Kevin Hogan (Page, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the Primary Industries Levies and Charges Collection Amendment Bill 2016. I commend the previous speaker, the member for Barker, for a wonderful contribution to this debate.

This legislation is about primary industries. I know because of the seat that I represent, and I want to reinforce—because sometimes it is forgotten—just how important the agricultural sector is to not only rural and regional areas but also the wider country of Australia. The primary industries sector has had a couple of great years because of the many things that this government has done, not least the free trade agreements we now have with China, Japan and South Korea, as well as the Transpacific Partnership Agreement, which are opening markets for our industries in many other parts of the world and, in parts of the world where we already are, making access easier through lower tariffs.

That has already had a real impact on my local community, because all of the rural industry sectors across my community, whether they be beef cattle, dairy, sugar, macadamias or blueberries—I could go on—are getting better farmgate prices. A lot of them have had good seasons as well. That has had a real impact on our towns, because those sectors have better cash flow and they are employing more people, and so, when those people come into our towns, they are spending more money, which is obviously good for every small business in our community as well.

As a coalition, particularly as members of the Nationals, we have always had a focus on and an interest in making sure that these sectors do well and flourish, and these achievements have had a real impact on and are causing some great flow-on effects for our regional communities.

Australia is a competitive country in agriculture because we have always exported a lot of what we produce. Mr Deputy Speaker Kelly, I am sure you would be interested to know that, like other sectors in my community, the local abattoir—which by the way is the biggest private employer in my community, employing over a thousand people—export close to 70 per cent of what they process. The local macadamia industry also exports close to 70 per cent of what it produces. There is a blueberry producer who is developing a huge venture at a place near Tabulam. He has a window to access and provide blueberries to the Chinese market that other people do not, just because of the seasons. These are really export-orientated businesses, and, when you are an export-orientated business, of course you have to be competitive, because you are competing against the rest of the world in those markets.

Australia's rural industries have always been recognised as being among some of the most innovative and productive in the world, and continued investment in rural research and development is vital to ensure ongoing growth and improvement in profitability and the competitiveness of our agriculture, fisheries, forestry and food sectors. In recognition of this, we have worked closely, as the member for Barker said, with industry to co-invest in research, through our world-leading R&D system, and much of this work is delivered through the 15 rural research and development corporations. These RDCs provide a mechanism for industry participants to come together and invest collectively. We have assisted by establishing and collecting a levy on behalf of an industry, if the industry requests this. The government also matches an RDC's eligible R&D spending up to a legislated cap. It is estimated that, for every dollar that the government invests in rural R&D, farmers generate a $12 return over 10 years. That is a wonderful return on the taxpayer dollar.

Feedback from primary producers is an integral part of how RDCs work. They are required to consult with industry on their activities and to give those who fund the research via levies an opportunity to provide input into the strategic direction of the corporation. Recent reviews and inquiries—including the Senate Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport References Committee's inquiry into industry structures and systems governing levies on grass-fed cattle, and its inquiry into industry structures and systems governing the imposition of and disbursement of marketing and R&D levies in the agricultural sector—have identified improved consultation with levy payers as key to the ongoing strength of Australia's rural R&D system. Several of these inquiries recommended that the establishment of levy-payer registers would offer a way for RDCs to consult more effectively with the primary producers who fund them.

The government agrees that levy payers should have more of a say in how their levy funds are spent. RDCs should know who their levy payers are. Levy-payer registers would provide RDCs with the ability to identify and consult directly with the levy payers on what they perceive the research priorities to be and where they want the levy expenditure to go, and therefore allow the RDCs to accurately and efficiently allocate voting entitlements, where this is relevant.

This bill makes possible the establishment of levy payer registers by RDCs by amending the Primary Industries Levies and Charges Collection Act 1991. As it stands, the act only permits the distribution of levy payer information to the wool and dairy RDCs. This bill remedies this by allowing the government to provide levy payer information, for the purposes of a levy payer register, to the 13 other RDCs. The bill removes the legislative impediment to the development of levy payer registers. However, recognising that a one-size-fits-all approach would not be appropriate given the diversity of Australian agricultural industries, the bill allows for the distribution of levy payer information to an RDC to occur only where an RDC, in consultation with industry, requests it, and that request is approved by the minister. The department would then work with the RDC on the administrative design and development of a register. This is consistent with the government's approach to the broader R&D levy system, which is centred on industry support.

The bill also allows the Secretary of the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources to permit levy payer information to be provided to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. This is consistent with the government's public data policy statement, which commits to securely share data between Australian government entities to improve efficiencies, and inform policy development and decision-making. The bill maintains current practices for distribution of the name and address of the person or body that lodges levy returns with the department to RDCs, industry representative bodies and others. In limited situations, the person that lodges returns is also the levy payer—for example, in the turf industry.

The bill does not permit secondary disclosure of information included in a levy payer register, except in limited circumstances and where expressly permitted by the secretary in writing. This aims to protect the integrity and security of levy and charge payers' personal information. Where an eligible recipient is permitted to disclose levy payer information to a secondary recipient, that person or body may only use the information for restricted purposes relating to R&D, marketing, biosecurity or the National Residue Survey. Where levy payer contact details are to be provided to an industry representative body, the administrative arrangements will enable levy payers to choose to opt out and not receive information.

The passage of this bill is the first key step in allowing for the development of levy payer registers, making it possible for the RDCs to identify and connect directly with those who fund their work. Through greater levy payer engagement in the R&D system, RDCs will be able to better align research investments to industry priorities, improving returns to primary producers and contributing to a more profitable, competitive and sustainable agricultural sector. We will work with the RDCs and industry to make this happen. The government is committed to an Australian R&D system that remains transparent and consultative and delivers tangible benefits to our very valuable and very important agricultural industries into the future. I commend the bill to the House.

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