Andrew Nikolic (Bass, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I congratulate the member for Lyons for this excellent motion. As he has so eloquently explained, the future of Tasmania and agriculture are very closely tied indeed. It is therefore my great pleasure to champion this reality on behalf of the state that I am so privileged to partly represent.

Let me first of all acknowledge that industries like mining and forestry have made a major contribution to Tasmania's prosperity and will play an important part into the future. But it is also important to acknowledge that greater economic diversification is the key to fewer economic bumps in the road. In the case of Tasmania the twin pillars of agriculture and tourism will add strength and diversity to our state's future wellbeing. Investment in state agriculture in particular has a disproportionately positive effect on Tasmania and mainland Australia. That is why the Abbott government has recently committed another $60 million to tranche 2 irrigation schemes.

Tasmania is an important producer of a wide variety of fruit and vegetables—mainly potatoes, onions, carrots, cherries and other stone fruit, pome fruit and berries—and I note the important contribution to gross state product of fruit, nuts, vegetables, nursery products and special poppy and pyrethrum crops, as the member for Lyons has mentioned. Moreover, in contrast to other states, exporting and direct sales to processors are the predominant sales channels for fresh produce. For example, in 2011-12 an estimated 70 per cent of Tasmanian vegetable growers sold their produce directly to a processor, with approximately 10 per cent for export. This compares most favourably with a national average of 26 per cent direct sales to processors and four per cent for export. In the 12 months to June 2013, Tasmania also exported $44 million worth of fresh fruit and vegetables or 6.7 per cent of the total value of Australian national exports of fresh fruit and vegetables—and that is not bad for a state comprising just over two per cent of the national population. It is certainly an example of a state punching above its weight.

I note also that an independent assessment of the economic development potential of sectors of the Tasmanian economy found that the wine, dairy and aquaculture sectors have the greatest economic development potential. All of this attests to the reality that, with the right support and attitude, Tasmanian agriculture produces both abundant and reliable harvests. The irrigation schemes the member for Lyons has talked about are going to produce 95 per cent water certainty. They are going to allow for the conversion of marginal land, currently not of much use for any other purpose, into something far more productive. That is something we should very much welcome.

The coalition has long recognised the overall importance of state-based agriculture, and has acted practically and constructively for the benefit of both Tasmanians and mainland Australians. The member for Lyons has mentioned the coalition's economic growth plan for Tasmania, which was announced by the Prime Minister on 15 August 2013. It is a clear, unequivocal commitment by the coalition government to create a fruit and vegetable industry task force, focusing specifically on the growth of the fruit and vegetable sectors in Tasmania. The task force is acting to develop an industry-led plan to promote competitiveness, investment and jobs growth in these sectors. The terms of reference for the task force will result in the development of a unified and agreed plan for the Tasmanian fruit and vegetable industries, designed to achieve three things: to increase grower returns and reduce their costs; to increase competitiveness, investment and jobs growth across the supply chain; and to develop domestic and export markets.

In closing, I call on the parliament to note the continuing importance and vibrancy of the Tasmanian food and agriculture sector. But, most importantly, I can advise the House of the Abbott government's steadfast determination to continue nurturing this immense potential by continuing to invest in it. Doing so will not only create local jobs but will further support Tasmania's economic prosperity. It will also continue to support Tasmania's relatively high national and international profile for the reliability and quality of its primary food production, which in turn will have flow-on benefits for all Australians and for those to whom we export. I commend the member for Lyons' motion to the House.

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