For some time in New South Wales a land tax exemption has applied to primary producers. This has also always been applied to grapegrowers, including where producers process those grapes into wine and then set up a cellar door on their property. Recently, for some unexplained reason, a reinterpretation of these laws by Revenue NSW has seen businesses hit with land tax bills up to $150,000. The producers cannot absorb those costs. It is a massive blow to not just those businesses but also the communities they support. The cellar doors and other agritourism businesses that this will affect attract and keep tourists in our regional communities. They provide jobs and income as well. This move is anti-business, anti‑tourism and anti‑regional New South Wales. I urge the Government as strongly as possible to overturn this change, and I look forward to work with anyone who strives to see this happen.

Transcript: https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/Hansard/Pages/HansardResult.aspx#/docid/HANSARD-1820781676-101014/link/2262

The PRESIDENT: I call the Hon. Scott Barrett.

[A member interjected.]

The PRESIDENT: Order! The question is coming from the Hon. Scott Barrett, not the Hon. Jeremy Buckingham.

The Hon. SCOTT BARRETT (11:47): My question is directed to the Minister for Agriculture. A spokesperson for the New South Wales Government was quoted in a recent article in The Land as asserting:

The majority of research confirms that timber harvesting has negative impacts on numerous threatened species, including Koalas.

Does the Minister, who is responsible for forestry, endorse this statement?

The Hon. Daniel Mookhey: Point of order: The member is asking the Minister to express an opinion. The words "Do you endorse this comment?" is a clear invitation to express an opinion.

The Hon. Wes Fang: To the point of order: The question clearly referenced a quote from a Government spokesperson. The question is whether the Minister, as the Minister responsible for forestry, endorses the position of the New South Wales Government. That is not seeking an opinion; it is seeking what the Minister's policy is in relation to what the Government spokesperson said.

The Hon. Jeremy Buckingham: To the point of order: The definition of "endorse" is "declare one's public approval or support of". That is clearly seeking an opinion.

The Hon. Damien Tudehope: To the point of order: The word "endorse" is interpreted as "Is that the Government's position?"

The PRESIDENT: Order! While this is an interesting intellectual debate, I do not uphold the Treasurer's point of order. I agree with the Leader of the Opposition and the Hon. Wes Fang. The question is, "Does the Minister, who is responsible for forestry, endorse this statement?" As such, there is a clear link with the Minister's role within the Government and the policies that she is pursuing. The Minister has the call.

The Hon. TARA MORIARTY (Minister for Agriculture, Minister for Regional New South Wales, and Minister for Western New South Wales) (11:50): I want to take a swing at the question, but I cannot remember the quote that was put to me.

The PRESIDENT: The Clerk will stop the clock. The question is:

A spokesperson for the New South Wales Government is quoted in a recent article in The Land as asserting:

The majority of research confirms that timber harvesting has negative impacts on numerous threatened species, including Koalas.

Does the Minister, who is responsible for forestry, endorse this statement?

The Hon. TARA MORIARTY: I thank the member for the question. I do not know the details of the article, the context for the quote or who gave it. I do not have any further information about any of the context that has been put. In general terms, this has been a topical conversation in this place and in the community since the Government made an announcement about our longstanding commitment to create the Great Koala National Park, to protect koalas, which are facing extinction, and other very important animals in New South Wales. We have announced the work to establish that park. As part of that work, we have also talked about the impact on industry in that part of the State. Government members are committed to the creation of the park and to industry in New South Wales. We will continue to do that work. Whether individual quotes pulled out of articles that I do not have the full context for will shape that debate, I cannot say. But I am happy to talk in general terms or with any specific detail that I can about the forestry industry and the work we are doing on what that could look like into the future—

The PRESIDENT: Order! Once again, there are too many interjections. The Minister has the call.

The Hon. TARA MORIARTY: —while we also deliver on the longstanding commitment to create that very important national park.

TRANSCRIPT: While I take the Hon. Jeremy Buckingham at his word as far as the statistics in this motion are concerned, I note that he slightly undersells the value of the dairy industry by excluding the value of manufactured products, which would of course take it closer to $16 billion. However, I support the crux of the motion. After all, The Nationals played a massive role at the embryonic stage of the medicinal cannabis industry in New South Wales. At that time I had the great pleasure of meeting Lucy Haslam, who has been instrumental on this issue. Mrs Haslam and her husband took it upon themselves to source cannabis for their son, who was dying of stage four cancer. Mrs Haslam recently said:

The effect was immediate. The colour came back into his face. He was hungry again. It gave him some quality of life before he died, aged 25.

This statement is so powerful to me as a father. I cannot imagine what the Haslams went through and the difference it must have made for them just to see that change. They are due a lot of the credit for the decision to support the fledgling medicinal cannabis industry in New South Wales and, effectively, Australia. The work done by The Nationals on this goes back more than a decade. In 2016, on the back of work done by the then Nationals primary industries Minister, Niall Blair, New South Wales became the first Australian State authorised to conduct medicinal cannabis cultivation research. That authorisation was combined with significant investment and a regulatory framework. It was in the wake of a 2013 inquiry chaired by the Hon. Sarah Mitchell, as well as ongoing advocacy from the member for Tamworth, Kevin Anderson, and a former member of this place, the Hon. Trevor Khan. So, yes, I support this motion in line with what we have been doing for more than a decade.

I also had the great privilege of hosting some youth advocates from Youth Action today. We discussed this matter, knowing that it was going to be on the agenda, and their answers actually surprised me a little. While acknowledging the assistance medicinal cannabis has provided to a number of people with certain health conditions, as a group they did raise a number of concerns. They had seen issues such as "doctor shopping" in their own social circles—people getting prescriptions and then sharing that medicinal cannabis at parties. They raised concerns about addiction and several spoke of the risks of psychosis. I also note concerns raised by Lucy Haslam recently, including about the trend towards seemingly unfettered access, which is a big shift away from the initial intent of the policy. The Nationals support the industry and the benefits it can provide. But we also need to make sure it is done correctly. We need strong regulations and even more research so that we fully understand the impacts of widespread use and availability of prescription cannabis, especially when it comes to our young people.

Congratulations to Emus Rugby Club for winning the 2025 Blowes Cup.

As we have reached the end of our winter sporting season, I take this opportunity to thank and acknowledge all the referees, umpires and other officials that make our Saturday sports possible. While lots of sideline experts give them plenty of advice throughout the weekend, those officials make it possible for our kids and everyone who wants to enjoy sport to do so. I take this opportunity to thank them very much for making our weekends great throughout the winter.

It is just three weeks until the start of another bushfire season and, despite numerous promises from the Government, there is still no scheme in place for conditional registration of farm firefighting vehicles. The initial promise was to have a scheme in place last summer that would have seen conditional registration of firefighting assets for use within a short distance of homes. Those assets are often trucks, trailers and water tanks that would go on the roads only during such an emergency. As such, it is not practical to keep them fully registered throughout the year. An initial trial took place almost two years ago, during the 2023-24 bushfire season, with a promise on the department's website to have the scheme made permanent before the start of the next bushfire season.

That is coming up on 12 months ago now. In response to that broken promise, the House debated a motion in November last year calling for the scheme to be made permanent immediately. The Government decided that the best course of action was another trial and amended the motion to reflect that. That second trial was, of course, completely unnecessary, but if that was what it would take to get the scheme off the ground then so be it. The second trial ran until March this year, with Minister for Roads Jenny Aitchison telling budget estimates on 1 April:

We have made commitments to NSW Farmers that we would look at this and we'd have something in place before next fire season.

Of course, that is just three weeks away. In June, after no action from the Government, we learnt through a question in this place that the report on the second trial had been completed and was submitted to the Minister for Roads. That is where that report sits; that is as far as we got. Twelve months on from the initial fire season, when a scheme was meant to be in place, there is no scheme in place. We have a litany of empty promises from members opposite, and it is three weeks until the next bushfire season begins.

Even today, with rain across much of New South Wales, there are six advice-level fires. Most of them are in northern areas, where the threat generally starts earlier. We cannot afford to be complacent about bushfires and we cannot afford to wait any longer. I ask members opposite to deliver on their promise. We are not asking for much, just that they do what they said that they would do: Make the farm firefighting vehicle scheme permanent immediately, so that rural communities and farmers can help one another safely during the coming bushfire season.