# Standing Committee on Agriculture

The Standing Committee on Agriculture is a committee of the Australian House of Representatives. The committee is a "General Purpose Standing Committee" governed by Standing Order 215. It consists of nine members, five government members and four non-government members (three members of the official opposition and one member of the crossbench). The chair is appointed by the Prime Minister and the deputy chair by the Leader of the Opposition under Standing Order 232.

## History

While General Purpose Standing Committees of the House of Representatives were first established in 1987, Agriculture or Primary Industries were not explicitly called out until the amendment of Standing order 28B following the election of the Howard Government in 1996. The committee has been regularly renamed since; some recent names include:
| Committee Name | Parliament(s) | Years |
| Primary Industries, Resources and Rural and Regional Affairs | 38th | 1996-8 |
| Primary Industries and Regional Services | 39th | 1998-2001 |
| Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry | 40th and 41st | 2001-7 |
| Primary Industries and Resources | 42nd | 2007-2010 |
| Agriculture, Resources, Fisheries and Forestry | 43rd | 2010-2013 |
| Agriculture and Industry | 44th | 2013-2016 |
| Agriculture and Water Resources | 45th to 46th | 2013-2022 |
| Agriculture | 47th | 2022-Present |

## Membership
### 47th Parliament

In the 47th parliament (July 2022 – present), the membership of the committee is the following:
| Member | Party | Electorate |
| Meryl Swanson Chair | Labor | Division of Paterson, New South Wales |
| Rick Wilson Deputy Chair | Liberal | Division of O'Connor, Western Australia |
| Matt Burnell | Labor | Division of Spence, South Australia |
| Mike Freelander | Labor | Division of Macarthur, New South Wales |
| Brian Mitchell | Labor | Division of Lyons, Tasmania |
| Fiona Phillips | Labor | Division of Gilmore, New South Wales |
| Rebecca Sharkie | Centre Alliance | Division of Mayo, South Australia |
| Aaron Violi | Liberal | Division of Casey, Victoria |
| Andrew Willcox | Liberal National | Division of Dawson, Queensland |

### 45th Parliament

In the 45th parliament (September 2016 – 11 April 2019), the membership of the committee was the following:
| Member | Party | Electorate |
| Rick Wilson Chair | Liberal | Division of O'Connor, Western Australia |
| Andrew Broad (until 24 August 2018) | Nationals | Division of Mallee, Victoria |
| Joel Fitzgibbon (from 15 June 2017 until 10 September 2018) | Labor | Division of Hunter, New South Wales |
| David Gillespie (from 10 September 2018) | Nationals | Division of Lyne, New South Wales |
| Justine Keay (until 10 May 18, from 10 September 2018) | Labor | Division of Braddon, Tasmania |
| Matt Keogh | Labor | Division of Burt, Western Australia |
| John McVeigh (until 20 December 2017) | Liberal National | Division of Groom, Queensland |
| Nola Marino (from 6 February 2018) | Liberal | Division of Forrest, Western Australia |
| Tony Pasin | Liberal | Division of Barker, South Australia |
| Rowan Ramsey | Liberal | Division of Grey, South Australia |
| Meryl Swanson (until 15 June 2017, from 21 May 2018) | Labor | Division of Paterson, New South Wales |
McVeigh and Broad lost their positions on the committee upon joining the Ministry, with Marino and Gillespie being elected to replace each respectively. Swanson was discharged from the committee and replaced by Fitzgibbon. Swanson was again appointed to the committee when Keay lost her seat her seat in Parliament during the parliamentary eligibility crisis. Keay regained it at the ensuing by-election, and was reappointed to the committee in the place of Fitzgibbon.

## List of Chairs

| Member | Party | Electorate | Parliament(s) | Years |
| Michael Ronaldson | Liberal | Division of Ballarat, Victoria | 38th | 1996 |
| Fran Bailey | Liberal | Division of McEwen, Victoria | 38th-39th | 1996-2001 |
| Kay Elson | Liberal | Division of Forde, Queensland | 40th | 2001-2004 |
| Alby Schultz | Liberal | Division of Hume, New South Wales | 41st | 2004-2007 |
| Dick Adams | Labor | Division of Lyons, Tasmania | 42nd-43rd | 2007-2013 |
| Rowan Ramsey | Liberal | Division of Grey, South Australia | 44th | 2013-2016 |
| Rick Wison | Liberal | Division of O'Connor, Western Australia | 45th-46th | 2016-2022 |
| Meryl Swanson | Labor | Division of Paterson, New South Wales | 47th | 2022-present |