Joe Lawson was always a strong supporter of the farmers in his electorate. In one incident in the 1950s, he personally investigated farmer's concerns about citrus fruit being declared 'dry' at the Sydney Markets. He discovered a racket where some Government fruit inspectors would declare a shipment of oranges to be dry (without juice), which led to them being sold at a greatly reduced price to associates of the inspectors in the retail trade, who could sell them at regular retail prices. The inspectors received a percentage of the profits. Joe Lawson revealed this racket in the Parliament, producing supposedly 'dry' fruit he had bought, and detailing the circumstances of the racket, thus forcing the Government to take rapid action and re-organize the markets.
