Time for the single wheat desk to go

For Labor, intent to abolish the single desk should be the perfect storm of policy announcement. It’s good policy, it signals to business that Labor is serious in economic reform, and it skewers Labor’s opponents as beholden to sectional interests.

Indeed, the coalition is hopelessly conflicted on wheat. The National Party’s Senator Ron Boswell summed up the situation, “the single desk remains today because of the classic rural political equation: Rural Producers + The Nationals = Policy Action”. The Nationals hitched their wagon to the single desk decades ago and despite the invention of the b-double truck, still prefer to flog that nearly dead horse.

Labor has none of the Coalition’s internal conflicts, and should be able to make hay out of this virtue by announcing a policy to abolish the single desk for wheat exports.

There is also a special timing issue for wheat. The new single desk, run by an unelected and self-appointed grower group must be up and running by next March or the single desk will lapse. This body is in the process of raising the money to run a single desk.

If elected these men will be knocking on the door of Rudd’s office within hours of his election demanding their organisation retains its new monopoly rights. Labor needs a coherent policy or it runs the very real risk of being steam-rolled by a few wheat growers.

In the run up to the election, this is one area where Labor can do good as well as position themselves are serious economic reformers. The time has passed for the single desk. Labor should sound its death knell.