Windeyer supported free trade and worked to remove duties on the export of New South Wales tobacco to Van Diemen's Land and wheat to the United Kingdom, but supported an import duty of 1 shilling a bushel on foreign wheat on the basis that it would be a revenue not a protective duty.
Windeyer believed in free trade but also recognized the need for some form of protection for local industries. He supported a specific import tax on foreign wheat to generate revenue, not as a means of protecting domestic producers.