Barnaby Joyce under attack from red meat consolidation Senate Inquiry chairman Glenn Sterle

West Australian Labor senator Glenn Sterle said the government response to the grass-fed cattle levy inquiry, which he also chaired, did not fill him with hope.

“We will work our backsides off to produce a balanced report with some serious recommendations there that we hope the minister would at least have the decency to read,” Senator Sterle said when the red meat inquiry sat at the Albury Entertainment Centre on Wednesday.

“On his past performance, on the grass-fed one which was going to cost five-eighths of bugger all, I have absolutely no faith in the minister (Barnaby Joyce), none at all.

 “We gave him a report that would cost bugger-all in money but would actually lift the opportunity for producers to have a say in their industry.

“What is wrong with that?”

The sitting heard from beef producers and industry bodies, and Victorian Nationals senator Bridget McKenzie said the lack of integrity and transparency was a common theme among submissions.

A buyer boycott at Northern Victorian Livestock Exchange in February suggesting buyer collusion and power in the market was identified as the trigger for the government inquiry.

But no-one could turn hearsay into evidence.

“There has been anecdotal evidence for over 25 years that this has been occurring,” NSW Farmers president Derek Schoen, of Corowa, told the hearing.

“Unless you’re going to put CCTV cameras at saleyards it can be very hard to get this evidence.

“We are really looking for a code of conduct so the saleyards can operate with the producers on fixing the system.”

The mandatory code of conduct proposal was warmly received by Senator Sterle.