Mark Coulton (Parkes, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the Research and Development Legislation Amendment Bill 2014. I cannot commence without commenting on the previous speaker and, indeed, the speech before from the shadow minister. While I found the first part of member for Brand's speech quite interesting, as I always do, it did really run off the reservation in the last few minutes. For the first six years that I had this place in parliament, as a member of a rural seat, I was knocking on the door of successive ministers for agriculture in the Labor government. The frustration that I felt from the disengagement of the previous Labor government of the agriculture sector was palatable.

I saw the frustration of my constituents who are involved in agriculture as they watched the previous government disband drought policy and destroy the live cattle trade. They saw that the only way of obtaining funds from the federal Labor government was if it was something through their ideology. That is, if it was anything to do with climate change. That might have got a look in from the Minister for Agriculture. But other than that, they were not interested. Indeed, we speak about the last government possibly being the worst government in Australia's history. Certainly, the last couple of agricultural ministers have been very, very ordinary and invisible in many cases. While the shadow minister now is making a valiant effort to make a lot of noise about agriculture, I fear that he is making up for six years of lost ground and really would not have any support within his party.

Australian farmers are amongst the most competitive and innovative in the world. The competitiveness is drawn from a number of factors, but a key contributor to this competitiveness is the annual continual innovation in the sector brought by research and development. Research and development is important, as it allows primary producers to produce more with less to improve the operational efficiency. This contributes to greater profits and a better return for farm-gate producers. As I stand here today, in the northern part of New South Wales and in the electorate of Parkes, farmers harvesting crops on one of the lowest rainfall years on record. They are growing crops that their fathers or grandfathers would not have been able to grow; that is because of innovation in research and because of the advent of zero till, spraying crop weeds out, conserving moisture, innovation in machinery with disc planters and the like has meant that farmers are harvesting viable crops, whereas in previous years they would not have.

Agricultural research and development has always provided to dividends for Australian farmers in the broader economy. One only has to look back on examples such as William Farrer's rust-proof wheat, which allowed the development and expansion of the Australian wheat industry, or the continual development of quality merino wool, which has allowed for the development of a high-quality, high-premium industry. It has been developments such as these that have put Australian agriculture in such a competitive place. Continual investment is needed in order to remain in this place.

Investment in agricultural research and development is also important due to its value for money. On average, farmers generate a $12 return for every dollar invested over a 10 year period. This means that for any money that is spent on research and development the government and public is guaranteed a return on this investment almost immediately. It is for this reason that the government investment provides resources for this critical sector. The Australian government invests extensively in research and development. This financial year alone, $700 million will be spent on this sector.

There has been a lot of talk today about the $7 million of cuts that have had to be made. Keep that in context. There is $700 million that will be spent in this sector. The reason that those cuts have had to be made is because they have had to be made across the board in every sector. Certainly, no minister wants to have to find savings in their portfolio, but the Minister for Agriculture has done his duty—as have other ministers—to make these savings while having the most minimal effect as possible. I have got to say, the farming sector over the last six or seven years has watched billions of dollars squandered down at their local schools for classrooms or halls that were not needed and has watched pink batts put in houses in an inefficient manner. One of the great frustrations for the people in my electorate has been watching the Labor Party squander taxpayers' funds. The Australian people know that without a balanced budget it is not possible to continue to provide the necessary support to industry.

The rural research and development corporations provide mechanisms for farmers and fishers to invest collectively in services that will contribute positively back to their industry and their operations. Through the collection of statutory levies, which are matched in funding by the federal government, primary producers are encouraged to invest in their own industry. This industry self-investment shows the positive culture of innovation in Australian farming. It is this culture that has contributed to Australian agriculture's international success and it is through continuing government investment in this sector that this culture can be maintained and expanded.

The government has also committed an extra $100 million in funding, starting next year, for these rural research and development corporations. This is delivering on the coalition's 2013 election commitment to improve the level of funding for this important sector. This funding boost will be directed by the rural research and development corporations towards projects that increase the profitability and productivity of primary industries, increase the value of primary products, strengthen the ability of primary producers to adapt to opportunities and threats, strengthen on-farm adoption and improve information flows. These projects are needed to further contribute to farm productivity and profitability. This funding could be used to address, for example, wild animal control or better mechanisms to control wild blackberries and other pests. Such projects are crucial in an increasingly competitive export environment where innovation is needed to diversify Australian agricultural products from those of their foreign competitors. It is through innovation that markets are created, it is through innovation that profits are created and it is through innovation that returns at the farm gate are increased.

This bill also reduces the level of red tape imposed on the research and development sector. It standardises the reporting requirements for the research and development corporations. For instance, the Australian Meat and Live-stock Industry Act is amended to remove the tabling requirement for the funding agreement, and variations to the funding agreement, between the Commonwealth and the Australian Livestock Export Corporation, as well as for the annual report and the compliance report of the Australian Livestock Export Corporation. This reduces the costs associated with compliance. The affected research and development corporations will be able to invest these savings back into research. It will allow the affected rural research and development corporations to shift their organisational focus away from overbearing government compliance and back towards research. In order to meet the future needs and wants of Australian agricultural markets, the time of these research organisations must be efficiently and effectively focused on research. This can be done while preserving the quality of oversight and the accountability of the research and development sector to primary producers and to the public in general.

This bill eliminates the requirement for the rural research and development corporations to hold an annual meeting. There are already a number of other channels through which coordination can be and is performed, so an annual meeting is not needed. The meeting only involves five of the 15 rural research and development corporations and its removal will not affect coordination outcomes. This change will also reduce the organisational time directed towards the meeting, allowing research organisations to refocus their energy on research. It is important to the future effectiveness of these organisations and the future competitiveness of Australian agriculture that as much organisational energy as possible is focused on research and innovation.

There has been a lot of negativity from the opposition about the cuts in the bill. But we now have a government that is focused on agriculture. We now have a government that recognises agriculture as one of the pillars of our economy. The Minister for Agriculture is developing a white paper which will give us, for the first time in years, a clear direction for Australian agriculture. Over 700 people have contributed to the process so far, and that consultation is ongoing. We now have a government that understands that the future of this country, in the long term, is reliant on the viability of the agriculture sector. It will not do our agriculture sector or any other sector any good if we ignore our financial responsibilities—our responsibility, as a government, to get the budget back in order.

The great frustration, not only with the debate on this bill but with many debates in this place over the last 12 months, is the great disconnect on that side of the House. They do not seem to believe there is any need to show any financial responsibility. There seems to be no understanding—I suppose it comes from their lack of experience in the real world of business—that things have to be paid for. This bill goes a small way towards addressing that problem and I support it. Research is vitally important.

I will just touch on the fact that the shadow minister had a go at the government about decentralisation, saying what a bad thing it was to remove public servants from the cities and put them in regional areas. The shadow minister lives at Maitland. That is the outer Barcoo as far as the Labor Party is concerned. The idea that anything of any significance could go on outside the capital cities is foreign to the Labor Party. Decentralisation is a very valid idea and the minister is certainly on the right track. I am horrified at the hypocrisy of the Labor Party trying to rewrite the last six years of Labor mismanagement. This bill has my full support.

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