NFF outlines farming priorities for federal election

With the 2019 federal election just over a month away, the National Farmers’ Federation (NFF) has developed a list of priorities for Australia’s next government to tackle, with the growth of agriculture to a $100 billion industry by 2030 the focus.

At the top of this list is the development of a National Agriculture Strategy to drive and coordinate the push towards $100 billion by 2030.

“Farmers are ambitious, highly productive and ingenious – but we won’t get to $100 billion alone,” says NFF CEO Tony Mahar. "We need whichever party forms government to be proactive and genuinely committed to partnering with us on agriculture’s accelerated success.

“Agriculture is a powerhouse of our national economy and the binding fabric of our regional communities. Yet unlike other leading industries, we remain without a Commonwealth government strategy for the future.”

The five priorities for the upcoming election identified by the NFF are:

• Fast-track ratification of the Indonesia-Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement
• The establishment of a $1 billion Ecosystem Services Fund
• Action on the Regional Telecommunications Review and funding for the Mobile Blackspots Program
• A commitment to act on agriculture’s labour shortage
• The creation of an internationally-competitive tax system for Australia

In support of these priorities, the NFF has pledged to hold all politicians and political parties to account on their response to the priorities in the lead up to the election.

“Agriculture is on a trajectory of growth, but the status quo won’t get us to $100 billion. We need disruption and change to business-as-usual," says Mahar. "We seek a federal government that ‘gets us’. A government that knows the value of agriculture to our national economy and the Australian identity and shares our vision for its future growth.”