We were repeatedly told not to expect anything for horticulture in this budget, so we readied ourselves for no good news. What we didn't brace for was the sneaky way the government would go about funding biosecurity.
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Horticulture has long lobbied for an increase in biosecurity resources given the many risks looming which could shut down the industry overnight. But after years of lobbying on the basis that the originators of this risk fund it, the government has decided on a grower pays model.
Whoopee! Another grower pays model. What an amazing idea to ensure the future of food security - let's ask the people who grow the food and receive the least amount of the profit margin (think a potato vs a serve of hot chips) to pay for the increased risk that the importers of multiple products and others forge on the industry.
The budget announcement is just another foot in the grave for many growers who have been consistently dealing with increasing production costs.
The levy, collected from July 2024, is set at a rate equivalent to 10 per cent of the 2020-21 industry-led agricultural levies - money already collected from growers to fund research and development. How this money is collected and who makes the decisions as to its use is not yet understood.
The government spin on this was that the levy recognises the benefits that primary producers derive from Australia's biosecurity system, including detection, identification and response associated with invasive pests and diseases, maximising trade opportunities, and enhancing access to premium overseas markets.
While it may seem logical to some to push the burden of biosecurity costs onto the growers of food, it's important to consider the potential impacts that this could have on industry and consumers. Just how many more increases in production costs can growers absorb without passing huge increases onto consumers? Last time I checked with my family, food wasn't a luxury item.
We have never implied a sustainable solution to biosecurity would be easily found, however we have been very forthcoming with government to try to work together towards potential solutions.
The lack of understanding of our precarious food security situation is terrifying. If you keep kicking the industry that provides the foundation of all our meals, if you continue to make it harder for them to provide the nation the nutrients it needs, how long do you think it will be before you see great exits from those who just can't do it any more?
Forget the great resignation, the great starvation seems more and more a potential reality.
Come on Murray, you can do better than this.
