Perin Davey (NSW, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Agriculture, Minister McKenzie. Minister, can you please outline to the Senate how the Liberals and Nationals in government are on the side of farmers in supporting our rural and regional communities to grow their profitability?

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

Thank you for your question, Senator Davey. I know you, as a proud New South Wales irrigator who grows rice and also the occasional mung bean crop on your farm, are very interested about our government's plans to grow the profitability and productivity of our primary producers.

Regional Australia has long been the engine room for our economy, with more than 31 per cent of our annual GDP coming from regional Australia in 2016-17. In fact, since we came to government, Australia's total farm production has gone up 25 per cent. This is because we recognise that our farmers can grow the best produce in the world and feed the world. Seventy-five per cent of the food and fibre produced in our regional areas is actually exported, and Australian farmers feed 40 million people across the world. In fact, the value of ag exports was estimated at $48.981 million in 2017-18, up almost 29 per cent since we came to office. Senator Birmingham touched on some of the reasons for that increase in exports for agriculture and on the subsequent increase in local jobs around regional Australia. It is because of the free trade agreements our government has signed. We've also invested $51.3 million to continue to grow our agricultural exports and seize market opportunities in global food chains to support market access requests.

Maintaining our biosecurity though, as a nation with a pest- and disease-free status, is the central value proposition to underpin that export growth. It is something that our government has invested significantly in. We also continue to partner with the taxpayer and levy growers to have a world-class research and development facility to increase on-farm innovation and profitability. Our government has prioritised farmers— (Time expired)

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Davey, a supplementary question.

Perin Davey (NSW, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Minister. How important is it to ensure that the government continues to support our farmers who are experiencing devastating drought?

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

It's incredibly important, because it will rain again. And when the rains do come, we want our farmers in drought-affected areas, such as your home state of New South Wales, to be able to get back on their feet, restock quickly, replant quickly and continue to grow that produce and those exports to the world. That's why it's fantastic that, in the Senate today, parliament passed the Future Drought Fund as part of our more than $7 billion drought response for rural and regional communities. It's delivering ongoing, immediate and future responses to assist with overcoming the impact of droughts.

But for all the posturing from elected leaders about the need to support drought affected farmers, only the Liberal-National government steps up when it counts. Prior to the last election, the Greens announced an agriculture policy with $100 million worth of support for drought affected communities each year. It said, 'We need a plan for agriculture that looks beyond the next election cycle.' Well, they had the chance to vote for it today, and they rejected that.

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator, Davey, a final supplementary question.

Perin Davey (NSW, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Minister, what risks are being faced by our agricultural sector, and how can the government help to minimise these risks?

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

The Greens will actually have an opportunity to stand up for Australian farmers when the changes to the Criminal Code around agricultural protections and farm activists' illegal activities come to the Senate. I look forward to them supporting us in that.

The front page of The Weekly Times today goes to a Victorian farmer whose family was harassed multiple times over several weeks, to the point of having to actually take the decision to quit farming. He said, 'They had hoodies on and we couldn't see their faces.' He said that 70 activists broke into their farm and that this had an ongoing effect on the mental health, in particular, of his family. The impact was that more than 300 chickens—the stock—actually suffocated as a result of those animal activists' actions. Enough is enough. For us to actually grow this industry, increase regional jobs in our communities, we need to support our farmers and stop these illegal acts, instead of encouraging them as Senator Di Natale did on Insiders this week. (Time expired)