THE thing about country of origin labelling in Australia is that it's hopeless.

It's something that should make us all furious.

Consumers are deceived into thinking we have labelling laws when the reality is we have almost none.

They are designed to make it look like companies are transparent about where they source their product. But this is far from the case.

This week we learned produce carrying New Zealand labels in this country could be from anywhere in the world.

And as NZ has a free trade agreement with China (something else they beat us to), it seems reasonable to think some of their onsold product is coming from there.

Of course this isn't the only deficiency in Australian labelling laws.

Food is able to be labelled "from local and imported ingredients" whether the produce is 10 per cent Australian or 90 per cent Australian.

This invites companies to abuse that label.

Not only do consumers not have the choice to buy Australian, but inferior imports often give consumers a bad experience and scare them off the category altogether.

Australian farmers, communities and jobs are being crucified as consumers are not given the chance to support other Australians.

And the most infuriating thing about the situation is the lack of will from the major parties to fix it.

Why will the Rudd Government not support the Truth in Labelling Bill being pushed by senator Barnaby Joyce, Greens leader Bob Brown and independent senator Nick Xenophon?

Is it happy for Australian consumers and producers to be ripped off?

Is the Government too eager to please multi-national corporations, which can increase their profits by selling inferior overseas produce without disclosing its true origin, and which may make hefty donations to the party come election time?

Senator Joyce's presence in the shadow cabinet may be enough to convince the Liberals to support Truth in Labelling.

Liberal leader Tony Abbott has sold himself as a straight talker who cuts through the crap.

Well, this is the perfect opportunity to show us that form will continue as coalition leader.

Does anyone think US or European farmers, politicians or consumers would put up with this sort of farcical situation for one second?

It's OK to be patriotic and support farmers in those countries.

Why can't we in this country?