Eric Hutchinson (Lyons, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) recognises that:

(a) the Coalition's Economic Growth Plan for Tasmania dated 15 August 2013, committed the Government to creating a Tasmanian Fruit and Vegetable Industry Taskforce focusing on the growth of the fruit and vegetable sectors in Tasmania;

(b) the Taskforce will develop an industry-led plan to promote competitiveness, investment and jobs growth in these sectors; and

(c) the terms of reference prescribing the scope of the Taskforce included reviewing existing work, drawing conclusions and developing a unified and agreed plan for the Tasmanian fruit and vegetable industries to:

  (i) increase grower returns and reduce their costs;

  (ii) increase competitiveness, investment and jobs growth across the supply chain; and

  (iii) develop domestic and export markets;

(2) acknowledges:

(a) the vital importance of the agriculture sector to Tasmania, and for all Tasmanians;

(b) that Tasmania is an important producer of fruit and vegetables, mainly potatoes, onions, carrots, cherries and other stone fruit, pomefruit and berries;

(c) that in 2011-12, the gross value production of fruit and nuts in Tasmania was $100.8 million, vegetables $213.4 million, and nursery production (nurseries, cut flowers and cultivated turf) $28.4 million, with Tasmania also being an important producer of the special poppy and pyrethrum crops;

(d) that in contrast to other states, exporting and direct sales to processors are the predominant sales channels for fresh produce, for example:

  (i) in 2011-12, an estimated 70 per cent of Tasmanian vegetable growers sold their produce directly to a processor (this includes the manufacturing of canned, bottled, preserved, quick frozen or dried vegetable products, dehydrated vegetable products, soups, sauces, pickles and mixed meat and vegetable cereal products, processing and packaging of fresh salads and pan-ready vegetables, as well as bulk packaged and cleaned vegetables); and

  (ii) approximately 10 per cent for export, which compares with the national average of 26 per cent and 4 per cent, respectively;

(e) that in 2011-12 only 5 per cent of Tasmanian vegetable farms reported selling direct to state capital wholesale, compared to the national average of 62 per cent;

(f) that Tasmania exports significant volumes of onions and cherries, for example:

  (i) in the 12 months to June 2013, it exported $44 million of fresh fruit and vegetables, 6.7 per cent of the total value of national exports of fresh fruit and vegetables, and of this, 98 per cent of the fruit were cherries and 94 per cent of the vegetables were onions,

  (ii) Tasmania accounted for 52 per cent of all cherries and 86 per cent of all onions exported from Australia in 2012-13; and

  (iii) in 2012 the Australian exports of fresh onions and fresh cherries accounted for 0.9 per cent and 0.4 per cent, respectively, of global exports of these products;

(g) that an independent assessment of the economic development potential of sectors of the Tasmanian economy found that the wine, dairy and aquaculture sectors had the greatest economic development potential;

(h) that horticulture also presents opportunities for growth in employment, though not as great as those in the wine, dairy and aquaculture sectors;

(i) that the challenges and opportunities faced by Tasmania's fruit and vegetable industry have been well documented and the industry has been subject to many reviews and planning processes; and

(j) that, to assist the deliberations of the Taskforce, the Commonwealth Department of Agriculture, as the secretariat to the Taskforce, has identified and summarised a collection of previous work and in so doing, is mindful that individual Taskforce members would be familiar with a number of these documents, in some cases contributing directly to their production; and

(3) notes the continuing importance of investment in the Tasmanian agriculture sector, as a traditional and ongoing source of economic development, including employment, in that state, and one which continues to enjoy a relatively high national and international profile for the reliability and quality of its primary food production.

Part of a commitment that was encapsulated within the Economic Growth Plan for Tasmania, which was an election commitment prior to the 2013 election, was the establishment of the Tasmanian Fruit and Vegetable Industry Taskforce, and we have delivered on that commitment. The report was released by Minister Joyce and the parliamentary secretary to the minister, Senator Colbeck, on 1 October 2014. It was a privilege for me to be involved as a member of the government on the task force, and I will endeavour to summarise some of the outcomes of that report here today.

The first task was to review the previous reports, and there were numerous reports that have been conducted over the years into the horticultural industry—the fruit and vegetable industries—within Tasmania. But this for the first time summarised all of those documents and highlighted the good work that had been done by many in the past, and that became the starting point. We were not simply reinventing the wheel; we were availing ourselves of that good work that had been done previously. This was indeed an industry-led plan for the sector to promote competitiveness, investment and ultimately—which is the desire of all of us in Tasmania and certainly all of us in this government—jobs growth. The horticultural sector—the fruit and vegetable sector—make an important and valuable contribution to the Tasmanian economy.

The task force met three times between May and July 2014. To summarise the vision that came out of the task force, we want a more prosperous Tasmanian fruit and vegetable industry. We outlined the opportunities for Tasmania to be an innovative, profitable and sustainable supplier of fruit and vegetables to the world and to grow the annual sales of same to $750 million by 2020.

At the heart of the task force and everybody sitting around the task force in this process was sales. It involved, of course, funding and investment to support that, but key as well are the people involved in the sector, be they research people, producers or processors. It is about understanding our markets. At the end of the day, customers are ultimately the most important people in all of this equation. Like any other business, they are the only people who actually put money in at that end of the chain that feeds back down to the people who grow the things. Of course, innovation is a key part of growing this sector away from the more traditional land uses there.

Another recommendation is to establish the Tasmanian Horticulture Market Growth Project, including a facilitator. I am certainly in the ear of the minister and Senator Colbeck every day to make sure that this position is funded and delivers on the expectations of the task force. It was interesting to see the opportunities that have flowed out of the task force. Some of the participants there had looked at exporting as a real opportunity as a result of being part of this task force. Of course, there are some in the fruit sector that are already exporting—for example, Tim Reid from Reid Fruits. Lucy Gregg was a representative on the task force. As a result of the free trade agreements, they have grown their exports into South Korea from five to eight tonnes annually up to 180 tonnes this year—an extraordinary result. People like Houston Farms clearly identified a desire to expand to markets that have a higher yield, because Tasmania enjoys an enormous reputation for high-quality and safe foods from practically the cleanest place on earth.

Can I acknowledge in the short time left to me the independent chair, Dr Michele Allan; David Addison from Charlton Farms; Sally Chandler from the TCCI; Andrew Craigie; Simon Drum; Callam Elder; Stuart Greenhill from Greenhill Bros; Lucy Gregg from Reid Fruits; Howard Hansen; Chris Oldfield; Michael Toby; Minister Barnaby Joyce and also the secretariat—Peter Ottesen, Martin Walsh and Bill Schumann—for their contributions to what was a very worthwhile process. Thank you.

See this speech in context