David Gillespie (Lyne, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

The Primary Industries Levies and Charges Collection Amendment Bill 2016, which I commend to the House, makes it possible for research and development corporations to connect with the primary producers whom they serve and who pay the levies.

Australia is home to some of the most productive rural industries in the world. In my electorate of Lyne, we have many examples of that. We have very productive producers of dairy, beef, tomatoes, strawberries, avocados, macadamias, honey, fish, oysters and grapes, to name just a few, and a very productive and expanding horticulture industry. But there is always room for improvement. Innovation is fundamental for the continued success of any industry, particularly our rural industries. This is why Australia has 15 rural research and development corporations, or RDCs, that invest in R&D to ensure continued improvement in Australia's agriculture, fisheries, forestry and food sectors. These RDCs are mainly funded by government and, most importantly, by industry levies. For the government to collect those is one thing, but, if it is just money that goes into a black hole where there is no connection between the primary producers and the rural research and development corporations, a lot of things can go missing.

The coalition government believes that it will be greatly beneficial if the levy payers and the RDCs can collaborate more than they do now. That is why this bill will ensure continued innovation and the ongoing improvement and profitability of our rural industries. One way to achieve this is via the establishment of levy payer registers. That will allow the RDCs to see who their levy payers really are, as well as giving levy payers much more say in how their levied funds are spent. If this legislation is passed, RDCs will be given the ability to consult more effectively with the primary producers who fund them. As it stands now, the Primary Industries Levies and Charges Collection Act 1991 only allows the dairy RDC and one other to collect that payer information.

The other important thing is that the levy payer information that we collect and give to the RDCs will also be available to the Australia Bureau of Statistics. Payer information disclosed to the ABS and the RDCs can only be used for the purposes of R&D, biosecurity or residue surveys, which are all defined in the amendments to the act. This is a common-sense bill. It passes no liability to the Treasury or to our current budgetary position. In effect, it makes amendments to sections 27 and 29 of the 1991 act, introduces 27A and 29A and triggers consequential amendments to the Australian Meat and Live-stock Industry Act 1997 and the Dairy Produce Act 1986. Also, there are consequential amendments to the National Residue Survey Administration Act 1992.

All of us who live in rural and regional Australia really appreciate how vital to the nature of our local and regional economies these rural industries are. A lot of the limelight in research and development goes to our oldest and most prestigious research organisation, the CSIRO. But I come into the House to put on the record that a lot of research and development goes on in non-CSIRO institutions, like these RDCs. There are many other research bodies across the nation that do research.

The production and the economic benefit to this country of the agriculture, horticulture and marine food production industries are not insignificant. In my time up on the north coast, in the Nelson Bay region there have been aquaculture developments. A lot of the things done in aquaculture industrial production of fish and oysters depend on accumulated knowledge. This accumulated knowledge comes not just from the handing down of information from one generation to the next. Where we get ahead in Australia is that we have great biological research facilities and agricultural research facilities that give us better yields and better quality of product. It all translates into an economic benefit for whatever the industry and local region are.

In the local food production of the immediate area of my own home, we have two brilliant wine producers—grape growers—that deliver a great product into their winemaking operations. They export around the country and around the world. Just down the road we have one of the biggest employers in the electorate, Nippon beef exports. Also, we have Hukobee beef 10 kilometres away in Wauchope. These industries rely on great product that comes from very skilful primary producers. But, then again, they rely on all of the genetics, all of the animal husbandry and all of the research and development into pasture development and pest control. There is such an assembled bank of knowledge in Australia that many people take for granted. You only have to travel to other countries to see how well developed our research and development capability is in rural and biological sciences.

This bill will facilitate better interplay between the levy payers—the people who actually fund these research and development corporations—and on-the-ground feedback. The ability to speak further with people in a practical sense, as well as funding academic research, is very important. This bill, in effect, is a pretty straightforward issue, and I commend it wholeheartedly to the House. It is so important that we continue to have high levels of efficient, high-quality primary production in our country to keep our local economy, our regional economies and our national economy strong. I commend this bill to the House.

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