Colin Boyce (Flynn, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Labor is making it harder to get food from the paddock to the plate for farmers across the country, especially in my electorate of Flynn in Central Queensland. Since Labor took office two years ago, this is what we've seen: they've made changes to the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility scheme—PALM—which have made it harder for farmers to source a workforce; they proposed and then ditched a fresh-food tax which would force for farmers to pay the biosecurity costs of their international competitors; and they've cut and run with funding for nation-building water infrastructure. Most recently, they've passed legislation to ban live sheep exports, with the cattle industry next on their list.

Last weekend, Labor axed a crucial backpacker and worker program for farms. Labor's scrapping of the Harvest Trail program from 30 June will mean farmers in Flynn will find it harder to get the workers they need. This essential program helped connect farmers with thousands of backpackers and job seekers during the harvest period. It also helped both employees and employers get a background check, enabling confidence in both the job and the industry. However, Labor is once again showing its contempt for the farming industry in Flynn, by removing Harvest Trail Services and the Harvest Trail Information Service to save $47.3 million and $11.1 million per year ongoing. This money won't even be directed back into agriculture. The pain will be felt at the check-out because, when supply goes down, prices go up. The fewer workers farmers can find, the less they can plant or harvest, which will mean people will ultimately pay more for their food. Wide Bay pineapple farmer Col Hawken said Labor was again hurting the farming industry:

I think it's disgusting that we are losing the program.

If we have a system like the harvest trail, we can get background checks, ensuring we get the workers we actually need. It also stops backpackers from getting ripped off too.

This was a really useful program that Labor is abolishing with very little notice. Labor doesn't understand that farmers plan two and three years out. There is no alternative scheme to replace it. There is just nothing. Labor has zero regard for primary producers and is determined to make life harder.

Agricultural industries all over Australia will be spared from paying Labor's fresh food tax or planned biosecurity protection levy from this month. I'm proud that the Nationals, the farmers and the industry successfully helped scrap this tax, which was due to be implemented from 1 July 2024, after months of campaigning. Labor's fresh food tax would have hurt families at the checkout as well as 84 agricultural commodities which face taxes to raise $150 million over three years. The biosecurity protection levy will not get the support it needs in the Senate, ensuring Labor's senseless and terrible tax idea doesn't come to fruition.

The Nationals will always fight for common sense and fight for our regional, rural and remote farming communities. Labor's terrible tax plan was just another attack on the agricultural industry. I am concerned Labor created the Sustainable Biosecurity Funding Advisory Panel earlier this year to look at the way farmers could pay more for biosecurity. A recent meeting of the panel indicated there was no support for an alternative producer funded contribution. Labor must now come clean and declare they will scrap the levy and prevent the tax from reaching the Senate and Australian farmers.

Labor must also declare that it will leave the current industry-imposed primary industry levy system, which invests in research and development, marketing and biosecurity, alone. The primary industry levy system is critical to the competitiveness, productivity and sustainability of agriculture, and farmers need to know this system will not be used by the Labor government to implement another tax. Victorian farmer Ben Duxton, who has 8½ thousand merino sheep as well as canola, barley and wheat on his 5,000-acre farm in the Wimmera, said he was relieved that Labor's tax has been scrapped but remains sceptical about farmers getting a reprieve. He said: 'Labor hates farming and they seem to want to keep making our lives harder. The sooner Labor goes, the better it will be for Australian agriculture, starting with lowering taxes for farmers, which in turn ensures we can keep providing fresh and affordable produce for Australian farmers.' And I couldn't agree more. Let's see what's next on Labor's list and how they will be attacking agriculture.