May 10, 2023
AgForce has described Tuesday night’s Federal Budget as a budget of “missed opportunities” which ignored practical solutions that could have eased financial strain and strengthened agriculture.
“Overall, it’s really disappointing,” AgForce General President Georgie Somerset said on Wednesday.
“I think there were some real opportunities that have been missed and that’s a real shame for consumers and our farming community.
“It will ultimately hit shoppers in the pocket when they get to the checkouts.”
AgForce said the Budget’s main item for agriculture was an extra $1 billion for biosecurity but it had come with a sting … “producers must pay a protection levy that will take $153 million from their pockets over three years from 2024-25”.
From July 2024, a new levy will be introduced equivalent to 10 per cent of 2020-21 levy rates.
According to AgForce, this means a grass-fed cattle producer will pay an extra 50 cents per head and a cotton producer will pay an extra 22.5 cents per 227kg bale, on top of their current levy payments and their own on-farm biosecurity management costs.
AgForce said the Budget had also fallen short in delivering a sought-after funding injection into road infrastructure, critical to lift productivity.
The government had also raised the heavy vehicle road user charge by 6 per cent per year over three years, a move that would have significant implications for supply chains and rural communities.
Ms Somerset said the Budget had done nothing to take the pressure off the nation’s food and fibre providers.
“Obviously we were looking for consistent biosecurity funding but we weren’t looking for farmers to be funding it,” she said.
“Farmers are already a significant contributor to this system and so the move to have them foot even more of the bill is disappointing to say the least.
“As far as the roads are concerned, we need significant investment in infrastructure, and not just where we’ve had damage, but to actually finish our road networks and get those supply chain pathways firmed up for agriculture.
“It’s a critical expense and if we don’t keep investing in it, eventually we’ll end up playing a very expensive game of catch up.”
AgForce said the budget did include some positive moves on workforce supply, including $370 million for the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility scheme, as well as $76 million for reducing visa processing times, and an extension to pensioner work incentives.
However, this was counteracted by a more than 15 per cent increase in visa application costs, including for backpackers looking to work in agriculture.
“There are many examples in this Budget of the government giving with one hand but taking with the other, It is really disappointing for Queensland agriculture,” Mrs Somerset said.
