Dan Repacholi (Hunter, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Kennedy for bringing forward this private member's business on this very important issue in my electorate. I must point out the first sentence in this motion, where it says:

(1) calls on the Government to provide for agricultural security in Australia particularly given recent dramatic increases in the cost of production as a result of dislocations in imports and Australia continuing to be a net importer of fruit and vegetables …

This is not factually correct. We are a net exporter of fruit and veg. But I digress.

In response to the current threats, the Albanese government has deployed the strongest ever response to a biosecurity threat to our border. We've supported our Indo-Pacific neighbours, toughened our legislation, stress-tested our preparedness and aligned ourselves carefully with state and territory partners in the nation's first National Biosecurity Strategy. It's worth repeating that Australia remains both foot-and-mouth-disease free and lumpy skin disease free.

The last few months have illustrated the need for a biosecurity system which is up to the contemporary challenges we face today. To that end, I'm pleased to say that Senator Murray Watt, the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, has made the centrepiece of our agriculture budget an investment of $134.1 million to bolster Australian biosecurity systems against the immediate threat of disease. This includes more money for frontline biosecurity officers and more money for detector dogs that will help with getting the cargo moving whilst protecting Australia's biosecurity. But there's always more to do.

In my electorate in the Hunter Valley, we have a very diverse agriculture sector, from viticulture, fruit and veg to dairy and, of course, the meat industry. Every day that I'm out speaking with our farmers and growers, the common theme I hear is the lack of workers. The Albanese Labor government is committed to working with and supporting our agriculture sector to access the workers it needs. To tackle those workforce challenges, this government is undertaking a range of measures in collaboration with state and territory governments and with industry and unions. The three-way Agricultural Workforce Working Group, comprising government, unions and industry members, has been established to pursue solutions to better skill, attract, protect and retain workers in the agriculture and processing sector.

This government is also implementing a number of whole-of-economy measures to address workforce needs. These include increasing the permanent migration program ceiling to 195,000 in 2022-23, including 34,000 places specifically for regional visas within the skills stream. We are also providing an additional $42.2 million for Home Affairs to address the visa backlog, with more than two million visas already having been processed since June 2022. We are partnering with state and territory governments in delivering 465,000 new fee-free TAFE places, with 180,000 of those to be delivered next year. Our agriculture sector has been prioritised under this measure, meaning more Australians are supported to take up a career in agriculture. We are undertaking a comprehensive review of the purpose, structure and objectives of Australia's migration system to ensure it meets the challenges of the coming decade.

The government also continues to implement a range of measures under the AgATTRACT and AgFAIR initiatives, which will support the sector to enhance and attract skilling and retention in the sector. This includes a structured employment pilot to offer young Australians the opportunity to try working in the agriculture sector as a gap year. In addition, the Australian government's Pacific Australia Labour Mobility, or PALM, scheme is a key program for meeting unskilled, low skilled and semiskilled workforce shortages in rural and regional Australia, including in the agriculture and meat-processing sectors. The scheme grew significantly during the pandemic, to 31,500 workers as of 31 October this year, which is a record number of PALM workers in Australia. Over 95 per cent of PALM workers in Australia are working in the agriculture and meat sectors. The government has committed to improving and expanding this scheme, with $67.5 million invested in the last budget.

As I said before, there is always more to do, and this government won't waste a single day in office. We are getting on with the job we were elected to do. I thank my mate the member for Kennedy for bringing this motion to the House. (Time expired)

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