❓ A WA parliamentary question regarding debt owed to WA wheat growers from Iraqi wheat sales between 1987-1990. The Minister supports the WA Farmers Federation's demands for an advance payout and disagrees with the Grains Council of Australia's stance.
AnsweredQoN 1080Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
It has been announced that Australia will forgo the $1.1 billion owed to it by Iraq, a substantial portion of which was generated from rural wheat sales. However, 37 per cent, or nearly $US37 million, of the $98 million wheat debt not forgiven - the lion’s share - is owed to Western Australian growers. (1) Does the minister support the Western Australian Farmers Federation’s demands for an advance payout of the $98 million for wheat sold to Iraq between 1987 and 1990? (2) Will the minister support Western Australian grain growers by contacting the federal Minister for Trade, Mark Vaile, and request an advance payout of the $98 million? (3) Does the minister disagree with the Grains Council of Australia’s comment that Western Australian grain growers are not owed a cent for grain sold between 1987 and 1990? Hon KIM CHANCE
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for some notice of this question. (1) Yes, I do. However, I need to note that I have a direct pecuniary interest in this matter. I note that the media release of 22 November by the WA Farmers Federation seeks an immediate payout to Australian wheat growers of the residual 20 per cent of debt owing since the Gulf War. As I indicated to the House on Wednesday, 30 June in response to a similar question from Hon Paddy Embry, I believe that the federal Government has an obligation to ensure that those growers who are owed money as a result of the United States Government’s actions to freeze Iraqi funds post the 1990 conflict are paid what they have been owed since 1991. (2) I will continue to press the federal Government for a fair and equitable resolution to the issue of payments to wheat growers, as I have been doing for some time. (3) The comment apparently made by the Grains Council of Australia that indicates that Western Australian wheat growers are not owed a cent for grain sold to Iraq between 1987 and 1990 is clearly contrary to the views of both the WA Farmers Federation and the WA Government.
(1) Does the minister support the Western Australian Farmers Federation’s demands for an advance payout of the $98 million for wheat sold to Iraq between 1987 and 1990? (2) Will the minister support Western Australian grain growers by contacting the federal Minister for Trade, Mark Vaile, and request an advance payout of the $98 million? (3) Does the minister disagree with the Grains Council of Australia’s comment that Western Australian grain growers are not owed a cent for grain sold between 1987 and 1990? Hon KIM CHANCE replied: I thank the member for some notice of this question. (1) Yes, I do. However, I need to note that I have a direct pecuniary interest in this matter. I note that the media release of 22 November by the WA Farmers Federation seeks an immediate payout to Australian wheat growers of the residual 20 per cent of debt owing since the Gulf War. As I indicated to the House on Wednesday, 30 June in response to a similar question from Hon Paddy Embry, I believe that the federal Government has an obligation to ensure that those growers who are owed money as a result of the United States Government’s actions to freeze Iraqi funds post the 1990 conflict are paid what they have been owed since 1991. (2) I will continue to press the federal Government for a fair and equitable resolution to the issue of payments to wheat growers, as I have been doing for some time. (3) The comment apparently made by the Grains Council of Australia that indicates that Western Australian wheat growers are not owed a cent for grain sold to Iraq between 1987 and 1990 is clearly contrary to the views of both the WA Farmers Federation and the WA Government.
(2) Will the minister support Western Australian grain growers by contacting the federal Minister for Trade, Mark Vaile, and request an advance payout of the $98 million? (3) Does the minister disagree with the Grains Council of Australia’s comment that Western Australian grain growers are not owed a cent for grain sold between 1987 and 1990? Hon KIM CHANCE replied: I thank the member for some notice of this question. (1) Yes, I do. However, I need to note that I have a direct pecuniary interest in this matter. I note that the media release of 22 November by the WA Farmers Federation seeks an immediate payout to Australian wheat growers of the residual 20 per cent of debt owing since the Gulf War. As I indicated to the House on Wednesday, 30 June in response to a similar question from Hon Paddy Embry, I believe that the federal Government has an obligation to ensure that those growers who are owed money as a result of the United States Government’s actions to freeze Iraqi funds post the 1990 conflict are paid what they have been owed since 1991. (2) I will continue to press the federal Government for a fair and equitable resolution to the issue of payments to wheat growers, as I have been doing for some time. (3) The comment apparently made by the Grains Council of Australia that indicates that Western Australian wheat growers are not owed a cent for grain sold to Iraq between 1987 and 1990 is clearly contrary to the views of both the WA Farmers Federation and the WA Government.
(3) Does the minister disagree with the Grains Council of Australia’s comment that Western Australian grain growers are not owed a cent for grain sold between 1987 and 1990? Hon KIM CHANCE replied: I thank the member for some notice of this question. (1) Yes, I do. However, I need to note that I have a direct pecuniary interest in this matter. I note that the media release of 22 November by the WA Farmers Federation seeks an immediate payout to Australian wheat growers of the residual 20 per cent of debt owing since the Gulf War. As I indicated to the House on Wednesday, 30 June in response to a similar question from Hon Paddy Embry, I believe that the federal Government has an obligation to ensure that those growers who are owed money as a result of the United States Government’s actions to freeze Iraqi funds post the 1990 conflict are paid what they have been owed since 1991. (2) I will continue to press the federal Government for a fair and equitable resolution to the issue of payments to wheat growers, as I have been doing for some time. (3) The comment apparently made by the Grains Council of Australia that indicates that Western Australian wheat growers are not owed a cent for grain sold to Iraq between 1987 and 1990 is clearly contrary to the views of both the WA Farmers Federation and the WA Government.
Hon KIM CHANCE replied: I thank the member for some notice of this question. (1) Yes, I do. However, I need to note that I have a direct pecuniary interest in this matter. I note that the media release of 22 November by the WA Farmers Federation seeks an immediate payout to Australian wheat growers of the residual 20 per cent of debt owing since the Gulf War. As I indicated to the House on Wednesday, 30 June in response to a similar question from Hon Paddy Embry, I believe that the federal Government has an obligation to ensure that those growers who are owed money as a result of the United States Government’s actions to freeze Iraqi funds post the 1990 conflict are paid what they have been owed since 1991. (2) I will continue to press the federal Government for a fair and equitable resolution to the issue of payments to wheat growers, as I have been doing for some time. (3) The comment apparently made by the Grains Council of Australia that indicates that Western Australian wheat growers are not owed a cent for grain sold to Iraq between 1987 and 1990 is clearly contrary to the views of both the WA Farmers Federation and the WA Government.
I thank the member for some notice of this question. (1) Yes, I do. However, I need to note that I have a direct pecuniary interest in this matter. I note that the media release of 22 November by the WA Farmers Federation seeks an immediate payout to Australian wheat growers of the residual 20 per cent of debt owing since the Gulf War. As I indicated to the House on Wednesday, 30 June in response to a similar question from Hon Paddy Embry, I believe that the federal Government has an obligation to ensure that those growers who are owed money as a result of the United States Government’s actions to freeze Iraqi funds post the 1990 conflict are paid what they have been owed since 1991. (2) I will continue to press the federal Government for a fair and equitable resolution to the issue of payments to wheat growers, as I have been doing for some time. (3) The comment apparently made by the Grains Council of Australia that indicates that Western Australian wheat growers are not owed a cent for grain sold to Iraq between 1987 and 1990 is clearly contrary to the views of both the WA Farmers Federation and the WA Government.
(1) Yes, I do. However, I need to note that I have a direct pecuniary interest in this matter. I note that the media release of 22 November by the WA Farmers Federation seeks an immediate payout to Australian wheat growers of the residual 20 per cent of debt owing since the Gulf War. As I indicated to the House on Wednesday, 30 June in response to a similar question from Hon Paddy Embry, I believe that the federal Government has an obligation to ensure that those growers who are owed money as a result of the United States Government’s actions to freeze Iraqi funds post the 1990 conflict are paid what they have been owed since 1991. (2) I will continue to press the federal Government for a fair and equitable resolution to the issue of payments to wheat growers, as I have been doing for some time. (3) The comment apparently made by the Grains Council of Australia that indicates that Western Australian wheat growers are not owed a cent for grain sold to Iraq between 1987 and 1990 is clearly contrary to the views of both the WA Farmers Federation and the WA Government.
(2) I will continue to press the federal Government for a fair and equitable resolution to the issue of payments to wheat growers, as I have been doing for some time. (3) The comment apparently made by the Grains Council of Australia that indicates that Western Australian wheat growers are not owed a cent for grain sold to Iraq between 1987 and 1990 is clearly contrary to the views of both the WA Farmers Federation and the WA Government.
(3) The comment apparently made by the Grains Council of Australia that indicates that Western Australian wheat growers are not owed a cent for grain sold to Iraq between 1987 and 1990 is clearly contrary to the views of both the WA Farmers Federation and the WA Government.
(1) Does the minister support the Western Australian Farmers Federation’s demands for an advance payout of the $98 million for wheat sold to Iraq between 1987 and 1990? (2) Will the minister support Western Australian grain growers by contacting the federal Minister for Trade, Mark Vaile, and request an advance payout of the $98 million? (3) Does the minister disagree with the Grains Council of Australia’s comment that Western Australian grain growers are not owed a cent for grain sold between 1987 and 1990? Hon KIM CHANCE replied: I thank the member for some notice of this question. (1) Yes, I do. However, I need to note that I have a direct pecuniary interest in this matter. I note that the media release of 22 November by the WA Farmers Federation seeks an immediate payout to Australian wheat growers of the residual 20 per cent of debt owing since the Gulf War. As I indicated to the House on Wednesday, 30 June in response to a similar question from Hon Paddy Embry, I believe that the federal Government has an obligation to ensure that those growers who are owed money as a result of the United States Government’s actions to freeze Iraqi funds post the 1990 conflict are paid what they have been owed since 1991. (2) I will continue to press the federal Government for a fair and equitable resolution to the issue of payments to wheat growers, as I have been doing for some time. (3) The comment apparently made by the Grains Council of Australia that indicates that Western Australian wheat growers are not owed a cent for grain sold to Iraq between 1987 and 1990 is clearly contrary to the views of both the WA Farmers Federation and the WA Government.
(2) Will the minister support Western Australian grain growers by contacting the federal Minister for Trade, Mark Vaile, and request an advance payout of the $98 million? (3) Does the minister disagree with the Grains Council of Australia’s comment that Western Australian grain growers are not owed a cent for grain sold between 1987 and 1990? Hon KIM CHANCE replied: I thank the member for some notice of this question. (1) Yes, I do. However, I need to note that I have a direct pecuniary interest in this matter. I note that the media release of 22 November by the WA Farmers Federation seeks an immediate payout to Australian wheat growers of the residual 20 per cent of debt owing since the Gulf War. As I indicated to the House on Wednesday, 30 June in response to a similar question from Hon Paddy Embry, I believe that the federal Government has an obligation to ensure that those growers who are owed money as a result of the United States Government’s actions to freeze Iraqi funds post the 1990 conflict are paid what they have been owed since 1991. (2) I will continue to press the federal Government for a fair and equitable resolution to the issue of payments to wheat growers, as I have been doing for some time. (3) The comment apparently made by the Grains Council of Australia that indicates that Western Australian wheat growers are not owed a cent for grain sold to Iraq between 1987 and 1990 is clearly contrary to the views of both the WA Farmers Federation and the WA Government.
(3) Does the minister disagree with the Grains Council of Australia’s comment that Western Australian grain growers are not owed a cent for grain sold between 1987 and 1990? Hon KIM CHANCE replied: I thank the member for some notice of this question. (1) Yes, I do. However, I need to note that I have a direct pecuniary interest in this matter. I note that the media release of 22 November by the WA Farmers Federation seeks an immediate payout to Australian wheat growers of the residual 20 per cent of debt owing since the Gulf War. As I indicated to the House on Wednesday, 30 June in response to a similar question from Hon Paddy Embry, I believe that the federal Government has an obligation to ensure that those growers who are owed money as a result of the United States Government’s actions to freeze Iraqi funds post the 1990 conflict are paid what they have been owed since 1991. (2) I will continue to press the federal Government for a fair and equitable resolution to the issue of payments to wheat growers, as I have been doing for some time. (3) The comment apparently made by the Grains Council of Australia that indicates that Western Australian wheat growers are not owed a cent for grain sold to Iraq between 1987 and 1990 is clearly contrary to the views of both the WA Farmers Federation and the WA Government.
Hon KIM CHANCE replied: I thank the member for some notice of this question. (1) Yes, I do. However, I need to note that I have a direct pecuniary interest in this matter. I note that the media release of 22 November by the WA Farmers Federation seeks an immediate payout to Australian wheat growers of the residual 20 per cent of debt owing since the Gulf War. As I indicated to the House on Wednesday, 30 June in response to a similar question from Hon Paddy Embry, I believe that the federal Government has an obligation to ensure that those growers who are owed money as a result of the United States Government’s actions to freeze Iraqi funds post the 1990 conflict are paid what they have been owed since 1991. (2) I will continue to press the federal Government for a fair and equitable resolution to the issue of payments to wheat growers, as I have been doing for some time. (3) The comment apparently made by the Grains Council of Australia that indicates that Western Australian wheat growers are not owed a cent for grain sold to Iraq between 1987 and 1990 is clearly contrary to the views of both the WA Farmers Federation and the WA Government.
I thank the member for some notice of this question. (1) Yes, I do. However, I need to note that I have a direct pecuniary interest in this matter. I note that the media release of 22 November by the WA Farmers Federation seeks an immediate payout to Australian wheat growers of the residual 20 per cent of debt owing since the Gulf War. As I indicated to the House on Wednesday, 30 June in response to a similar question from Hon Paddy Embry, I believe that the federal Government has an obligation to ensure that those growers who are owed money as a result of the United States Government’s actions to freeze Iraqi funds post the 1990 conflict are paid what they have been owed since 1991. (2) I will continue to press the federal Government for a fair and equitable resolution to the issue of payments to wheat growers, as I have been doing for some time. (3) The comment apparently made by the Grains Council of Australia that indicates that Western Australian wheat growers are not owed a cent for grain sold to Iraq between 1987 and 1990 is clearly contrary to the views of both the WA Farmers Federation and the WA Government.
(1) Yes, I do. However, I need to note that I have a direct pecuniary interest in this matter. I note that the media release of 22 November by the WA Farmers Federation seeks an immediate payout to Australian wheat growers of the residual 20 per cent of debt owing since the Gulf War. As I indicated to the House on Wednesday, 30 June in response to a similar question from Hon Paddy Embry, I believe that the federal Government has an obligation to ensure that those growers who are owed money as a result of the United States Government’s actions to freeze Iraqi funds post the 1990 conflict are paid what they have been owed since 1991. (2) I will continue to press the federal Government for a fair and equitable resolution to the issue of payments to wheat growers, as I have been doing for some time. (3) The comment apparently made by the Grains Council of Australia that indicates that Western Australian wheat growers are not owed a cent for grain sold to Iraq between 1987 and 1990 is clearly contrary to the views of both the WA Farmers Federation and the WA Government.
(2) I will continue to press the federal Government for a fair and equitable resolution to the issue of payments to wheat growers, as I have been doing for some time. (3) The comment apparently made by the Grains Council of Australia that indicates that Western Australian wheat growers are not owed a cent for grain sold to Iraq between 1987 and 1990 is clearly contrary to the views of both the WA Farmers Federation and the WA Government.
(3) The comment apparently made by the Grains Council of Australia that indicates that Western Australian wheat growers are not owed a cent for grain sold to Iraq between 1987 and 1990 is clearly contrary to the views of both the WA Farmers Federation and the WA Government.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.