Joel Fitzgibbon (Hunter, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Agriculture) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) acknowledges that the United Nations General Assembly has declared 2015 as the International Year of Soils (IYS);

(2) notes that:

(a) the IYS aims to be a platform for raising awareness of the importance of sustainable soil management as the basis for food systems, fuel and fibre production, essential ecosystem functions and better adaptation to climate change for present and future generations; and

(b) the objectives of the IYS are to:

  (i) create awareness of the fundamental roles of soils for human life;

  (ii) achieve recognition of the prominent contributions of soils to food security, climate change adaptation and mitigation, essential ecosystem services, poverty alleviation and sustainable development;

  (iii) promote effective policies and actions for the sustainable management and protection of soil resources;

  (iv) educate decision makers about the need for robust investment in sustainable soil management activities aimed at healthy soils for different land users and population groups; and

  (v) advocate for rapid enhancement of capacities and systems for soil information collection and monitoring at all levels (global, regional and national); and

(3) commits to promoting the importance of healthy soils and encouraging the adoption of regenerative landscape management practices throughout the year, including celebration of World Soil Day on 5 December 2015.

The General Assembly of the United Nations has designated 2015 the International Year of Soils, and 5 December will be World Soil Day. The purpose of my motion this morning is to raise the profile of World Soil Day and the importance the United Nations has placed on the need to raise awareness of the importance of soil health and related issues.

The UN's motivation for a call for greater focus on soil health is obvious. Soil is the network of interacting living organisms within the earth's surface layer which support life above ground. The nutritional value of the food we eat is largely determined by the health of the soil in which it grows. Soil is of course the basis for food, feed, fuel and fibre production and for services to ecosystems and human wellbeing. It is the reservoir for at least a quarter of global biodiversity and therefore requires the same attention as aboveground biodiversity. Soils play a key role in the supply of clean water and resilience to floods and droughts. The largest store of terrestrial carbon is in the soil; therefore its preservation will contribute to climate change adaptation and mitigation.

The maintenance and, indeed, enhancement of global soil resources is essential if humanity's need for food, water, and energy security is to be met. It is well known that it is now predicted that the world's population will grow to some nine billion by 2050—that is up from the current seven billion. Since European settlement, many of the farming methods that have been embraced here in Australia have degraded our soils. Thankfully, we have largely learned from those mistakes in more recent decades and have adopted more enlightened methods, such as low- or no-till farming practices and reducing our reliance on fertilisers. An army of people working with our natural resource management groups, including through Landcare projects, have for decades now been helping to better manage the land and river ways that feed us. But much more needs to be done.

The former Labor government recognised this, and in 2012 created the position of Advocate for Soil Health. Former Governor-General Major General Michael Jeffery still holds that position and is doing an outstanding job. Indeed, to his credit, the former Prime Minister, Tony Abbott, extended his period of office. I am confident that Major General Jeffery would not mind me saying that in my experience—having had many conversations with him—he is often frustrated by the lack of attention our soils receive from our policymakers. As he points out, our current approaches to water management are focused mainly on the—on average—12 per cent of rainfall that ends up in our streams, our rivers and eventually our dams—in other words, the water we actually see. Another two per cent falls on our rooftops and roads. However, the greatest potential for efficiency lies in making better use of the 86 per cent of rainfall initially falling on our soils, of which a staggering 50 per cent—or 25 times the quantity held in all of our dams—wastefully evaporates because it cannot filtrate the landscape.

This is where the importance of organic carbon in soils comes in. A properly structured soil with appropriate carbon content will allow rainfall to penetrate and to be initially stored in-ground for use by plants and animals. It will also allow the water to filter slowly, recharging our waterways, particularly during times of limited rainfall. Dams and other water storage are generally very important, but when you think about it there is much more we can achieve through innovation, technology, research and development in the area of soils.

In this place we now have a Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources. But where is our minister focused on soil? It takes both water and soil to create the food on which we so rely. All of us in this place need to start talking about the challenges and opportunities ahead in a bipartisan way. There is a lot of talk about water, as important as that is. I acknowledge that, but we need to be talking more about soils. I pose the question in this place, and I will not ask for a show of hands: who, before this motion this morning, knew that it is the International Year of Soils? Very few, I suspect.

Russell Broadbent (McMillan, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is the motion seconded?

Eric Hutchinson (Lyons, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I second the motion. I also thank the shadow minister and member for Hunter for bringing this really very important motion before the House today. Indeed, soils sustain livelihoods. They sustain life on earth as we know it. Indeed, as the member pointed out, the biodiversity that exists within soils rivals biodiversity of the above-ground species that we are all—for obvious reasons—more familiar with.

It is worth repeating, as is highlighted on the website fao.org—a very good source of information—that soil is the basis for food, feed, fuel and fibre production, and for the services to ecosystems and human wellbeing. It is the reservoir for at least a quarter of global biodiversity and, therefore, requires the same attention as our above-ground biodiversity. Soils play a key role in the supply of water and in resilience to floods and droughts. The largest store of terrestrial carbon is in the soil, so its preservation may contribute to climate change adaptation and mitigation. The maintenance and enhancement of global soil resources is essential if humanity's need for food, water and energy security is to be met. It has been highlighted through the opportunities that have been provided to farmers and the agricultural areas within this country more generally as part of the Emissions Reduction Fund that there are projects all around the country now that have taken advantage of the opportunities within the ERF to demonstrate their capacity to sequester carbon dioxide. As we are all well aware, there were 47 million tonnes at a cost of $13.95 a time, some of which was sequestered through soil carbon, which I look forward seeing more of.

As the member for Hunter pointed out, within the International Year of Soils 5 December is World Soil Day. There are five pillars of action, which is part of a global soil partnership:

1- Promote sustainable management of soil resources for soil protection, conservation and sustainable productivity

2- Encourage investment, technical cooperation, policy, education awareness and extension in soil

3- Promote targeted soil research and development focusing on identified gaps and priorities and synergies with related productive, environmental and social development actions

4- Enhance the quantity and quality of soil data and information—

which I think is something that Australia does pretty well—

data collection (generation), analysis, validation, reporting—

and so forth, and harmonisation of how that data is collated around the world.

Soil biology is a critical part of healthy soil, whether it be applying organic composts, fertilisers and bio amendments; encouraging natural biological cycles and nutrient transfer; adopting holistic management; implementing time controlled grazing within agricultural systems; using grazing management and animal impact as farm and ecosystem development tools; retaining stubble, or performing biological stubble breakdown; constructing interventions in the landscape or waterways to slow or capture the flow of water that can be so damaging from time to time; fencing off waterways and implementing water reticulation for stock; investing in revegetation, pasture cropping, direct drill cropping and pasture sowing; changing different crop rotations; and incorporating green manure and undersowing of legumes. These are all things that can enhance our agricultural systems.

I have been speaking to Bill Chilvers from my electorate—a very practical man who is obviously a very capable and knowledgeable man in respect of Tasmania's soils—and Lee Peterson, who does all of the work for Huston's, a business that grows lettuces in the south of Tasmania. Indeed, these are the things that sustain our livelihoods. Run down the asset and the capacity and the capability of our soils are compromised. Improving soils is about improving organic matter, making sure that our baseline capacity within those soils is maintained. It would be remiss of me, in the short time that I have left, not to mention the potential for biochar, particularly the work done by Mr Frank Strie, who also lives in my electorate.

Debate adjourned.