Hope for finger lime growers: Speech to Parliament

Mr BUCHHOLZ (Wright) (13:47):  I want to share some of the positive news for finger lime growers not only in my electorate but right around Australia. Just a few days ago I got a really excited call from Ian and Margie Douglas, who run the Lime Caviar Company in the Scenic Rim. They were telling me that they had a sense of real hope that they are a step closer to being able to export their fresh finger limes to places like China, India, Japan, the US, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam or New Zealand—places they had not been able to get finger limes into over concerns about fruit fly.

But a new federal-funded study could now change all of that and bring hope for the likes of Ian and Margie. Ian and Margie hope that the study could prove what they already believe to be true: that finger limes do not carry fruit fly. I welcome this study, which the Queensland agriculture department will carry out through a $313,000 grant from the Commonwealth's Agricultural Trade and Market Access Cooperation program.

I took the Douglas couple's case to Canberra after they raised their frustrations with me last year. Ian and Margie have been determined and proactive in championing this issue at a national level and need to be commended. They sought advocacy from me as their federal member, and they also broadcast it to the lounge rooms of fellow Australians through the widely-watched Landline program. I acknowledge Pip Courtney for their contribution there.

This study is a positive step in the right direction. I am proud to be a part of a government which is supporting our farmers through the hurdles facing this industry.