Gavin Pearce (Braddon, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak in favour of and to endorse the report, Growing Australia: Inquiry into growing Australian agriculture to $100 billion by 2030. In doing so, I would also like to recognise the good work of a fellow committee member, the member for Lyons, who is in the chamber today. This was an extensive inquiry conducted over many months and involved visits to all parts of the country. From my own background as a farmer from north-western Tasmania, I recognised similarities and problems that came up from time to time as we travelled around Australia listening to those people who took the time to invest in our agricultural future and made submissions and sought counsel with us face to face around the country. Further, I would like to thank the efforts of the chair, Mr Rick Wilson, the member for O'Connor. I would also like to recognise the great work and the professionalism of the secretariat, in Tim Brennan and Jenny Adams. I thank you sincerely for your great work.

The committee received 113 submissions from 67 organisations and attended almost 70 public hearings. To all of those around the country who made submissions and took the time, I say, 'Thank you; we learnt a lot from you, and you have contributed to your industry's future.' As we went around the various parts of the country, a lot of the issues that farmers and growers raised were consistent with the issues faced by farmers and growers in my own state.

I'll speak for my own state just for a moment. The great state of Tasmania is only one per cent, in geographical size, of our nation, however, we receive approximately 9½ per cent of Australia's rainfall. We have more than 26 per cent of Australia's freshwater in 54 dams and 30 power stations right across our state. That water is in turn used by irrigators to grow food and agricultural produce in the rich soils of the north-west coast of Tasmania. It's in this investment of more than $100 million that we've seen the tranche 2 and 3 irrigation projects in Tasmania come to full fruition. That agricultural produce has seen an exponential growth in exports—achieving records this year. It was a growing frustration as we moved around the country that the inquiry didn't cover irrigation or irrigation infrastructure. It was a common concern for all farmers that attended inquiries and I'd like to raise that today.

One of the other similarities that I have seen around the country is the access and increased diversity that we require in an ever increasingly turbulent global commodity market. It behoves government, as a result of this report, to do more work when it comes to giving out market indicators earlier so that farmers don't see their headers in the paddock when the bottom falls out of the grain price. Logistics too will play a great part in the growing of Australian agriculture because if we can't get this food to market it is absolutely no good for anybody. In Australia we grow approximately three times the amount of food that we actually need. It's important that we get this as quickly as possible to various parts of the country and we diversify that market so that we've got a stable platform for our markets moving forward.

As I sat there on one side of the table and I listened to the farmers, I listened to the growers and I listened to the young people, I couldn't help but feel the amount of emotion and the investment that they have in their chosen field. I couldn't help but notice the amount of corporate knowledge that exists within our agricultural sector. I couldn't help but notice how generations of farmers have produced people who are at the absolute pinnacle of agricultural production. I think this is the key to unlocking our future. I think if we can't recognise and unlock that corporate knowledge, if we can't transfer that knowledge to a future generation of farmers, if we can't introduce technology in smart farming and if we can't introduce training adequately and we can't inculcate that information then we can't grow as an industry and we can't grow as a nation.

In closing, I'd like to fully endorse the findings and the 13 recommendations contained within the report. I'd like to thank my colleagues. I'd like to thank all those involved. I would like to recommend Growing Australia: inquiry into growing Australian agriculture to $100 billion by 2030 as recommended reading to all those who want a future in agriculture or food production.

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