John Williams (NSW, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I seek leave to amend general business notice of motion No. 238.

Leave granted.

I, and also on behalf of Senators McKenzie, Canavan and O'Sullivan, move the motion as amended:

That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

(i) the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences has forecast the gross value of Australian farm production will increase by 8.3 per cent to a record $63.8 billion in 2016-17,

(ii) real net farm cash income is estimated to have been $25.7 billion in 2015-16, well above the 20-year average to 2014-15 of $15.6 billion,

(iii) farm cash income for Australian broadacre farms is projected to average $216 000 per farm in 2016-17 which is the highest recorded in the past 20 years,

(iv) new trade opportunities negotiated by the Coalition Government with China, Korea and Japan have boosted Australian farm exports which are projected to be $48.7 billion in 2017-18, and

(v) agriculture showed strong growth in the December quarter, contributing 0.2 per cent to the economy's overall 1.1 per cent growth for that period; and

(b) further notes that, with the right policy settings and programmes, agriculture still has massive potential to grow and deliver even better results as an economic powerhouse of the nation.