Sharkie gives NXT farm policy logical bite

“I always come from a position of evidence and not ideology and that’s how all four of us in the NXT operate,” she said.

“One thing that really sticks us together like glue is that we don’t come from a left or right ideology or have pre-conceived positions really, on any piece of legislation that comes before the house.

“We always say we’ll read the legislation and then we’ll form our position and we’ll do the same in any area concerning Australian agriculture.”

Ms Sharkie is the NXT’s only House of Representatives member, having defeated Jamie Briggs for the SA rural seat of Mayo at last year’s federal election.

She overcame great odds to surpass the Liberal’s 12 per cent majority, as an appetite of change swept throughout the electorate.

That compelling mood also saw the NXT win two new Senators from SA at the double-dissolution poll, in addition to the party’s experienced and charismatic leader Nick Xenophon, to give them a powerful voting position on the Senate crossbench.

Prior to politics, Ms Sharkie worked for state and federal politicians from the conservative side of politics – including six months for Mr Briggs as an electorate officer.

But it was an encounter with Senator Xenophon in filling her role as the National Executive Officer for Youth Connections lobbying for its survival that eventually led to her upset election.

The experienced independent Senator helped to put her in front of a Senate Select Committee inquiry into the 2014 federal budget which included interrogating the merits of tough fiscal measures like putting the Youth Connections program - which gave support young people disengaged from education - on the chopping block.

Ms Sharkie said after talking to Senator Xenophon and offering her help as gratitude for his support, they started talking about her future and from there she joined a lengthy candidate selection process that saw her eventually selected for Mayo.

Given the Liberals had a 12pc safe margin in the regional seat in the Adelaide Hills, she dare not contemplate winning but doorknocked the electorate in hope and continued meeting voters who repeatedly expressed a growing desire for change.

“It was a very safe seat so I didn’t really think about winning – I just thought about all of the people I’d talked to who said, ‘We wish there was someone else we could vote for; my vote doesn’t really count’,” she said.

“So I mortgaged the house and quit my job to run and had a go.

“I knew I really, really wanted to win and didn’t think about what life would be like if I did win but had a very positive mind-set and knew I had to make the most of every day.

“Every time I had a spare hour I’d go and knock on someone’s door.”

The English-born MP also has a legal background and lives in the small town of Birdwood in the Adelaide Hills and prior to that spent time working on her own 50 acre farm running a modest beef and dairy operation with some sheep.

She asked to take on the agriculture role for the NXT in the current parliament due to her farming background but also because her local area contains a diverse food production region, including horticulture.

“Where I live I’m surrounded by dairy farmers and you see them out every morning and every night - 365 days a year - and they work really hard,” she said.

While Senator Xenophon has expressed firm views in the past on Genetically Modified (GM) crops, live exports, and Free Trade Agreements (FTA’s), Ms Sharkie said she was open to persuasion but expressed similar preliminary views, to her party leader.

She said live export had not been raised as an issue recently, but believed the industry had to be very well regulated to protect animal welfare standards.

And as Asia develops more – including increased refrigeration capacity to consumers – she said she’d like to see increased meat processing in Australia.

“I’m not either for or against,” she said of live exports.

“I realise that it has to happen and I realise there have been horrific cases of abuse so we need to ensure it’s a highly regulated industry.

“But I think we need to work on a way of transitioning so we’re processing as many of our animals as possible onshore and shipping off the chilled produce across the world.

“Every time an animal is processed here it’s more work here for more Australians.”

Ms Sharkie said she was unsure if she would support a blanket ban on the trade, if that issue was ever raised.

“I think you’d need to look at what’s going on in each individual country and examine what’s going on,” she said.

“The Australian government - whether it has been Liberals in government or Labor in government - have been very quick to act when they’ve identified any areas of concern with animal abuse.”

Ms Sharkie said she didn’t believe Senator Xenophon was protectionist on trade - but NXT’s policy view was that FTA’s had to ensure “a fair deal for Australia – and that’s my premise”.

“We’ve got to make sure that the deal suits Australia,” she said.

“We’ve had a number of trade deals in recent years but our balance of trade has gone in the wrong direction.

“You can have all of the FTA’s in the world but if you have non-tariff barriers around biosecurity, it makes it really challenging (especially for horticulture produce).

“Every FTA needs to look at all industries but I am keen to support all of my farmers to ensure their doors are open to Asia.

“We know that there will be 10 billion people on the planet by 2050 and five billion of them will be living to our north in Asia so there’s a huge opportunity.”

But on GM crops, Ms Sharkie admitted she didn’t have enough information to form a firm view currently but was in ongoing talks with those for and against the technology’s use and willing to learn more.

“SA has a moratorium and I think that’s a good thing,” she said.

“I have presented at forums in relation to people who are anti-GM cropping but have also met with grains industry groups who are pro-GM cropping and I can understand their position too.

“I’ve not yet formulated a view of where we go from this point forward but I think the SA government will probably extend the moratorium.”

Ms Sharkie said the “great challenge” was if a farmer wanted to grow food GM-free and their neighbour wanted to use GM products, “you really have no control over their products coming onto your land”.

“I’m keen to do a lot more research in this area,” she said while comparing biosecurity risks like white spot disease on prawns and the spread of weeds, to the risks of using GM products.

“It’s not an area that I’ve spent a huge amount of time looking at but I can see it’s something that I need to get my head around, in the next few months.”

Ms Sharkie said SA farmers were saying they can gain much higher yields by accessing GM crops but others have said being GM free is also "a really good thing”.

“It’s a really hard balancing act,” she said.

“I’d like to also see better labelling laws on GM products because if a consumer can see what’s a GM product and what’s GM free that will provide greater certainty.”

Last week, a Productivity Commission report into agricultural red and green tape recommended the SA, NSW, Tasmanian and ACG governments should remove their moratoria prohibitions on GM crops.

It said all state and territory governments should also repeal the legislation that imposes or gives them powers to impose moratoria on genetically modified organisms by 2018.

“The removal of the moratoria and repeal of the relevant legislation should be accompanied by coordinated communication strategies designed to increase public knowledge about the benefits and risks to the Australian community from genetic modification technologies,” it said.

“The Australian, state and territory governments, the Office of the Gene Technology Regulator (OGTR) and Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) should actively coordinate their communication strategies.”

The report found there was no economic or health and safety justification for banning approved GM organisms.

It said the OGTR and FSANZ assess GM organisms and foods for their effect on health, safety and the environment and “Scientific evidence indicates that GM organisms and foods approved by the OGTR and FSANZ are no less safe than their non-GM counterparts”.

“The successful coexistence of GM and non-GM crops is possible and has been demonstrated both in Australia and overseas,” it said.

“This means that if there are any market access or trade benefits - including price premiums for non-GM products - they would be achieved regardless of whether GM crops are in the market.”