LABOR has released its agriculture policy for the 2016 federal election focussing on sustainable profitability.
But Agriculture and Water Resources Minister Barnaby Joyce says the Opposition’s commitment to review agricultural research and development levy arrangements if elected will “send a chill down the spine of all in the sector”.
The 2016 policy document says an elected Labor government would review the work and funding arrangements of agriculture based R&D institutions to ensure they’re operating efficiently, focusing on productivity and delivering value for money.
“Our performance in research and development has been strong but less impressive in extension and innovation,” it said.
“In particular, there is scope for a greater allocation of resources to cross-sectoral work where more than one commodity group is the beneficiary.”
Shadow Agriculture Minister Joel Fitzgibbon released the policy along with former Labor minister and current Eden-Monaro candidate Mike Kelly who’s seeking re-election at Saturday’s poll.
“Since coming to office the Abbott-Turnbull government has failed the agriculture sector and regional communities by giving priority to spin over policy substance,” the statement said from Mr Fitzgibbon and Mr Kelly.
“Australia prospers when our regions prosper.
“From cattle farms and wineries to wool, wheat and minerals, regional Australia generates a significant part of Australia’s wealth.
“Labor will put productivity and sustainable profitability front-and-centre in our determination to see regional Australia thrive and our agricultural industries grow into the future.”
Mr Joyce said the Coalition government would provide more than $260 million in matching funding for agricultural R&D this year and the Opposition’s review of ag-levy funding arrangements was code for “Labor wanting to either slash funding or almost as bad, exercise political control over how and on what projects the funding can be used”.
He said when Labor was last in office they “took the axe” to the Agriculture Department, abolished Land and Water Australia and imposed a “job-destroying carbon tax”.
Mr Joyce said there was no need for another review of funding for agricultural R&D corporations.
“Labor’s new call for a review will send a chill down the spine of all in the sector,” he said.
“Industry well remembers that when Labor was last in office it had the Productivity Commission undertake a major inquiry into the sector and that report recommended Labor cut Commonwealth matching funds by 50 per cent.
“It was only through the work of the Coalition that R&D matching funds were not cut further by Labor at the time.
“Labor was also told very clearly by farmers across the country to keep their grubby hands off industry R&D funds.”
Mr Joyce said the Coalition was strongly committed to the system of matching funding for agricultural R&D levies in knowing farm productivity and profitability was driven by R&D innovation.
“Labor is in such a desperate budgetary position they will raid money from any source including agricultural research to fund its election commitments,” he said.
“Once again, the Coalition will fight tooth and nail to stop any attempt by the Labor-Greens-Independent alliance to cut agricultural R&D matching funds or impose political restrictions on use of levy funds.”
In releasing the policy at a media conference yesterday, Mr Fitzgibbon said the agriculture, fisheries and forestry sectors all faced enormous opportunities – particularly given the high growth of demand in Asia – but also significant challenges in being, “effectively at a crossroads.
“They can take (Agriculture and Water Resources Minister) Barnaby Joyce’s business-as-usual approach to moderate success or they can join Labor on a road to high value and sustainable profitability,” he said.
“Many of our sectors of course face big challenges – the dairy sector amongst them – and we need to recognise that doing things the way that we’ve always done them won’t take us on that road to sustainable profitability.”
Mr Fitzgibbon said Labor acknowledged that the private sector and individual enterprise led to success in the food and fibre sectors but, “we do believe government has a role in both supporting the sectors but also providing strategic leadership”.
“We do believe that these opportunities will be best taken if we concentrate on value add, if we concentrate on the research and innovation efforts that are required to take us to new opportunities and if we become more serious about the challenges ahead including those challenges which are posed by a changing climate,” he said.
Asked about Labor’s policy commitment to climate change and sustainability in farming, Mr Fitzgibbon said “obviously its takes a greater research and development effort” and “obviously money is scarce”.
“In the lead up to the last election we had a mechanism for funding very significant programs like Caring for Country and the Carbon Farming Initiative,” he said.
“We still believe those programs are important but research and development will be important to lowering the cost of government’s contribution to these programs but we do know one thing, we’ve got to make farming both profitable and sustainable and in a changing climate we won’t do that without a greater effort.
“That’s one of the reasons we are restoring the funding to the CSIRO for example which will play such a critical role in making sure those costs come down.”
Labor’s policy document only mentions CSIRO once on the back of its Food, Fibre and Advanced Materials Modernisation Grants program of $54.2 million over four years.
The program offers flexible grants of up to $5 million on a matched funding basis
“Along with this targeted measure, Labor will continue to build industry and research linkages and ensure Australia’s world-class scientific research infrastructure is deployed to best effect to grow local jobs and investment in these critical industries, utilising the formidable strengths of the CSIRO, our universities and the Cooperative Research Centres program,” the document said.
Mr Joyce said the document released by Labor yesterday wasn’t an agriculture policy but “a grab-bag of anything they have announced outside of the capital cities”.
“Labor has cobbled together a few of its statements on climate, manufacturing, education and roads, added a sprinkling of rural and called it an ag policy,” he said.
“Labor has repeated their plans to impose additional native vegetation red-tape on farmers, put political appointees in charge of national animal welfare policy and remove Foreign Investment Review Board scrutiny of foreign purchases of farmland under $50 million.”
Mr Joyce said Labor had failed to commit to; maintaining the Coalition’s $190m R&D for Profit program; a new Country of Origin Labelling system; drought concessional loans and a long term approach to drought policy; and expand the rural R&D system by supporting a thoroughbred industry levy.
Mr Fitzgibbon’s office did not respond to an interview request from Fairfax Agricultural Media to discuss the Opposition’s farm policy proposal.