Joe Ludwig (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Manager of Government Business in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Gallacher for his question and his interest in agriculture, unlike those opposite. The Gillard government Carbon Farming Initiative is in place and underway. It is good news for farmers and other landholders across rural and regional Australia. It is delivering real differences in rural communities, who know that the threat of climate change is real for Australian agriculture. It will open up opportunities for farmers to create new streams of revenue while at the same time reducing their own and the nation's carbon emissions.

Across the country, regional Landcare facilitators have been engaged in training which will equip them to go into regional committees and deliver the CFI. The facilitators are training to gain the tools they can use to communicate the opportunities under the CFI to farmers and land managers. The facilitators will soon commence their work with landholders and farmers to identify opportunities for a clean energy future. The regional Landcare facilitators will use their network to engage with the farming community to provide information to farmers in their regions on how they can benefit under the initiative.

Some of the possible carbon farming projects cover a wide range of activities right across the landscape, including manure management, fertiliser management, reduced livestock emissions, soil, carbon and reafforestation. Many of these projects will have multiple benefits for farmers, not only generating income but improving the health and productivity of their land.