Raff Ciccone (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to acknowledge National Agriculture Day, which occurred a couple of weeks ago on Thursday 21 November. Ag day, as it's better known, serves as an opportunity for all Australians, country and city, to celebrate our agriculture sector and the contribution that it makes to our economy and our community. There is no mistaking the fact that ag is big business in this country. Recent figures show that Australian agricultural exports total over $49 billion, making it one of our largest categories of exports. Whether it's beef, veal, mutton and lamb, wheat, canola or dairy, our agriculture industry is one that we can and should be very proud of, with consumers all over the world paying high premiums for Australian products. It's worth bearing in mind that the story of our agriculture sector is one that is quintessentially Australian. All of us in this place know how difficult it is to make a living off the land. We've heard of the difficulties facing farmers, from Sunraysia all the way to North Queensland and everywhere in between, as a result of the devastating drought. Yet our farmers persist, carving out a livelihood for themselves and their loved ones in the dust and pastures, powering our domestic economy ahead. They demonstrate each and every day, with hard work and determination, that, even in the face of overwhelming adversity, Australians can and do achieve great things.

Last month I had the opportunity to visit a number of farms throughout country South Australia as part of a committee that I'm a member of. I spoke with farmers directly about what more we in this place can do to support them and help their business to succeed. There is much more that we can do, such as providing meaningful and effective drought relief or access to both skilled and unskilled labour to meet the sector's ever-growing demands. We can do more in this place to help our farmers and we must continue to do so over the weeks, months and years ahead, not just to prevent the contraction of the sector and potential damage to our economy but to support the 319,000 Australians, in over 85,000 agriculture enterprises, who rely on the sector to make ends meet.

Before concluding this evening, I'd like to also take this opportunity to acknowledge the 600 personnel from the Victorian Country Fire Authority, the CFA, who have put their lives on the line in recent weeks and months to protect agricultural land in regional Victoria and to help those north of the Murray in New South Wales. Since the outbreak of fires in New South Wales, there has been no shortage of Victorian firefighters who have volunteered their time to travel north of the Murray, with many of them heading for the Hunter, one of Australia's largest agriculture regions. I want to place on the record that we in this place acknowledge them and their contribution. Their example to serve is an inspiration to all of us.