Fiona Phillips (Gilmore, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I hazard a guess that there wouldn't be too many MPs opposite that would have a painting of a Friesian cow in their parliamentary office like I do, but, growing up on a dairy farm and being surrounded by literally thousands of Friesian dairy cows all my life, you could say I very much have a fondness for cows, dairy farmers and the community that supports them. In fact, I saw hundreds of dairy calves just yesterday when I dropped off my working Kelpie dog, Jip, to start his shift with my son.

After over half a century surrounded by dairy cattle, I've seen dairy farming change a lot. Dairy farmers have had to adapt to survive. But I have a saying: the smart farmers are adapting. Many have adapted to larger herds, some of gone to smaller herds and diversified into producing for gourmet cheeses. There is a thirst from the community for good local milk and milk products. People want to know where their milk comes from, how it is produced and that it's made in the most sustainable way, and the community want to support their local farmers. As I said, the smart farmers know this and have already been adapting.

They've also been adapting to reducing emissions, whether it's more solar, biofuels from manure, recycling effluent water and irrigating on their farm, and planting more trees. They've adapted to becoming more resilient to drought, bushfires, floods, storms, even a tornado and the next natural disaster that hits. Why? Because it's the right thing to do. It's the right thing for reducing emissions. It's the right thing for supporting the environment that has supported our farmers for generations. It makes good business sense for the ongoing viability of the farm.

So does it surprise me that Australia has joined with 122 other nations, including the United States, Canada, New Zealand and Germany, to reduce global methane emissions across all sectors by at least 30 per cent below 2020 levels by 2030? Not at all. In fact, it's a worldwide pledge, which does not mean that each country must meet the 30 per cent reduction; it's about global efforts to reducing emissions from methane. It is nonbinding, and individual countries are not assigned targets. In signing the pledge it will not include binding legislated methane targets and will not require reduced agricultural production or livestock numbers.

Farmer Tim says he doesn't want a methane tax. Well, Farmer Tim, I agree with you. We can have a pledge and meet our targets without a tax. In fact, we can use projects like the fab cow poo farm that Farmer Tim is a part of. Fabulous. Who needs a tax? Farmer Tim is all over it, even without all those red socialist jackets that Farmer Daniel doesn't like.

You see, I really do love our dairy farmers—the good bits, the odd bits and everything in between. The simple truth is the Australian livestock industry is already pushing ahead with a strong emissions reduction agenda, including the use of feed supplements, investment into sustainable agricultural practices, improved livestock and manure management practices, and breeding lower emissions animals. Who'd have thought? Even the National Farmers Federation have said:

Signing the pledge signals Australia's voluntary commitment to participation in global action on methane emissions.

For agriculture it will reinforce our demonstrated commitment to sustainability and ongoing access to key markets as an export orientated sector.

And a joint statement announced by the Australian Livestock Exporters Council, the Australian Lot Feeders Association, the Australian Meat Industry Council, the Cattle Council of Australia, the Goat Industry Council of Australia, Sheep Producers Australia and the Red Meat Advisory Council says:

Today's announcement shows the government has listened to our concerns and recognises the Australian red meat and livestock industry is proactively addressing emissions and is well advanced in achieving its CN30 target. Industry's net emissions have reduced by almost 60% since 2005, representing by far the greatest reduction by any sector of Australia's economy.

With the right policy settings and ongoing research investment, our industry can be at the forefront of the climate solution.

Since coming to government, the minister has worked with industry and farmer groups to progress signing this pledge. Our farmers have been at the forefront of action on climate change, and I want to thank them for that. We will continue to reduce methane in the agricultural sector through technology innovation incentives and partnerships with farmers. I have always supported local farmers and I always will.

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