AGRICULTURE LEADERS’ ELECTION DEBATE

The National Farmers’ Federation has set for itself two ambitious goals:-
 

 
They are both great ambitions and a Shorten Labor government will work with the sector to achieve them.
 
Are they realistic targets? I believe so.
 
But it’s going to take a lot of hard work and we’ll need a lot of change.
 
It will require a change in policy settings, attitudes and approaches.  We’ll need more long-term thinking and less short-termism.
 
We’re not off to a great start. According to the ABS, the sector contracted by 5 per cent in the December Quarter.
 
Of course, most of this contraction can be attributed to drought.  But given drought will remain a more regular feature of our climate, the December result cannot be dismissed.
 
In any case climate is by no means our only challenge.  Indeed there are plenty of them.
 

 
Now despite all of this, I do believe Australia’s agriculture sector has a bright future.  Indeed, we need to guarantee it a future.
 
A hungrier world and a wealthier world provide many opportunities.
 
But we won’t fix our problems and overcome our challenges if we’re not willing to first acknowledge them.
 
To meet our aspirations, we need to be more honest with ourselves and be more open to change.
 
There are so many challenges we can turn into opportunities if we learn to think, not shout.  Innovate, not procrastinate.
 
I submit there are at least four things we need to come to terms with if we are to reach the $100 billion aspiration.
 

 
In addition to coming to terms with those realities we need strong government leadership and strong government guidance.  We’ve had neither of those things over the course of the last almost six years.
 
It’s certainly not what we got from the now rarely mentioned and discredited Agriculture White Paper: a document in which policy ran a poor second to populism.
 
People rightly lament our struggle to attract the capital investment we need to meet our aspirations.  They often offer theories, “people don’t understand agriculture” they say, or, “investors lack data”.
 
But sadly I believe Garry Weaven was closer to the mark when he told the ABC last year: “the returns are quite low in relation to the risks and volatility of the investment.”
 
Garry Weaven’s word’s remain with me always.  They are a guiding light and a constant reminder; governments don’t create wealth investors do. 
 
But whether they be our self-employed farmers, our corporate farmers, our super fund managers or indeed foreign investors, they’ll only invest if know our Government is serious about addressing our challenges, re-focusing our ambitions, tackling climate change and to further modernising the sector.
 
If given the opportunity a Labor government will focus on building investor confidence, restoring productivity growth and laying a path to sustainable profitability.
 
We’ll take meaningful action on climate change and develop market-based responses to drought, soil health and other natural resource issues.  And we’ll make it a win-win for farmers by allowing them to participate in the carbon economy.
 
We’ll remove barriers to investment like those holding back investment in forest plantations.
 
Investors need to know they’ll be a workforce available which is capable of generating returns.  We’ll invest in training, identify the gaps and work with the sector to fill them.
 
We’ll keenly and energetically pursue fairer market access but we won’t be deaf to non-tariff barriers.
 
Labor has a strong track record on infrastructure investment; in roads, rail and connectivity.  We’ve invested heavily in the past and we’ll invest heavily again.
 
And we’ll protect our reputation as a provider of clean, green, safe, high quality ethically produced product by ensuring our biosecurity and traceability systems are world’s best.
 
There is nothing more important to our future than our research.  We’ll increase research spending across the board and review the architecture and work or our RDCs.
 
David Littleproud and I can absolutely agree on at least one thing.
 
We can’t have a strong national economy if we don’t have strong regional economies.
 
And we can’t have strong regional economies without a strong agriculture sector, a strong fisheries sector and a strong forestry sector.
 
Let’s not forget the last two, their potential for expansion, value-add, and employment growth is enormous.
 
Investor certainty, productivity, sustainable profitability and jobs.
 
Let’s end the chaos.  Let’s get on with it!
 
ENDS