Speaking on the one year anniversary of becoming Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Senator Murray Watt said the Albanese Government had hit the ground running in taking these vital sectors forward.
"Despite significant global challenges and major flooding at home in the last year, the sector continues to prosper with record production of $90 billion, record exports of $75 billion and high farm incomes across a range of industries," Minister Watt said.
"Now we want to build on that platform, focusing on our priorities of biosecurity, workforce, sustainability, and trade.
"The partnerships we have built, the listening we have done and the additional $2.3 billion in federal funding in the past year will support the sector as we continue to support it to reach its $100 billion goal."
Biosecurity
In our first year in office, we have delivered an historic sustainable funding model for biosecurity with permanent funding of $1.03 billion locked in. No previous government has ever delivered this game-changing funding and it begins a new era of biosecurity protection for Australia.
Importantly we have committed over $40 million for 65 Indigenous Ranger groups in a North Australian Coordination Network, a network that greatly increases our surveillance capabilities in the north and provides excellent opportunities for First Nations people.
We have also:
- Kept Australia free of Foot and Mouth Disease and Lumpy Skin Disease
- Delivered Australia's first National Biosecurity Strategy
- Created a joint taskforce with the National Emergency Management Agency, increased preparedness for exotic animal disease incursions
- Begun implementing a national traceability system for sheep and goats
- Delivered critical support to overseas partners to combat exotic animal and plant diseases
Sustainable production and climate adaptation
In our first year the Albanese Government has worked with our agriculture, fisheries and forestry sectors to become even more sustainable by:
- Investing $302 million through the Natural Heritage Trust to drive climate-smart agriculture practices and sustainable agricultural outcomes, in partnership with industry
- Investing a record $300 million in the forestry sector that will support the expansion of the plantation estate, modernise our timber manufacturing and increase its role in reducing Australia's emissions
- Investing $20 million to implement the National Soil Action Plan
- Committing over $38 million in ABARES for data and analytic capability to support the sector to face climate change
- Committing $29 million for the Methane Emissions Reduction in Livestock (MERiL) program and investing $8 million to advance seaweed farming-something that has potential to help reduce livestock emissions as a feed supplement
- Committing $20.3 million to the Carbon Farming Outreach program
- Joining the global community in its efforts to reduce emissions, including signing the Global Methane Pledge and the Forests and Climate Leaders Partnership
- Working with States and Territories to develop the first National Statement on Climate Change and Agriculture
Truly sustainable production and best practice means meeting high animal welfare standards expected by consumers and markets and that's why we have:
- Committed $4 million over four years to establish and Inspector-General of Animal Welfare and Live Animal Exports and introduced the legislation to establish this position
- Committed $5 million over four years to develop a renewed Australian Animal Welfare Strategy
- Appointed an independent four-person panel to provide advice to government on when and how the phase out of live sheep exports by sea should occur
Workforce
The agriculture, fisheries and forestry sectors provide excellent employment opportunities yet for many years industry has struggled to find the workforce it needs. We are providing support to attract, retain and protect that workforce, through:
- Bringing farm employers and unions and government together to collaborate and pursue immediate and long-term solutions for agriculture workforce issues
- Committing to a national labour hire licencing scheme to help protect labour hire workers from exploitation, by improving compliance with relevant laws
- Attracting record Pacific Australia Labour Mobility scheme worker numbers and the expansion of the scheme to metropolitan based businesses in meat, seafood, and fruit and vegetable processing
- Creating 13,200 fee-free TAFE and vocational education and training places for agriculture courses across Australia
Trade
The Australian-UK FTA came into force this providing massively expanded trade opportunities for Australian producers, exporters, and importers.
To improve agricultural trade, in the past year we have also:
- Gained, improved, and maintained access to 107 markets an increase worth a potential $5.47 billion
- Delivered market strategies for LSD and FMD safeguarding trade in an outbreak
- Progressed negotiations for the Australia-EU FTA
- Built on our trade relationship with India-a potentially huge market-through ratifying the Australia-India Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement
- Begun restoring trade with China, including recently resuming cotton and timber exports and progressing the removal of barley tariffs
- Provided $1.6m to progress mandatory country of origin labelling for seafood
In 12 months, we have achieved a lot working collaboratively with communities, industry, unions, states and territories. And we are only just getting started.
