Brian Mitchell (Lyons, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

The agriculture, fisheries and forestry sectors are vital for the Tasmanian economy, no more so than in my sprawling electorate of Lyons. Agriculture production contributes more than $2.1 billion annually to the Tasmanian economy, and we well and truly punch above our weight, with more than 2,200 farms, many of them small, family farms that have worked the land for generations. Our highest-value industries are dairy, at $490 million; cattle, at $416 million; and vegetables, at $330 million. Almost 9,000 Tasmanians are directly employed in agriculture.

Now, while I've spoken about it many times, I am extremely proud of the forestry industry in my electorate. Across the state we have 76 sawmills, which means jobs for almost 2½ thousand Tasmanians, and many of those are in my electorate. Minister Watt has visited Lyons many times in the year since the last election. Together we've been to dairy farms, sawmills and the Sea Forest seaweed farm at Triabunna.

Most recently, the minister joined me at a very wet Agfest, a three-day festival and the most important event on the agriculture sector's calendar in Tasmania. I know you, Deputy Speaker Archer, will know how wet it was on one of those days as well. At Agfest the minister and I covered the field, talking to foresters, honey producers, dairy farmers and the peak farm group, the Tasmanian Farmers and Graziers Association, about the issues that concern them. Like the rest of the nation, strong biosecurity is critical for Tasmania, and I am proud that a Labor government is delivering the long-term, sustainable funding that we need for this.

I'm also proud to have been with Minister Watt at the Western Junction Sawmill near Launceston when he announced $108 million for timber manufacturing companies across the country to encourage more value-adding and innovation in the industry. It was a real privilege to be standing there with the workers at the Western Junction Sawmill as we announced this funding. All those guys, and women, in their high-vis are doing really important work for the timber-processing sector in our state. More than $15 million of the $108 million is going to businesses across Tasmania, including almost $2 million to Western Junction Sawmill. We know that the future of the timber industry in Australia is in the value-adding sector—in cross-laminates and getting the most value that we can out of the trees that we cut down.

Timber is a renewable resource. You cut down a tree, you replant it and you harvest it in the years ahead. It's renewable. It's great for the environment and it's certainly great for the regions. The Albanese Labor government acts to protect and grow the agricultural sector across all its many facets, and that's critical for trade, economic resilience and jobs in my home state of Tasmania. So my question to the minister is: can the minister outline how new investments in the budget demonstrate the government's commitment to a strong and resilient agriculture, fisheries and forestry sector?

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