Potato marketing board deregulation law passed by Parliament Western Australia

Western Australia's Parliament has cleared the way for full deregulation of the state's potato industry, passing legislation to abolish the controversial Potato Marketing Corporation (PMC).

The move will bring to an end seven decades of regulation under which the PMC controls who can grow potatoes, what sort and how many they can grow, and at what price they are sold.

Parliament's Legislative Council passed the Government's potato deregulation legislation on Tuesday, and it was not opposed by any party.

The process will be completed on December 31 when the PMC ceases to exist.

While the industry was deregulated on July 1, Parliament still needed to agree to the abolition of the PMC.

Deregulation follows criticism of the previous setup from both sides of politics, who labelled the system outdated, and a public campaign from high-profile grower Tony Galati to scrap the PMC.

The Government has set aside $14 million to assist the industry with deregulation, with $12 million to flow directly to growers and another $2 million allocated to development.

Parliamentary Secretary to the Agriculture Minister Jim Chown said the Government had got on with the job of deregulating the industry.

"It is long overdue," Mr Chown told Parliament.

But Opposition MP Darren West said the Government was copying long-standing Labor policy.

"When it was illustrated to consumers how out of date this act had become, there was a growing mood for change in the community and I am pleased the Government has now picked up on that," he told Parliament.

The PMC is still pursuing legal matters against Mr Galati, including a contempt of court action alleging he defied an injunction designed to limit his potato production.

Mr Chown said if those legal matters were ongoing when the corporation ceases to exist, it would be up Attorney-General Michael Mischin to decide whether to continue that action or abandon it.