Some dairy industry workers are being paid less than $7 an hour and that's just not right, NSW Nationals candidate Barnaby Joyce says.
Mr Joyce and outgoing Queensland senator Ron Boswell hope that if the coalition wins government a review of the Competition and Consumer and Trade Practices acts will turn the situation around.
Mr Joyce says dairy farmers are crucial part of the nation, but they need to be looked after.
"People want fairness at the farm gate, they want a fair price, they want fair contract terms, they don't want to be exploited," Mr Joyce told reporters at the Ekka show in Brisbane.
"When we look at farmers on dairy farms and what they get paid, in any other workplace it would create a riot.
News that makes sense
Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.
"The fact that people are working for less than $7 an hour in instances is not fair, it's not just and it's not correct."
When asked what role the former coalition government's deregulation between 1999-2000 of milk had on the industry, Mr Joyce said talking about the past wasn't going to solve current problems.
"The solution is how we act now, what we do now," he said.
Senator Boswell denied the coalition government, which he was part of, had deregulated milk, and instead blamed Victorian dairy farmers.
"All we did was stump up with $2 billion to give to the dairy farmers," he said.
"We didn't deregulate the milk, that was done by Victorian farmers."
