Helen Haines (Indi, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) recognises that:

(a) the Government has set a target of net-zero emissions by 2050; and

(b) Australia's agriculture sector currently generates 16 per cent of Australia's national emissions;

(2) notes that climate change represents a serious and present threat to the Australian agricultural sector's continued productivity and profitability, including on the international market;

(3) further recognises that:

(a) the Government is continuing to support a carbon market through the use of Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs), including under the Safeguard Mechanism (Crediting) Bill 2022;

(b) the Government is encouraging farmer participation in new markets including the:

(i) ACCUs market, via programs such as the Carbon Farming Outreach Program; and

(ii) biodiversity credit market through the proposed Nature Repair Market Bill; and

(c) Australia's agriculture sector may need to retain their own credits for carbon in-setting, in order to comply with international trade requirements that will require farmers to address their own emissions;

(4) further notes that agricultural extension officers have historically played an important role in translating science into practice for Australia's agricultural sector; and

(5) calls on the Government to do more to encourage farmers to deploy low-emissions technologies and practices, and participate in carbon and biodiversity markets, by:

(a) providing ongoing and increased investment in agricultural and climate science research and development, including in accurate measurement of soil carbon and nutritional additives to reduce methane emissions in livestock;

(b) funding a network of 200 context-specific, trusted and neutral agricultural extension officers through providers such as Natural Resource Management or Landcare organisations to provide educational outreach services and advice on technology, products and practices that will help farmers lower their emissions and subsequently participate in new carbon and biodiversity markets; and

(c) allowing farmers to certify their products as net-zero through a dedicated carbon neutral certification standard for farms through the ClimateActive initiative which would help farmers access price premiums for their products and protect their access to overseas markets.

Agriculture is a vital industry in my electorate, but farmers are concerned about their place in a changing world. Climate change will inevitably impact agricultural productivity and profitability. At the same time, there's a lot of talk about agriculture playing a part in offsetting our nation's largest emissions under the government's safeguard mechanism. Our farmers currently generate 16 per cent of Australia's emissions. Right now, countries and groups around the world, like the European Union, are considering tariffs on Australian agricultural imports because we haven't done enough for a sustainable agricultural production. That's why today I'm presenting practical action for the government to support our farmers taking action on climate change.

John Paul Murphy, a cattle farmer from Lurg in my electorate of Indi, told me that he feels, as an average farmer, he is treading water waiting to see what happens next. Recent accounting on his farm shows that 80 per cent of his farm's emissions are directly from methane. And John Paul knows that adopting new practices and offsetting methane will be critical for the future profitability and productivity of his farm. But he's concerned that farmers hastening quickly into the carbon market may ultimately be disadvantaged because they may need to offset their own emissions first. And many farmers I speak to across Indi, including John Paul, tell me that they want to play a part in reducing our national emissions and they're looking to become climate neutral themselves.

They talk to me about the challenges in navigating the carbon measurement, auditing and certification, and they express genuine concern about the integrity of carbon credits. Farmers have also told me that when there is an historical change in agriculture, farmers navigate that change through agricultural extension and farmer groups. A recent survey, released just last week by Farmers for Climate Action, of 600 farmers found that 94 per cent of respondents want to change their practices if it will benefit themselves and the environment, but 70 per cent of them had not been involved in any climate and agriculture extension program. Government has clearly fallen short in supporting our farmers in recent times, but we can change this. I'm bolstered by the government's $20 million Carbon Farming Outreach Program. The program intends to develop and deliver a training package and tools for farmers and land managers on carbon market participation and low-emissions technologies and practices. It's a good start, but it's nowhere near enough.

In the lead-up to the last election, I called on the government to fully fund a network of 200 agricultural extension officers, based in 20 regional areas across Australia, over four years. I make this call again today. The Parliamentary Budget Office costed my policy at $132 million over four years. The government must significantly expand on their initial $20 million pledge if the support that farmers are calling for is to be actually delivered. Under my policy, the 200 extension officers would work with farmers one on one and through local agriculture and natural resource management groups to adopt the technology, the products and the practices that would help them lower their emissions, access carbon credits—for offsetting or insetting—and achieve net zero. These extension officers would translate the science into practice, delivering the research on how to improve soil carbon and accurately measure it or what nutritional additives need to be used to reduce methane emissions in livestock. The advice must be from trusted neutral, independent officers who know the specific environment that each farmer is working in, because the techniques applied in low-rainfall, poorer soils will be different to those in high-rainfall, organically rich soils.

When we're debating the Safeguard Mechanism (Crediting) Amendment Bill 2022 this week, I call on my fellow members to think practically about how offsetting will work, to think practically about how it will impact our agricultural sector, a sector that feeds and clothes us and cares for our beautiful natural landscapes. Agriculture is a foundational industry that enriches our nation. Let's not set up our farmers for failure. Let's listen to their calls for support to navigate the risks and gain the opportunities in the carbon market. The government has made some long-overdue first steps. Let's scale it up and deliver a robust, trusted network of extension officers to see it through.

Mike Freelander (Macarthur, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is the motion seconded?

Rebekha Sharkie (Mayo, Centre Alliance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I second the motion and reserve my right to speak.

Michelle Ananda-Rajah (Higgins, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Indi for moving this motion. It's a very important one. The energy transition is Australia's moonshot moment, a window of opportunity to not only transition our country to a low-emission economy but revitalise our industrial base, with our cities and regions the beneficiaries. I had a glimpse of the future on a visit to Mt Gellibrand Wind Farm, just outside Geelong, recently. Operated by Spanish wind giant ACCIONA, 44 wind turbines are co-located on a sheep farm—climate action and agriculture in harmony. The blades were turning, and the only sound was the crunch of our footsteps on gravel and the baying of sheep and cattle. The wind farm has created 40 kilometres of access roads, enabling the farmer to move his gear and animals around, improving his productivity.

The financial benefits of wind farms are enticing. With landlords earning between $5,000 and $7,000 per turbine, this tidy little earner has brought farms back from the brink, providing a buffer against the vagaries of climate or economic downturns. Wind farms have helped build resilience on multiple fronts—for our farmers, who are on the front line of climate change; for communities, who support these farms; and for the energy grid, which is retreating from coal. It is in no-one's interest to have people who know the land leave the land. After all, we can't eat iPhones. Wind farms are helping farmers stay put.

Aside from the environmental and economic benefits, there are cultural benefits of wind farms. When scoping the land, it is not uncommon to find ancient human remains or artefacts like stone tools. Companies work with local First Peoples and farmers to manage these scenarios without blocking economic progress. The juxtaposition of cutting-edge technology rooted in ancient land is striking. Remote sensing allows continuous monitoring in Spain, which enables workers to fix any issues that have arisen overnight. The whole operation is geared for efficiency.

Sadly, this wind farm was delimited, like a fast car, to half its capacity, because of congestion in the grid. This is why the Albanese government is investing $20 billion in modernising our electricity grid so that renewable energy projects can operate at full capacity. We need the same communities who are benefiting from wind farms to support the build-out of transmission, or net zero will elude us. A diverse workforce is required to set up and operate wind farms, ranging from civil engineers to planners, IT specialists, electrical engineers, people with industrial ropes expertise and turbine blade repairers. I met workers who start at 7 am and clock off at 3 pm to pick up their kids and take them to after-school sport. This is a level of work-life balance many of these men have not experienced.

'Australia is open for business' is what our Climate Change Act declared, but we have some catching up to do. In terms of installed wind energy capacity, in 2021, China leads the world with 329 gigawatts, then the US at 132 gigawatts, Germany at 63, India at 40, Spain and the UK at 27, and France at 18. Australia is currently at 11 gigawatts of capacity but has the potential, according to the Blue Economy CRC, to produce 2,233 gigawatts from offshore wind alone, far more than we need domestically, pointing to its huge export potential. Arguments for nuclear are blown offshore by wind.

The winds of change have started blowing since the Albanese government came to power. We announced the release of two offshore wind zones in the Bass Strait, off Gippsland, and in the Hunter as part of six proposed regions. In November last year, after a wasted decade, we announced that Australia was joining the Global Offshore Wind Alliance, which aims to achieve at least 380 gigawatts of global offshore wind capacity by 2030. This is no small feat, considering that the IEA expects that offshore wind capacity will need to exceed 2,000 gigawatts in 2050, from its mere 60 gigawatts right now, to limit a rise in temperatures to less then 1.5 degrees.

There is no getting to net zero without wind energy, and Australia has a box seat thanks to its natural endowments and policy certainty. But, like farmers who have sniffed the wind, we need communities to help us cut delays and support transmission so that we can turn wind into green electrons and greener dollars.

Rebekha Sharkie (Mayo, Centre Alliance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am very pleased to support this motion. The agriculture sector is incredibly important. It's an economic contributor to Australia and it is the lifeblood of our regional towns. Australian agriculture accounts for an astonishing 55 per cent of goods and services exported, 2.4 per cent of value-added GDP and 2.4 per cent of employment. The sector continues to thrive despite the often destructive nature of Australia's climate variability. As Dorothea Mackellar so aptly wrote, we are a country of droughts and of flooding rains, and we're also a country of bushfires.

It's important to note that our continued success in the agriculture sector is not a product of chance. It's a product of hard work, undertaken over generations that have respected the land and incorporated good environmental practices as our knowledge and awareness has grown. This hard work and dedication on the land only tells part of the story. Science and application of scientific research has ensured tremendous year-on-year improvements in every aspect of agricultural production. The member for Indi's call on government to fund a network of 200 context-specific extension officers to provide outreach into our services and advice on technology, products and practices that will help farmers lower their emissions is sensible, and we know from experience that this will be successful. Australia already has lower emissions per unit of beef produced than our other major competitors, such as Argentina, Brazil, India and others. Our herd management, tree planting and other practices have assisted farmers to achieve this. However, our emissions intensity for our beef still remains higher than in the EU, US, Canada and New Zealand.

The good news, like our continued crop-yield improvements, is that the investment in science through public-private partnerships is funding solutions. One solution is FutureFeed's use of a specific type of red seaweed known as asparagopsis as a feed supplement that significantly reduces methane emissions. Feed lot trials in beef cattle using less than one per cent of asparagopsis show a reduction in methane production by more than 95 per cent. That's extraordinary. That is huge. As a side note, this native seaweed is a reminder as to why we need to make sure that we ensure our marine environments are pristine. Irresponsible destruction of those marine ecosystems will deny future opportunities. Everything is interlinked.

The importance of science assisting farmers to transition to lower emissions practice is essential, and it is not limited to preharvest treatments. In the parliament last year, I was pleased to negotiate funding for a post-harvest treatment plant for South Australia, and I look forward to the government working with the state government and the industry to complete the project. This plant will dramatically reduce product spoilage and consequential waste, minimise pesticide and other chemical use, and open markets to countries that we've never before been able to get our products into.

On the emissions front, the Australian farm sector averages 14 to 16 per cent of our national greenhouse gas emissions. This is slightly above the global average of around 13 per cent. Community expectations, trading obligations and climate variability will continue to put pressure on Australia's farmers to reduce their emissions and their carbon footprint.

In this context the government must contribute and provide assistance, and I support the member for Indi's motion here. I think we need to work side by side with farmers, and this motion seems to me to be incredibly sensible. The spend will be very good value for money and it will put more professional jobs in our regions, as well. Many of our farmers are at a real crossroads. They're not sure where to go and what to do with respect to future farming and emissions. I would encourage the government to work with the member for Indi on this motion. Let's make this a reality.

Lisa Chesters (Bendigo, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to 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.

Mike Freelander (Macarthur, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There being no further speakers, the debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting.