The amendment allows individual growers to export their own wheat.

It was forced in the Senate by the combined Liberal and National vote, despite those parties splitting on the legislation itself, which deregulates bulk exports.

The amended legislation was passed by the Senate on Thursday.

The Coalition yesterday expected the Government would reject the amendment in the lower house early next week and return the bills to the Senate.

This would give another chance to press for a special deal that AWB has lobbied both Government and Coalition for — a concession for its handling facility at the Port of Melbourne.

But the Coalition amendment was carelessly drafted, failing to make a necessary change to customs provisions that effectively prohibit individual exports.

This means exports by individual growers would remain banned, regardless of the intent of the amendment.

The Government is delighted with the outcome and appears set to agree to the dodgy amendment, so the legislation would be through without further ado.

In the background has been the AWB effort to get an exemption from having to give undertakings about fair access to storage and handling at the Port of Melbourne facility.

AWB argued that because it had only a 50pc interest in the jointly owned facility it would be hard to negotiate the required ACCC access arrangement.

The Opposition parties were pushing the AWB case with the Government behind the scenes.

But they did not want to move for the special deal themselves, saying the Government should bring it in.

The Government was reluctant, because it thought the deal undesirable.

It did, however, draft a compromise to partly accommodate AWB, in case this was needed to ensure the passing of the whole package, which has to be through by June 30 to have the new system operating for the coming season.

A spokesman for AWB said it would have been legally tidy to get the amendment but the company would resolve the issue commercially so the necessary access guarantee could be provided.

In the end, it appears the Government will get the legislation it wants, the AWB facility will have to provide the access guarantee required of other handlers, individual growers will have to resort to bags and containers if they want to export, and the Coalition will be left red-faced in the last fortnight of its control of the Senate.