The federal government says its $4 billion blueprint for the future of the farming sector will make Australian farmers more competitive on the global stage.
The long-awaited agriculture white paper, released today, revealed measures to provide drought assistance and tax concessions for farmers and investment in infrastructure, including half a billion dollars for dams.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott says the paper serves as a reminder that the $51 billion sector will be crucial to Australia’s future once the strong emphasis on mining fades.
“One day the coal will have been dug up, the gas will have been extracted, but we will always need food and our land forever,” Mr Abbott told reporters in Warrnambool, in southwest Victoria. Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce defended the six-month delay in releasing the paper, describing it as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make a difference to farming families.
The paper was an investment in their dignity, he said.
“We are a nation and people of vision. We are not scared of taking the next step.” The paper commits up to $250 million in drought concessional loans for farmers each year for 11 years.
There is also $500 million for a national water infrastructure fund to improve dams and to plan for new projects.
The document also confirms the appointment of a new umpire within the competition regulator to help farmers settle supply disputes with supermarket groups.
Liberal MP Dan Tehan said the measures would provide farmers with financial flexibility during wet and dry years, enabling them to compete with other countries.
“In a globalised world, we need our farmers as competitive as possible,” he told Sky News.
Opposition agriculture spokesman Joel Fitzgibbon said the paper was a disappointment and had no big-picture vision for the future. It did not address climate change or measures around skills and technology, and put road blocks in the way of foreign investment, he said.
Some measures were deliberately inflated by including money that would be contributed by the states or committed earlier in the federal government’s Northern Australia white paper, Mr Fitzgibbon said.
“We need to look at what farming is going to look like in the future,” he told Sky News.
The National Farmers’ Federation said the measures would unveil big benefits for farmers, creating a stronger business environment and generating better returns. AAP
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/farming-gets-4-billion-blueprint-as-agriculture-whi...
