By GrainGrowers Chair, Rhys Turton
This week, as political pundits pour over what went right and what went wrong in the campaigning process, GrainGrowers is preparing to get back to advocating strongly on issues impacting growers once again. For all the election discussions and commitments, the hard work starts again, and it starts now. The task in front of GrainGrowers is to actively engage and ensure our voice is heard.
Over the course of the election, it has been pleasing to see that many of the election asks outlined in Grains for Growth: Investing in Australia's Agricultural Future have been met by the various sides of politics.
Across the three pillars, commitments were made on the following:
1. Making stronger grain regions
- Commitments by both major parties to increase supply side funding and government intervention to address market failures in the delivery of quality Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) in regional Australia.
- Coalition commitment to dedicated investment in regional housing projects to support the growth of farming communities and workforce.
- Labor committing to the Universal Outdoor Mobile Obligation to bridge mobile telecommunications blackspots.
- Coalition commitment to a $20b Regional Australia Future Fund to improve health, childcare and infrastructure inequalities.
2. Supply chains
- Coalition commitments to increase road, bridge funding and infrastructure commitments.
3. Climate change initiatives that help growers thrive
- Commitments by Labor to strategically examine the potential to grow a biofuels feedstock industry to support Australia’s transition to net zero.
And while those commitments were welcomed, now that the election has been run and won, we need to keep having those conversations that can turn political commitments into practical reality.
Over the past few years the Government has repeatedly told us election commitments must be honoured. Our expectation now is that this will apply to the promises made to agriculture during this election campaign.
At an industry level, the challenges of rising operational and input costs continue to impact our long-term financial viability. At a political and government level, we need to convince policymakers that the correct strategic settings, combined with appropriate government investment, can enhance our productivity, drive economic growth and help build a sustainable future.
Now that the election is over, the hard work begins. As an industry representative body, we look forward to continuing to work collaboratively with government and decision-makers to position our industry to effectively tackle future challenges.
Ends