Mr JOYCE (New England—Minister for Agriculture) (14:34): I thank the member for Mallee for his question. The member for Mallee, more than most, would understand the importance of agriculture, coming from a seat with dairy, beef cattle, meatworks, flour mills, citrus, stone fruits, cereals and wool sheep—he has the whole gamut in the seat of Mallee. It is extremely important that the Australian people understand what this government has done in bringing forward the 100 per cent write-off for water reticulation deductions so that we can create a more secure farming future by allowing people to plan for droughts by delivering more land over to the greater security of irrigated agriculture. This is a major investment, and we have known that this investment has worked in the past—it has worked in the past with the section 75B deductions, which were instrumental in creating investment in places such as St George and the irrigated agriculture that is there. It underpins other things that are happening right now, such as the record prices in cattle; the record prices that we are getting in meat sheep and mutton; the strong prices in cotton; and the strong prices in cereal grains. But it is not just there. We also started, as of budget night, the 100 per cent write-off for fencing. Now I acknowledge, as an accountant, that it is very rare to see a farmer who actually builds a new fence. They all seem to be repairs and maintenance! But now we have a case where we can make sure that all the fencing is a 100 per cent write-off straightaway. This is a stimulus not just to people on the land but also to the rural merchandisers—the rural merchandisers that sell the steel posts, that sell the wire and that sell all the implementation. This is a deduction not just for the farms that are turning over less than $2 million but for all farms. It is also a great pleasure to be able to announce—and this is all part of the white paper process— Mr Burke: Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order. You and other speakers have previously ruled that question time cannot be used to announce policy, which the minister just said he is now doing. He just said, 'I can also announce.' That makes it an announcement. The SPEAKER: The member will resume his seat— Mr Fitzgibbon: Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order, under the same standing order. Can I ask you to seek clarification from the minister as to whether the first part of his answer was also an announcement of new policy, which seems to— The SPEAKER: No, you may not. Resume your seat. I call the honourable Minister for Agriculture to continue answering the question, which I hope he is doing and not announcing new policy. Mr JOYCE: The Minister for Small Business announced this during his Press Club speech today, just prior to question time. It is also very important that we understand the work we are doing in silos, hay sheds and grain storage. Grain storage is vitally important for the marketing of grain and also for preparations for drought. This is also incredibly important for the manufacturing industry in Australia. Nelson Silos in Rochester, Victoria; Ahrens' silo in Kingsford, South Australia; HE Silos at Gunnedah; and Kotzur Silos at Walla Walla—these are all Australian manufacturing businesses which also get an immense benefit from the stimulus that this government is putting into the agricultural sector.