Lisa Chesters (Bendigo, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I, too, would like to acknowledge the member for Indi for moving this motion. It is always important that we stand in this place and discuss the impact of climate change on our farmers and agriculture and the work that is happening. Many industries are impacted by climate change, but our farmers and agriculture are at the very top of the list. This isn't new; it's an issue that farmers have been raising for years. They have many action groups that come to this place and don't just lobby us but also present us with really practical solutions.

In my very early days here, I was invited to Elmore to meet with farmers to learn firsthand what they were doing. I acknowledge that not all farmers are there yet. Some of them are a bit sceptical; they like the old ways. They still burn the old wheat crop after Anzac Day because that's what they've always done, despite the fact that their neighbours might be doing something very different. What we do know is that, at the grassroots, farmers have been leading action, but they can't do it alone. They need a partner in federal government and in this parliament to achieve more.

Our farmers are leading the way in adapting to climate change through improvement in soil management, drought preparedness, the uptake of new technologies—which many are doing—cropping and livestock diversification. I have many examples in my own electorate of how that is happening, as many of us in regional electorates do. Farmers are always quite proud to share what they're doing, but what I really respect about our farmers is that they have a task list for us to tell us what else we could do.

It's not just from those personal experiences that we know it's getting harder for our farmers. Recent government modelling shows that the profitability of farms, due to seasonal climate condition changes, is affecting farms and reducing profitability by about 23 per cent, on average. It is putting a lot of impact on farmers and their ability to produce and ensure their farms remain profitable. In my own electorate, and in big part of regional Victoria, the rain event that we had last October reduced what was promising to be a very high-yielding wheat crop. A lot of the crop was downgraded because of the impact of that one big flood event. That's something that you don't always budget for when you plant it in the ground, but, as more and more farmers say, we now have to factor that in when we're pricing.

The government is working with the sector to help reduce its exposure to climate change. Many farmers are relieved by the result of the last federal election because they feel they now have a voice in Canberra and a government that is working with them. Already, in our first year of being in government, we've allocated $420 million through the Future Drought Fund to support farmers and the agriculture sector to build resilience to mitigate risk of drought and climate change.

Whilst we've had a very wet couple of years in Victoria, we know it dries very quickly because of the impact of climate change, and that next drought is just around the corner. We can no longer talk about it just being a millennium drought if it starts to happen every decade or every two decades, and that's something that our farmers are quite aware of.

A further $300 million has been delivered through our 15 rural research and development corporations. Whilst they have always had a very interesting history with this parliament, we know that these industry levies and joint federal funding can lead to real innovation and technology and development. I know that many in the sector, whilst they might have their challenges with their industry RDCs, are keen to be involved in how they can be improved into the future.

Carbon markets in agriculture and the net zero economy are critical. We've already seen this parliament and this government start to address that in many ways, and there is more work that can be done. Our farmers are helping to lead the way in how we can better carbon-farm, whether it be dedicating parts of their land to planting more trees or restoring country. I know from lots of farmers in my electorate they're very keen to work with First Nations as well as the government in restoring country—another way that we can help meet net zero by 2050.

There's so much more I could say, but my time is at an end. In this government, we do have a partnership with agriculture and with our farming community.

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