Bridget McKenzie (Victoria, National Party, Minister for Agriculture) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you for your question. The dairy industry is experiencing difficulties right across the country, not just in your home state of Queensland. I represent Victoria, and we indeed are a great dairying state as well. That is why our government has taken strong measures to support an industry which underpins so many regional economies around the country. Right now, dairy is our third-largest rural industry, with $4.3 billion farmgate production, with nearly 6,000 dairy farmers, but, as you've said, there has been a decrease in litreage over recent times. Often that is as a result of the drought, particularly in northern Victoria and southern New South Wales where farmers—

Senator Sterle interjecting—

I'm sorry, Senator Sterle; farmers are actually having to destock during the drought—that is actually a reality, and that means there is lower litreage going through the system. That is why, going to the election, we sought to assist the dairy industry by giving $10 million to assist dairy farmers to upgrade or invest in energy-efficient equipment. One of the issues for the viability and profitability of the dairy industry is the increase in input costs. One of those is electricity. A lot of dairy farmers are irrigators. It is a perishable product, so it must maintain refrigeration. High energy costs impact dairy farmers' profitability, because they increase the impost. That's why we're putting money towards reducing their energy costs. We're also providing additional funding to the ACCC to establish a dairy specialist in the unit of agriculture within the ACCC to ensure that we get the competition policy settings right for the dairy industry. We've also committed to implementing a dairy code, which I know particularly the Queensland dairy farming industry is keen to see occur.