Photo caption: Federal Member for Parkes spoke in support of paraquat in Parliament this week.

Federal Member for Parkes Mark Coulton has spoken out in Parliament in support of the use of paraquat in modern farming practises.

Mr Coulton, speaking in support of a motion moved by his Nationals colleague, Member for Mallee Dr Anne Webster, said farmers throughout the Parkes electorate rely on paraquat to be able to farm in an environmentally friendly and financially viable manner.

“I speak with practical experience in the use of paraquat,” Mr Coulton said during his speech.

“In my previous role as a grain farmer, we would use that in what’s known as a double knock. The glyphosate would take out a lot of the weeds, but the harder to kill ones would need another application, this time of paraquat, to finish them up.

“The reason that we have the biggest wheat crops on record ever harvested is the technique of growing wheat in western New South Wales, and that’s using zero till.

“We’re not ploughing or cultivating; we’re just preserving the trash from the previous crop on top of the ground. It reflects the light and the heat, and it conserves the moisture.

“We hear a lot of talk in this place about carbon farming … the farmers in my electorate have been doing this for decades. They pioneered this process.”

Dr Webster’s Private Members’ motion urges the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) and the Minister for Agriculture to listen to farmers and the science on herbicide dosages and refrain from rewarding sensationalist journalism.

The motion comes following an ABC Landline story which aired in August-September about the use of paraquat and diquat, and alleged links to neurological diseases.

Mr Coulton said while he has sympathy for those interviewed by the ABC who believe paraquat may be behind their Parkinson’s Disease diagnosis, times have changed, and historical practises of chemical use are no longer occurring today.

He said farmers now apply herbicides in a safe and protected environment, with limited exposure to the chemicals.

“He [the man interviewed by the ABC] also said he was soaked in this chemical,” Mr Coulton said.

“If you soaked yourself every day in petrol, you probably wouldn’t be all that healthy, but we’re not banning petrol. If mechanics tipped battery acid over their heads while installing batteries into cars, it probably wouldn’t do them much good either, but we’re not banning batteries. This is the same.

“When I used paraquat, I wore rubber gloves and a long-sleeved shirt. It was towed by a tractor with a carbon filtered cab – everything as per the recommendation.

“If you follow those recommendations, it is a safe chemical to use. It’s an essential one. We need to make sure we don’t have these knee-jerk reactions from people on the fringes of things.”

Mr Coulton has also called for the APVMA to lift its game, urging the regulator to approve the release of Victrato for the treatment of crown rot.

“Crown rot is a very, very insidious issue with wheat, which remains largely unknown until the crops mature, and then the yield just falls away,” Mr Coulton said.

“For the last 12 months or so, I’ve been talking with farmers and suppliers in my electorate Victrato. The significant trials of Victrato that have been done by Syngenta with local firm McGregor Gourlay over five years have shown considerable improvement in yield potential by controlling crown rot.”

It was hoped that this product would be released this year, but growers and suppliers in the Parkes electorate were disappointed to learn recently that the release of Victrato has once again been delayed and will not be available for the 2025 cropping season due to efficacy issues, not potential environmental impacts.

Mr Coulton said if Victrato won’t have any ill effects and the delay is only about efficacy, why not release it and let the market decide whether it works or not.

“I’m not saying we take shortcuts,” Mr Coulton said.

“I’m not saying that chemicals shouldn’t be properly scrutinised. But there is no need to drag things out unnecessarily when it’s affecting the viability and potential profitability of farmers in Australia.”