Australia’s federal government has released the long-awaited agriculture white paper outlining a $4 billion plan for the sector moving forward.
As the country’s reliance on mining recedes, Prime Minister, Tony Abbott states that the paper stands as proof that agriculture will be a key sector for the country’s economy in the coming years.
“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.
Some key points in the paper include the commitment of up to $250 million per year in drought concessions for farmers for 11 years, and the expansion of the National Water Infrastructure Fund to $500 million, which will be used for the improvement of dams and the planning of new water projects. Under the plan, $50 million will be allocated to scoping studies for the construction of new dams with the remaining $450 million earmarked for construction costs. Although the exact locations of new projects have not been established as of yet, various sites have been identified as having potential for funding including projects in the Ord Valley, Pilbara groundwater projects in Western Australia, Nathan Dam in Queensland, the Wellington Dam in Western Australia, development of the Emu Swamp Dam in Queensland, and the Rookwood and Eden Bann weir projects in Queensland.
The paper also includes an $11.4 million increase to the budget of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to “encourage fair-trading and strengthen competition in agricultural supply chains,” and the appointment of a new Commissioner at the ACCC. The commission’s responsibilities will remain the same, as it oversees “truth in labelling, cartels, and unlawful arrangements that have the purpose or likely effect of substantially lessening competition.”
New measures included in the paper include the ability from July 2016 onward for farmers be able to double their Farm Management Deposits (FMDs) to $800,000 and to use their FMDs to offset their business loans, reducing interest costs. Farmers will also be able to access their FMD at any time without losing tax concessions.
The paper also includes $50 million to manage pests and weeds, and an additional $50 million for the emergency eradication and national response in the case of a biosecurity emergency; an allocation of $100 million to extend the Rural R&D For Profit program to 2021/22, $1.2 million for the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation, $12.4 million to improve traceability of Australian exported products, and $1.4 million to match new levies in the export fodder and tea tree oil industries.
The Federal Government has also stated that it will include the expenditure of $31 million to ‘break down technical barriers to trade’ through the appointment of five new agricultural counsellors to foreign posts.