Pat Conaghan (Cowper, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

No pun intended! It's given me the opportunity to illustrate how much this government, in particular Minister Littleproud, has done for the agricultural sector, not just in recent weeks but over the last 18 months. We've heard the last two or three speakers refer to the fact that the agricultural industry is one of the only sectors to have grown over the past 18 months, despite the challenges of droughts, bushfires, floods and the pandemic.

This government has committed more than $1.2 billion in support to the agriculture industry in the last 10 months alone. Add on top of that the $5 billion through the Future Drought Fund, which is already underway with eight programs to help farmers prepare for the impacts of drought. We know that in the 2021-22 budget the government announced the next phase of FDF programs, to commence on 1 July 2021. This will help farmers and farming communities to be prepared for inevitable future droughts. We live in a sunburnt country. We have droughts. They come and go. But that will reduce the impacts so we can remain productive even in tough times.

One very important initiative has been to provide, through the Regional Investment Corporation, loans with two-year interest-free periods to support the response to and recovery from drought. I know how important that is because I've spoken to Carolyn and David Duff. They're beef producers in Bellbrook, west of Kempsey. I went up there with the then Deputy Prime Minister, Michael McCormack, and I saw the devastation. They lost millions and millions of dollars worth of machinery and stock. They lost their dogs. The only thing they managed to save was the house. When they applied for, and were finally granted, the loan through the RIC, they said to me, 'Pat, this is a game changer; this is a lifesaver.' So that was a big initiative from this government. The government continues to support farmers, fishers and foresters to expand and diversify into export markets. One example is the International Freight Assistance Mechanism, which supports exports—including Australia's critical seafood trade; my electorate of Cowper has a huge seafood industry—and which has been extended until September 2021. The government has committed an additional $781.8 million to this critical support program since it commenced in March 2020.

One of the most remarkable pieces of work that we have achieved—that the Nationals in government have achieved with our coalition partners—is the agriculture visa. It was announced only yesterday, and it is, again, a game changer. The visa will be open to applicants from a range of countries and will be available to skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled workers. It will include the meat processing, fisheries and forestry sectors—all in my electorate—and will provide a basis for the ongoing growth and stability of agriculture in this country. It will give confidence to farmers that they know, when they put a crop in, that they can pull a crop out. I heard Peter McPherson, the GM of Costa Group, which produces blueberries in Coffs Harbour, talking on the radio this morning about how important that was and about the certainty and security that it has given to our blueberry farmers. And of course you can take that across the nation: the avocado farmers, banana farmers—all those who previously relied on the backpackers who came into our country in droves. Locally, there are a number of examples. In my area, the sale yards received $660,000 for an upgrade; beekeepers received $317,000; Bellingen Shire received $200,000 from the Future Drought Fund.

In closing, I do note that, in the half-hour of the opposition leader's address, he didn't refer once to the agriculture industry.

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