5 years ago
DAIRY INDUSTRY NEEDS GOVERNMENT ACTION
JOEL FITZGIBBON MP
Labor welcomes the decisions of Coles and Aldi to raise their retail milk price.
The retailers have done their bit, it’s now time for the Government to have a go.
There is no guarantee that any of the 10 cent retail price increase will make its way back to farmers. To guarantee a better deal for them we need structural reform.
That’s why Labor is proposing a Minimum Farm Gate Milk Price and a Mandatory Code of Conduct.
Yesterday I took my dairy policy consultations to Western Australia.
Dairy farmers in the State’s south welcomed Labor’s acknowledgement that the dairy industry is in crisis and our promise to intervene in a meaningful way.
As has been the case in all regions I have visited, the response to Labor’s plan to have the ACCC test, assess and make design recommendations for a Minimum Farm Gate Milk Price was positive.
Labor recognises dairy farmers are caught in a cost-price squeeze which has been compounded by drought.
Labor’s consultations will continue. Meanwhile, the Prime Minister refused to meet with struggling dairy farmers in Gilmore last week and Coalition MPs are continuing to ignore the plight of their local dairy farmers.
The retailers have done their bit, it’s now time for the Government to have a go.
There is no guarantee that any of the 10 cent retail price increase will make its way back to farmers. To guarantee a better deal for them we need structural reform.
That’s why Labor is proposing a Minimum Farm Gate Milk Price and a Mandatory Code of Conduct.
Yesterday I took my dairy policy consultations to Western Australia.
Dairy farmers in the State’s south welcomed Labor’s acknowledgement that the dairy industry is in crisis and our promise to intervene in a meaningful way.
As has been the case in all regions I have visited, the response to Labor’s plan to have the ACCC test, assess and make design recommendations for a Minimum Farm Gate Milk Price was positive.
Labor recognises dairy farmers are caught in a cost-price squeeze which has been compounded by drought.
Labor’s consultations will continue. Meanwhile, the Prime Minister refused to meet with struggling dairy farmers in Gilmore last week and Coalition MPs are continuing to ignore the plight of their local dairy farmers.