Central Bulletin A newsletter from Central Queensland’s only Senator, Matthew Canavan SUGAR INDUSTRY AT IMPASSE OVER MARKETING AND TPP AUSTRALIA NEEDS GALILEE BASIN MINES ASAP MURRAY-DARLING WATER USE MUST BE SMARTER TIME TO REINVIGORATE COMPETITION POLICY Central Bulletin Number 3, November 2015 Number 3, November 2015 Coalition agreement benefits the bush Families, small business between Warren Truss and accessing higher education for operators and people in rural Malcolm Turnbull. rural and regional and remote and regional Australia are set students; to benefit from a new Coalition Big businesses should not be • supporting the commitment agreement between the able to act in ways that damage to the Northern Australia and Nationals and Liberals signed in competition and get away with the Agricultural White Papers mid-September. it. That’s exactly what has and our dams implementation been happening at the moment policy; The change of leadership in the because our competition laws • maintaining the existing policy federal parliamentary Liberal have been mired in a morass of to refer the same-sex marriage party – and hence the change legal dispute. issue to a plebiscite of the of Prime Minister – necessitated people in our next term; and a new agreement between the As Warren Truss announced, • transferring responsibility for Nationals and Liberals. the new agreement also covers the water policy outcomes a broad range of other key policy of the Department of the I am particularly pleased to see issues, including: Environment and the Murray- in the agreement an extra $1,000 Darling Basin Authority to the a year for 140,000 families with • maintaining the existing agriculture portfolio. stay-at-home mums and dads policies in relation to climate and agreement to push ahead change, carbon taxes and These are important measures with reforms to competition laws emissions reduction targets; which identify some of the policy that will protect small business. • ongoing funding for issues and how we will deal with communications technology, them in the term ahead. I have been campaigning for more including for mobile phones support for single-income families and television black spots; The Nationals are delivering for since I was elected as a Senator • the establishment of a new jobs regional Australia. two years ago. This is great news program to address areas of for families throughout Australia. high regional unemployment; We have an agenda in the new • support for the Government’s Coalition Government that will Also, support for changes to infrastructure investment enable us to work constructively introduce an effects test were program, including a major on those things that matter to included in a side letter to a new commitment to inland rail; people who live outside the Coalition agreement concluded • reducing financial barriers in capital cities. 2 Central Bulletin Number 3, November 2015 6HS 'DLO\7HOHJUDSK6\GQH\ $XWKRU6LPRQ%HQVRQವ6HFWLRQ*HQHUDO1HZVವ$UWLFOHW\SH1HZV,WHP &ODVVLILFDWLRQ&DSLWDO&LW\'DLO\ವ$XGLHQFHವ3DJH 3ULQWHG6L]HFPtವ0DUNHW16:ವ&RXQWU\$XVWUDOLDವ:RUGV ,WHP,' &RS\ULJKW$JHQF\OLFHQVHGFRS\ ZZZFRS\ULJKWFRPDX 3DJHRI Nationals help stay-at- home parents Stay-at-home-parent families with a child below the age of one will benefit from an increase in Family Tax Benefit Part B payments under the re-negotiated Coalition Picture:Strange Ray agreement. This is an issue I’m passionate about and worked with my Nationals colleagues to ensure Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull it was included in the new (centre, holding grandson Jack) shortly after being agreement. It is likely to mean sworn in and (from left) Daisy Turnbull Brown, Lucy an extra $1,000 a year for Turnbull and son-in- law James Brown. around 140,000 families across Australia, many of them in rural and regional areas. C ash for mothers in PM’s $4b Nats bribe to bind Coalition Our tax and welfare system has tilted the playing field too much against parents who choose to stay home with their children. It is MUM’SSIMON BENSON THE WHAT THE NATS GOT inefficient, unfair and ignores the MALCOLM Turnbull has been forced to splash out $4 billion on a raft of »$1000 extra for stay-at-home mums promises to the Nationals to »No change to climate change policy development benefits of stay-at- guarantee Coalition unity following the political assassination of Tony »No change to gay marriage plebiscite Abbott, including a $600 million »Youth allowance for bush kids home parenting for children. package for stay-at-home mums. »Water ministry goes into agriculture FULL COVERAGE PAGES 4-11 WORD »Road black spot funding I recommended changes in a formal submission to the NSW Nationals Senator John extra $1000 a year to care for children Commonwealth Government Williams said the shifting of the water under the age of one as part of family discussion paper on taxation portfolio was a significant move. “If tax benefit B payments. earlier this year. Because a they want us to support them, then regional Australia has to have its fair “I was not happy that the families working couple can access two share of the cake, too,” he said. “We package ignored stay-at-home parent tax-free thresholds, whereas a insisted we have a written and signed families,” he said. “I believe the single-income family can access agreement so that in the future it tax system should not be biased to only one, a single-income family couldn’t be misinterpreted.” one form of parenting rather than earning $120,000 pays $10,000 another.” a year more in tax than a double- One Nationals MP said Mr Turnbull income family also earning a total had not said “no” to anything they A senior Liberal MP said the deal had demanded as the price of loyalty. “showed Malcolm is prepared to work of $120,000 a year. with people”. “Those who said the Queensland Nationals Senator Matt sky would fall in because the Nats Our tax system subsidises both Canavan secured the deal for families wouldn’t cop Malcolm have been parents to go to work. That’s under which families earning less proven wrong,” he said. exactly the wrong way around. than $100,000 a year be given an We should be encouraging more The Nationals’ deal securing $1000 a year for families with a child under the age of people to stay at home with their one made front-page news in “The Daily Telegraph” on September 16 children, particularly when they are young. I firmly believe that the current imbalance. is an important issue for young we must move our tax system to families throughout Australia but one based on the family, not the I have had firm support for a particularly in regional areas, individual. The increase in Family better deal for single-income where single-income families Tax Benefit Part B payments will families from many of my Liberal tend to be more common than in go some way towards redressing and Nationals colleagues. This some city areas. Central Bulletin Number 3, November 2015 3 “Effects test” big win for small business Agreement by the Liberal and Government Senators voting The motion was: “That this National party leaders to push against the motion. Federal Conference calls for ahead with reforms to competition section 46 of the Competition and laws that will protect small While some argue that Consumer Act to be amended business is an important benefit introducing an effects test would to include an ‘effects test’ as from the new Coalition deal. chill competition, the facts are recommended by the Harper that we already have an effects Review to stop large corporations The effects test has been a test in telecommunications law with substantial market power controversial proposal but it’s and many other countries (such from engaging in conduct that clear something needs to be done as the United States, Europe and damages competition.” to the current law, which is simply Canada) have competition law not working. Without strong systems based on the effects of The LNP State Council had also competition laws, big business actions by dominant firms. previously supported a motion will be protected from being to introduce an effects test to, threatened by new competitors The change is not only about in particular, help protect dairy and savvy consumers. protecting small business and farmers and get a better deal in farmers, it is also about ensuring the marketplace. The Nationals party is proud to competition remains vigorous stand up for small business and because competition is the best It’s another reason it is important this change would likely not have recipe to deliver lower prices and to be a member of a political happened without the support better products for consumers. party. Motions supported by and advocacy of the Nationals. grassroots members at the The win for small business also Nationals conference became Three Nationals Senators comes after the Nationals passed crucial elements of an historic supported the introduction of a motion at Federal Conference Coalition agreement just days an “effects test” in a vote in the in support of introduction of an later. Senate recently, despite other effects test. An effects test can deliver lower prices and better products for consumers 4 Central Bulletin Number 3, November 2015 TPP deal disappointing for sugar The Trans-Pacific Partnership and food would deliver more Addressing a meeting of cane growers in (TPP) deal will substantially than 60 per cent of the potential Tully. benefit Australia but it has missed gains from trade liberalisation, between growers and millers. The some substantial opportunities, a remarkable result given that arrangements allowed growers to especially for Queensland sugar. agriculture accounts for less than maintain a degree of choice and 10 per cent of global trade.