Lisa Chesters (Bendigo, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Workplace Relations) Share this | Hansard source

At the beginning of my remarks on the Farm Household Support Amendment Bill 2018 I want to correct the record on something that the member for Murray said in relation to Labor's approach to the Murray-Darling Basin and our history on reaching a bipartisan approach to the management of the Murray-Darling. It was a former Labor government that ended the water wars, the dispute between the states, and that brought the states together and actually implemented the Murray-Darling Basin Plan. You can tell that the member for Murray didn't actually live in the electorate of Murray during the water wars and the crisis, because he would have remembered that the Murray was actually dry. Farmers didn't actually have access to the water he stood up and said that Labor stole from his farmers. We all accept that he was involved in football and was off playing or coaching AFL, but he shouldn't stand up here and mislead the House and say that it was Labor who stole the water off the farmers during that millennium drought when there was no water. The Murray was dry. It was that crisis that triggered Labor to work with the states to reach a bipartisan position to end the water wars and restore the health of the Murray.

The health of the Murray is critical to farmers. We know that. We understand that. Labor continue to work with agricultural industries and communities on ensuring that: the next generation of farmers, and the generation after, have access to water for agriculture over the long term; our environment has the water it needs to regenerate; all states have their fair share; and, most importantly, the Murray-Darling system is healthy.

That's not the only area where the government is failing agriculture and our farmers. They've become known as the government that likes to talk, to meet and to tinker around the edges. They're also a government that likes to smash things and blow things up in some ways, and we've seen that countless times from this government in agriculture. In the area of labour this government is failing to ensure farmers have not just a seasonal workforce but a skilled workforce, ready to plant and harvest crops in the regions, so that the agricultural industry continues to be viable.

Labour is one of the big issues raised with me by farm organisations throughout this country. Only this afternoon I met with Voice of Horticulture, who are furious and frustrated with this government for its failure to crack down on migrant worker exploitation and, more importantly, close existing tax loopholes that allow these dodgy firms to thrive. We talked about the need to restrict access to ABNs. This is part of Labor Party policy. If we stopped international students and backpackers from accessing ABNs then they would be less likely to be exploited or to start a labour-hire business and exploit other people here on temporary arrangements. It's becoming less rare that Voice of Horticulture stand side by side with Labor on a policy announcement, yet nobody in the government says that is possible to do or believes there is a need to do it.

When it comes to labour, the government is also failing to ensure our TAFEs in the regions have courses that meet the needs of farmers and the agricultural industry. TAFEs throughout the regions have been gutted. That has been driven by the massive funding cuts state and federal Liberal governments have imposed on the vocational education and training sector. That has left a skills gap in the regions, and more and more farmers in our agricultural industry are looking to 457 visa holders and backpackers to fill those gaps. They say to me on a regular basis that, if a local were available, they would hire a local. They want people to live and work in the regions, but local workers simply don't have the skills to do so. That is such a shame when we look at the youth unemployment rate, which is at 19 or 20 per cent in some of these regional areas. We have the young people; we just need to give them the skills and the opportunities and to match them to existing farming and agricultural jobs.

This government is also failing to support farmers and the agricultural sector when it comes to innovation. A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to meet with strawberry farmers in South-East Queensland who, off their own bat, have decided to introduce tabletop strawberry farming, where it's off the ground. They're among the first to do this in Australia. That means they're using fewer chemicals to keep pests off their crops. It also means that, because they are now off the ground, they are more water efficient and have higher yields.

If you're in Coles and see Taste 'N See strawberries, pick them up, because they are an example of innovation within the strawberry industry. This government did nothing to support them in doing that. These growers, knowing that there would be a change in the chemicals that they could use, got in front. They wanted to increase their yield, but they knew that the quality of their soil was such that it would really start to diminish the returns on their crops. They had to go to the banks and argue for finance to introduce this new capital, this new farming technology—and they're glad they did so. They're hoping to get a return on that capital. They're also employers. As farmers, they directly employ all of their staff. That's another reason why you should buy their strawberries. They are not alone when it comes to saying that too often this government is looking backwards, sticking on bandaids, only moving a few steps forward, being reactionary and not out there driving the innovation, the productivity and the investment in our agricultural industries.

When it comes to exports, this government is failing. For all of its championing of the free trade agreement—oops, it forgot about the non-tariff barriers, which are killing our agricultural industries when it comes to exports. It doesn't matter whether it's wine, which is a big part of my world, or it's our horticultural produce or it's our red-meat exports, non-tariff barriers are blocking our ability to expand export markets and therefore expand farm gate prices.

This government is also failing farmers and agricultural industries when it comes to climate change. Our farmers recognise that our climate is changing. You hear every day and you learn every day about the amazing innovative projects that our farmers are embracing in a whole range of areas to improve their productivity and water efficiency to adapt to climate change. Whether it be greater use of the NBN and mobile technology or it be improving their cropping and crop rotations, our farmers get that the climate is changing. They want to continue to be productive and profitable on the land, and so they want to see innovation, partnership, coordination and leadership from the government in this space.

The reason why I mention climate change is that it is linked to drought. This is where we get to talk about how this government has spectacularly failed on drought mitigation and drought reform. Under Labor, there was an approach through COAG where we brought the states together to say that we need to start investing and delivering long-term drought policy. We said: 'Let's actually do the research. Let's actually look at what we are farming. How can we farm better? How can we droughtproof our industries going forward? How can we mitigate the effects of drought?' When this government came into office, it did a classic thing and abolished that entire approach. It has not been picked up since Labor was last in government. It is not being dealt with. In fact, the government has just shelved it. People in the government don't even believe in climate change, let alone believe in tackling the effects that climate change is having on drought.

When it comes to the farm household assistance legislation before us, the government is, as with so many approaches that it takes, literally just tinkering at the edges. I remember when this legislation was first introduced. We used to have a rural financial counselling service in my electorate of Bendigo—before this government abolished it and sacked all of those people—and, shortly after this legislation was introduced, they came to me and said: 'We're meeting with farmers, and they're really frustrated because they're not meeting the criteria. The criteria are too rigid, and they're struggling to get the paperwork forms approved by Centrelink in the period of time before they would have to start the paperwork all over again.' It took many of them almost 12 months to get access to the loans. All of us might remember how the minister at the time had to come in here and correct his answer, and then he corrected the Hansard, because of comments that he had made in relation to this. It is an issue where the government has really dropped the ball. Yes, I'm sure farmers will welcome an extra year when it comes to the farm household support; however, it's not enough. It's not a long-term solution. It's not an ongoing solution. It doesn't really work with people to resolve the broader problems and challenges that we're facing in horticulture, in agriculture and in our farming industries.

The previous speaker and other members have spoken about concessional loans. I've never met a farmer yet who wants to take on more debt if they're drowning in debt. Most of them are saying, 'We've got to do better than this.' Farmers who are doing well, who innovate, might be willing to risk extra debt because they can see light at the end of the tunnel. But, if you're already drowning under a mountain of debt and if you've already got the banks coming after you, more debt is not what you're interested in. While we're talking about debt, we also need to remind the House about the disaster which is the government's newest creation: the Regional Investment Corporation, which we think will be in Bathurst; they don't quite have an office yet. Media reports are that they were meeting on a park bench to talk about their organisation starting. I'm not quite sure we want financial decisions from an investment corporation meeting in a park or on a park bench, particularly given that we have Rural Finance based in Victoria now managed by the Bendigo Bank, a sound financial institution that has been doing this kind of work for many years here in Australia. This is who the government wants to take work away from—the Bendigo Bank and Rural Finance—and give it to the Regional Investment Corporation, which at the moment doesn't have an office and which is meeting on a park bench. This is another example of just how hopeless this government is when it comes to the agricultural industry. Whether it be farm household assistance loans, whether it be in relation to financing, whether it be policy around labour hire, whether it be policy and implementation on the Murray-Darling Basin Plan, whether it be around innovation and embracing innovation in our farm industries or whether it be about abolishing or working to abolish non-tariff barriers or about climate change, this government is really failing to support Australian farmers in our agricultural industries.

The amendment that has been moved by the member for Hunter allows people on this side to call the government out for its rhetoric. The government has to do more than just extend a welfare payment from three years to four years. Our farmers want to be innovative. They want to exist into the future. They need a government that will work with them and provide leadership, not just more tinkering at the edges.

See this speech in context