them to the wall.