Growcom congratulates the Coalition on their election win and looks forward to working with the Government Members of Parliament on all sides of politics to ensure Queensland horticulture continues to be in the forefront of priorities post-election.
Top of the agenda is the review of the Backpacker Tax due in the next few weeks. We will be working hard to prove to the Government that it is a poor idea which has not been thought through properly with major consequences for our industry. We need the government to scrap the tax as a priority - or implement the well considered recommendations put to the Government before the election was called.
We will be calling on all Members of Parliament in Queensland horticultural areas for their support on this issue.
Second item of importance is the Review of the Modern Horticulture Award which is currently under way. Our thanks to growers who presented evidence to the Fair Work Commission’s hearings in Brisbane recently.
Politicians of all persuasions need to understand the need for flexibility in the labour arrangements in our industry where the needs of harvest and the transport of perishable commodities cannot be regulated under 9 to 5 working arrangements.
We also call on the federal government to implement all recommendations of the Horticulture Code of Conduct Review. We support continued investment in the ACCC Agriculture Unit and the provision of a strong enforcement framework for both the mandatory Horticulture Code and the voluntary Food and Grocery Code.
New biosecurity legislation is now in force both nationally and in this State which puts greater responsibility on farmers to improve biosecurity controls on farm.
We will be lobbying government to invest in assistance to industry to better transition to the shared responsibility paradigm by using such programs as Growcom’s Hort360, the industry’s first Best Management Practice program.
