You are flogging a dead horse, people, and trying to camouflage pure and unashamed self-interest behind concern for world food supplies is despicable. Your credibility is not improved by partially singing the same theme song as the Citizens Electoral Council of Australia and the LaRouche Youth Movement (see half-page advertisements in recent editions of The Land and The Weekly Times). Your sole interest is your own hip pocket. There is nothing wrong with this in itself, but there is certainly something wrong with your your lack of honesty in declaring your basic motivation. The issue of the single desk is dead, so you will now have to learn to live in the real world, where competition is a fact of life, and where just about every other Australian is obliged to reside. Who knows? It may not be too bad, as is suggested by the following comment from Murray Jones, the Australian president of the Grains Council of Australia, as reported in The Land on June 5 this year "We wanted to maintain the single desk, but now we have to make the best of what we have got, and we think it isn't too bad". To claim (as you do on your website) that 80pc of wheat growers are in favour of retaining the single desk is as surprising and relevant as quoting that turkeys are in favour of abolishing Christmas. Turkeys do not get a vote on abolishing Christmas or on retaining the single desk. In a democracy such as ours, these decisions (at least the one on abolishing the single desk) should be and are being made by our elected representatives. Even though Barnaby Joyce is now prepared to admit that "The National Party is a party based on agrarian socialist principles...", we are seeing the last remnants of the Black Jack McEwen era of protection for favoured vested minority interests from market forces finally disappearing, and Australia will be a better place because of it. And finally, if Wilson Tuckey is right when he says "There is nothing in this legislation that prohibits collective bargaining by wheat growers" (as reported in The Land on June 5, 2008), what is all the fuss? Is it because growers will have to act as business operators and not hide behind the buyer of last resort facility in future?

Thanks Bill. If you were a turkey, I wouldn't vote to ban christmas. Of course, us as growers trying to make a living has nothing to do with the small communities that rely on us. You're entitled to your view, but I strongly disagree.

Bill, if you read the Bill you would see that there is nothing in it for growers. It is purely and simply a traders' accreditation scheme.

I would have thought that a statutory collective bargaining arrangement that maximises grower returns and allows for certainty and stability would be reaonably economically rational - of course the text books would not say as much.

Interesting how most of our customers are single desk buyers - I guess that they are a lot smarter than most of our politicians and you too Bushie Bill.

This would not be the same Bill who sits in the Senate and refuses to allow a grower Plebiscite on the future of "OUR" wheat marketing system?

You mention a democratic society, how is what the Liberal and Labor Parties refusal to allow growers to vote democratic. Will the Libs and Labor pay compensation if they get it wrong?

I will be demanding the reopening of the Cole inquiry to expose those Liberals who new about the AWB involvment in the Food for Oil. I would think if the truth came out we would see why the Liberal party has got into bed with Rudd. Talk about kick backs.

With the oil for food regimen, wheat contracts between the AWB & the Iraq Wheat Board were perused and approved by DFAT before being presented to the United Nations for activation. The price per tonne on these contracts during the fraudulent trading period were extremly inflated almost looking like a Nigerian "419" offer. Of course Vaile & Downer were as the quote See Nothing, Hear Nothing & if you want to keep your Ministry Say Nothing. The Cole inquiry was about as useful to painting the old ute with anti-rust. Pro-single desk wheat growers should take note that if any successful prosecutions of AWB staff or coalition politicians come out of the Cole inquiry it may well spell the end of the National Party.

Bill Heffernan and Wilson Tuckey, you should be ashamed of yourselves with how you both have treated the family farmers over this Wheat Export Bill, come Anti-Farmers Bill.

How is the Liberal Party ever going to be able to govern Australia again when you are forcing deregulation on the rural industry, it hasn't worked in the past, and it won't now!

How many wheat grower forums have either of you attended? US Farmers will receive $307 billion in their Farm Bill for the next 5 years and we get forced deregulation.

Also Bill, where's the talk on compensation to wheat growers? At least 15 billion dollars for a start.

Pedro-- Hanging in there.

I wonder if we should deregulate our pollies' subsidised obscene incomes? maybe they should issue subscriptions to the general public, we would see where your support comes from then.

would it be your constituency or the "big pigs" in the trough? Those that are peddling wheat marketing deconstruction for example.

Bill, you quoted the grains council. Another undemocratic executive club!!!!!!

You lot sure have a fear of grass roots democracy, probably why there is no Liberal Govt in office in Oz.

In our community at the moment we have about one third of our farmers in a bankrupt state (from drought and deregulation), not paying rates or supporting the local economy at all. Poignant that the only MPs to give us any support are Nationals and Independents.

A disaster looms with our banks in a perplexed compromise. Our self interest (how dare you accuse us of being greedy) is to try and get basic household necessities and our families future.

Bring it on Steffi. I would think the Nats would be in a better position to survive as Downer was the Trade minister and the one who would have been most likely to have known.

The Libs do not support Rural Australia any more. Like Labor they only support big business not the working class.

We would be better off if Labor and the Libs formed a coalition. At least they would all be together.

I stand corrected. Thanks Michael.

The truth still needs to come out regardless who was who.

Addressing: Bill the Economic Rationalist Bushie.

Quote: "trying to camouflage pure and unashamed self-interest behind concern for world food supplies is despicable."

Bill, I ask what your interests are or more to the point why you hypocritically have hidden your real name?

It seems that your time is coming. You and who you represent will be held accountable or ashamed. For our wheat growers and battlers during this trying time, I hope it is the latter.