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House of Assembly - Fifty-First Parliament, Second Session (51-2)
2007-10-25 Daily Xml
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DROUGHT

Mr VENNING (Schubert) (15:23): Today I rise to speak about the impact the drought is having, and will continue to have, on everyone in South Australia and every single household in the state. I am referring to the impact of the drought on food availability and food prices.

Years ago legislation existed to ensure that we had a certain amount of food stocks in reserve, in other words, on hand, should desperate times call for a reliance on such reserves. Our wheat and barley boards were compelled by an act of parliament to retain minimum stocks of grain as emergency carryover stocks, so every year thousands of tonnes were quarantined and kept in South Australian storage. Well, it just does not happen any more—and I am very concerned.

I can see that desperate times are, or could be, fast approaching as the worst drought in the history of our country continues to worsen. Food is already increasing in price, with further rises assured, as everyday commodities become more expensive to produce and less readily available. There are alarming predictions about huge price rises before Christmas and shortages into the New Year, resulting from failed crops due to lack of water. I cannot think of another agricultural disaster in the history of our state—or the country, for that matter—that comes close to this one.

South Australians need to brace themselves for a hit in the hip pocket or resign themselves to the fact that they may have to go without some of the food they take for granted. There was a similar situation with the Queensland storm (Cyclone Larry), which caused an acute shortage of bananas. Prices increased twentyfold and often bananas were not available.

The nation's food bowl, the Murray-Darling Basin, does not have enough water in the system to keep its 150,000 hectares of citrus, apples, pears, apricots, plums, cherries, table grapes and wine grapes alive. The established trees in the basin are currently withering and dying as they fail to survive on their current 16 per cent water allocation. Fruit production in the Murray-Darling Basin accounts for approximately 40 per cent of Australia's produce and is worth approximately $1.5 billion. The demise of this region is and will continue to impact financially on everyone.

The Australian Vegetable Growers Federation has suggested that there will be nil production in the Murray-Darling region this year as farmers will not be planting crops. Manufacturers and farmers have been absorbing the costs over recent times and, with the drought showing no signs of easing, it is getting to a point where it can no longer be sustained. Farmers are paying exorbitant prices for water, and they will have no option but to pass on the soaring costs to their customers across South Australia and the rest of the country.

Consumers have in part the Rann Labor government to thank for the price rises that have already and will continue to occur. If alternative water supplies were implemented sooner, South Australia would have been weaned off its reliance on the Murray, and the Murray-Darling Basin irrigators would have had a chance to save their fruit trees and continue to grow the quality citrus that we all enjoy. This drought could result in increasing prices similar to those experienced in Cyclone Larry, except that such increases would be across all commodities, not just bananas.

Experts have warned that bread, dairy, eggs, fruit and vegetables will all increase sharply in price in the lead-up to Christmas—some commodities by as much as 50 per cent. A commodity that everyone consumes, bread, will have to rise by at least 20¢ a loaf. The current plight of grain crops will also mean that the cost of hundreds of processed foods will increase sharply, too. I remind the house that less than 20 per cent of the cost of a loaf of bread relates to the cost of the wheat and the flour. Milk is also forecast to jump heavily in price as dairies around the state are being forced to close as a result of the high cost of production and decreasing milk production.

That means that milk and dairy products will be less plentiful. Butter will increase by as much as 40 per cent—and it has—in South Australia due to the nationwide shortage. Many small businesses rely upon butter for their products and they are already feeling the squeeze, and suppliers have begun to ration this everyday commodity. The pork industry has indicated that many pork products will rise in price by $1 or $2 per kilo. That is due to the rising cost of grain. It will also result in pork becoming less readily available as pig farmers in many cases destock and empty their sheds.

Pensioners and those from low socioeconomic groups will find these price rises impossible to deal with and will simply turn to less healthy but cheaper food options. The state government needs to appreciate the financial difficulties such rises will have on families and use its power to limit the negative effect it has on South Australian households. A boost to funding for anti-poverty programs may help to ease the strain this has on people's budgets. Also, a price-watch program needs to be set up.

However, price rises are only the tip of the iceberg in regards to food. As less produce leaves farms, supplies will dwindle. Items such as wheat, milk, eggs and vegetables, which are all foods essential for people's health, will become much less plentiful. The state government needs to monitor the food levels. We must ensure that there is enough should the drought crisis reach unimaginable levels and certain foods become completely unavailable. We must also monitor the levels of availability of some of the essential food items overseas.

Time expired.

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