Queensland sugar cane growers are fuming over an attempt to scrap the Sugar Industry Code of Conduct.
The code came into effect in April to break a deadlock between sugar marketer Queensland Sugar Limited and miller Wilmar in a payment dispute affecting growers.
It includes provisions for mandatory arbitration when farmers and millers reach a stalemate in negotiations.
A disallowance motion to repeal the code was introduced in the Senate this week by New South Wales senator David Leyonhjelm, who said it imposed on free trade.
"I'm standing up for free trade and free markets basically. What I'm saying is you really don't want to force the market to comply with some notion of how sugar should be sold," he said.
"Sugar should be sold according to who wants to pay the best price for it.
"This idea that after I've sold something I can still have some say over it, you know it's ridiculous, and I don't know of any other commodity where the farmers think they control it after they've sold it."
Lobby group claims motion is an attack on farmers
The peak lobby group for sugar farmers, Canegrowers, has reacted angrily to the move, claiming it undermines a valuable Queensland export industry.
Chairman Paul Schembri said the motion had shocked and surprised him.
"From the lofty heights of New South Wales he is proposing a course of action that could have a very profound impact on 4,500 Queensland cane farming families," he said.
"Yet he hasn't had the courtesy to contact the growers' organisation or speak to growers about this issue, and we are very angry about this.
"Perhaps it's symptomatic of the political paralysis in this country where all sorts of deals are being hatched, but be that as it may we have to deal with it.
"It took a long time to put this in place and we're not going to give it away tomorrow."
The Australian Milling Council is supporting the motion.
Chief executive Dominic Nolan said the code had been rushed through Parliament to beat the start of the 2017 harvest, and included unnecessary red tape.
"There are procedures available under the code of conduct that are questionable and costly, and it creates uncertainty and a direct disincentive for new investment in the industry," he said.
"The disallowance motion should be upheld and the code should disappear."
Debate on the motion is expected to begin in the Senate in mid-September.
Lobbying for Senate numbers begins
The parties for and against the motion have already begun their campaigns to shore up Senate support.
Senator Leyonhjelm said he had been speaking to several of his colleagues.
"I do have a fair bit of support, but whether I've got a majority or not I won't know for a while," he said.
Mr Schembri has also been on the phone.
"I've already had some discussions with some of the Liberal National Party players in this, including George Christensen and others," he said.
"We will be doing our utmost to ensure this motion to disallow the code of conduct is defeated."
The Senate has 15 sitting days to deliberate before voting.
