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Legislative Council - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2012-03-28 Daily Xml
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AUSTRALIAN YEAR OF THE FARMER

Adjourned debate on motion of Hon. J.S.L. Dawkins:

That this council—

1. Notes that 2012 is the Australian Year of the Farmer; and

2. Acknowledges the contribution that farmers and all others involved in primary production make to both feeding our nation and to sustaining Australia's economy.

(Continued from 15 February 2012.)

The Hon. G.A. KANDELAARS (20:20): The Australian Year of the Farmer 2012 rightly celebrates the vital contribution farming makes to our national landscape: the people, the industries and the amazing products grown and made. But forget about the stereotypes and clichés; this year is about more than simply recognising the much-loved image of the quintessential hat-and-boot-wearing farmer leaning against his dusty ute with his faithful kelpie by his side

It is widely recognised that Australian farmers, both men and women, are some of the most innovative and technologically advanced in the world. Farmers in 2012 are more driven, adaptable, resilient and market savvy than ever before. More than $15 billion worth of economic benefit—that is, 10 per cent of gross state product—and almost one in five jobs result directly from the agribusiness sector. As a state government, we want to drive this sector even further. One of our seven primary areas of focus for action is to ensure that South Australia becomes the clean and green food bowl of the world.

Yes, we really fit this bill and have an enviable reputation as one of the world's most sustainable food producing locations due to clean, green land and marine environments and eco-friendly policies. However, there is scope to further increase productivity and efficiency in our food system. Opportunities to do this have already been identified through our Thinker in Residence program. Professor Andrew Fearne's report, Sustainable Food and Wine Value Chains, outlines how we can capitalise on our position as a food and wine innovator. The Fearne report found that South Australia has a competitive market advantage that we can further leverage.

We now need to step up to the plate and market our rural industries to both Australia and the world and take advantage of the existing value chain and clean, green export opportunities. By increasing the value of our primary production, entire regional communities will benefit. Complementary industries, such as global food and wine and ecotourism developments, mining support services, forestry, food and wine processing will also be boosted. There are exciting times ahead for South Australia's farming community, and we hope for another productive and profitable 2012. I encourage all South Australians to enjoy the increased and much-deserved attention the Year of the Farmer brings to our lives.

The Hon. M. PARNELL (20:24): The Greens are very pleased to be supporting this motion and acknowledging the Year Of the Farmer and the contribution that farmers and others involved in primary production make both in feeding our nation and sustaining our economy. I do not think anyone here will disagree with the assertion that food security is an absolutely critical issue for Australia. In fact, I am reminded that there is a saying. It is often printed on T-shirts. It is attributed, I think, to one of the Northern American Indian chiefs, and it goes something along the lines of 'Not until the last tree has been chopped down and the last fish has been caught will people eventually realise that you can't eat money.'

We are going to have to have a viable agricultural sector for ourselves and also for other countries that simply will not be able to produce the amount of food they need for their people. We debate in this place a lot the various components that make up our economy, whether it is the motor vehicle manufacturing sector, the mining industry or fishing, or whatever it might be, but certainly agriculture is, always has been and I think must remain, a vital part of our economy. But that does not mean that it is not a sector of our economy that is under threat.

The first of these threats that I would like to refer to is in relation to the threats that we now have on the traditional family farm model from a range of sources but, in particular, foreign ownership. One of the things the Greens have been doing in the federal parliament, in cooperation with our former colleague here, now Senator Nick Xenophon, is that we have been working legislation in the federal parliament to require the Foreign Investment Review Board to review major sales of agricultural land and to make sure that that review tests those sales against the detailed national interest test.

That notion still has a way to go before it will receive general acceptance, I think, but certainly there is great pressure afoot for this move to be implemented. Members who read The Weekend Australian would have seen the full page in the issue of the 24-25 March this year, in the Inquirer section of the newspaper, the banner headline 'End of the family farm?' What that article spells out is what they describe as the 'chorus of concern' about foreign ownership of farmland that is daily growing, and it is being fuelled by frequent news of large property sales to foreign companies.

The article sets out that a study by the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences in January this year found that 11.3 per cent of Australia's farmland (that is some 44 million hectares) was owned or part owned by foreign interests in 2010. In the Northern Territory the share was 24 per cent. I do not have the figure for South Australia. There is also anecdotal evidence that this rush for land is increasing.

But it is only sales of farmland that are valued at more than $244 million that require Foreign Review Board approval, and many farm organisations (and the Greens agree with them) say that this threshold is too high. There are hundreds of rural property transactions that slip under the radar; they are unrecorded. The federal opposition has called for the threshold above which foreign rural property sales need to be scrutinised by government to be lowered to $20 million. The Greens are saying that it should be a $5 million threshold.

So, that is the first threat that our farmers are facing: the threat to the family farm. Another threat we have not seen as much of here in South Australia, but certainly we are seeing it in New South Wales and, in particular, in Queensland, and that is the threat to farming from mining operations and from coal seam gas operations as well. That campaign to protect Australia's food bowl has gathered to it a range of strange bedfellows.

There are many people who the Greens have certainly lined up with, who we do not normally see eye to eye with, but on this particular issue we are keen to protect valuable farmland from having its water resource destroyed by coal seam gas mining, or having the land itself destroyed by some of the coal mining, in particular, that is being undertaken in those other states. So, that is another threat that our farmers are facing.

A third threat, and this does apply very much to South Australia as much as to farmers in other states, is the impact on farmgate prices of the Coles and Woolworths duopoly, the fact that those two companies control such a massive percentage of our grocery market. The Greens believe that this duopoly of interests works directly against the interests of rural and regional Australia, and it also does not serve well the interests of consumers or anyone in small business.

There has been a real stoush in the federal parliament this year with parties unable to agree on giving direction to the ACCC to, basically, address this duopoly that is so bad for business. We have been disappointed, at the federal level, to see Liberal, Labor and National MPs voting down motions that are put forward to try to get the ACCC more involved and to do some serious work on the impacts of that duopoly on consumers, but for present purposes on farmgate prices for family farmers. So, that has been disappointing.

We also have a threat that we have referred to in this chamber in the last month or so, that is, the lack of labelling of produce so that it is possible to accurately identify where it comes from. The labelling that most people are familiar with is in terms of country of origin and the notion of something being made in Australia, but the Greens believe that we should be giving specific support to South Australian farmers with place of origin, or even region of origin labelling.

There was a great deal of controversy towards the end of last year and early this year, when it became apparent that the 'Made in Australia' labelling on food in our supermarkets meant no such thing. The great irony is that the major supermarkets can import fruit and vegetables and package them in packages that have Australian landscapes printed on them, yet when you find out where they have really come from they have simply been processed and packaged here but the actual food itself comes from overseas. So, that is a real threat as well.

A particular threat, and I will not talk about it at great length because we have discussed it a little bit tonight, is the threat to some of the farmland in close proximity to Adelaide itself. We are looking at the areas with great food growing potential in the Adelaide Hills around Mount Barker and the northern regions around Gawler, and we have also had a number of threats to farmland in the McLaren Vale area as well. We are going to be addressing that in this term of parliament, I presume, when we get legislation back before us dealing with the Barossa and McLaren Vale regions, but if there was no threat to farmland there would be no need for legislation, so clearly that is a relevant threat that we should be looking at in the Year of the Farmer.

I would like to finish on a positive note. There are a number of moves, or developments, that actually do promote the interests of farmers. Farmers markets are starting to proliferate around the metropolitan area and the state. I think urban people are finding it very attractive to buy directly from producers, you know, eyeball the person who grew the produce and buy it from them direct, and those growers are commanding far better prices than they would if they were forced to sell their merchandise through the duopoly of Coles and Woolworths.

We also have a range of community-supported agricultural box schemes, as they are called, where you can order a range of fresh produce, which is either collected by you locally from an agent or delivered to your door. A lot more direct marketing is happening in the agricultural sector, and these are positive developments for local farmers. They are putting people in the city in touch with farmers directly. I think we should be encouraging and supporting all such initiatives that directly benefit the people who grow our food. Whilst it might be seen as a bit of a hippy or fringe activity, you only have to go to these farmers' markets to see that it is not so. It is mainstream Australia getting back in touch with those people who create the food.

I understand that in the state of Oregon in the US, the number one biggest job creator in the whole state is local, organic direct food connection. It is an absolutely booming part of their local economy. With those brief words, the Greens are very happy to support this motion. We congratulate the Hon. John Dawkins for bringing it to us and we look forward to working in this place over the next several years to give our farmers the best possible go to provide the food that we all need.

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY (Leader of the Opposition) (20:36): I rise to make a few brief comments—maybe briefer than the brief ones of the Hon. Mark Parnell. Just looking at the motion that has been moved by the Hon. John Dawkins that we acknowledge the contribution that farmers and all others involved in primary production make to feeding the nation and sustaining the nation's economy, I would like to quickly take people back to when farming first started in this country, particularly in this state.

The Hon. R.I. Lucas: Really? Can you trace it year by year since then?

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY: Yes, I'll take a couple of hundred years to trace each year. Of course, it is an industry that built this nation. We used to ride on the sheep's back, as we all know. Our economy has diversified and transformed somewhat over the last 200 years. As I mentioned, I was recently on a fact finding mission on Eyre Peninsula and I think it is quite stark there when you see driving down the road every now and then the ruins of a little old farmhouse where somebody got an allocation of land, bought some land, cleared it, developed it, built a house (probably with their own hands) and raised a family, but of course times have moved on and now that is derelict and a ruin.

I think it is those people we should take our hats off to who helped build this great nation and the economy that we enjoy today. The heartache and the blood, sweat and tears that went into a lot of those small farming operations helped to build our communities and develop our nation. While we need to be cognisant of the need to feed the world and the contribution farmers make today, I think we should never forget the contribution that farmers made in building this nation to where it is today.

I saw that transformation when I was out at a place called Coorabie about 180 kilometres west of Ceduna. I think Pintumba is the Viterra site where you deliver grain. It is the most western silo in the state. I was staying with some friends there and was looking at their property. When they moved there—and I think it was about 13 years ago—there were 17 farming families who delivered grain to that silo. Today there is only three. Again, that shows the transformation. Yet, they deliver more grain.

You might laugh but in fact those three families deliver more grain than the 17 did. They use the latest technology. As the Hon. Gerry Kandelaars said, they are some of the world's most efficient, resourceful and innovative people. You look at this husband and wife and their son living almost 200 kilometres west of Ceduna, growing some wonderful crops and contributing to the economy and wealth of our great state.

I have been a farmer for the first 23 years of my working life. I did transition a little bit. A bit like the Hon. Robert Brokenshire, I was double dipping. I was a farmer and a politician. Of course, then I realised that the service to the people of South Australia was more important than being a farmer, so I sold my property to my brother.

The Hon. R.L. Brokenshire: You can do both. Just give up sleep.

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY: The Hon. Robert Brokenshire doesn't sleep. I need a bit of sleep, but obviously the Hon. Robert Brokenshire doesn't sleep. In selling my family farm, I sold it to my brother. I was talking to him about six months ago and he was lamenting the fact that they have quite a robust mixed farming operation—grain, cropping, sheep, horticultural crops and a small sand washing business. They have a little bit of mining diversity. He said it was almost one day a week they needed one person to deal with the compliance imposed on them by government, and that is not necessarily any one particular colour of government.

Government compliance means that in a family farming business, it is almost one person a week to deal with the office work and the compliance. Again, I think we have to be careful we do not over-regulate our farmers. I know the Hon. Mark Parnell and some others in the community support farmers, but are always trying to point the environmental stick and the animal husbandry stick at them. You, sir, have shorn thousands of sheep—one of the South-East's gun shearers at the time, as you were—

The Hon. R.L. Brokenshire interjecting:

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY: Well, maybe not a million. You would know, Mr President, that the sheep that were best to shear and that returned the best to the farmer were the ones that were cared for the best. The pastures were good and healthy and the sheep were well looked after, as with any other animal or anything that is farmed, and I suspect it is the same whether it is a fish in the sea in aquaculture or an animal on land. The better they are cared for and the healthier the environment in which they are raised, the better they are. The same applies with crops and production from the land: the healthier the land is, the better the crops are.

There has always been a bit of an arm wrestle between the environmentalists, the Greens and the farmers, but at the end of the day my view is—and I have seen it first hand—the vast majority of, if not all, farmers have a passionate understanding of the environment they work in, and they do care for their properties and the environment as they know that it is in the best interest of a financial return and in the best interest of the country.

The Hon. Mark Parnell talked about mining and coal seam gas, and certainly they are risks to certain parts of our farming community, but I am also reminded of the comments the Hon. Caroline Schaefer made some years ago when the Eyre Peninsula was going through some pretty tough times and droughts and of course the Olympic Dam mine had opened up at Roxby Downs and there were some part-time jobs. We have to be mindful that sometimes our farming communities can interact with mining and they can be sympathetic to each other rather than in conflict.

I am pleased also that a couple of years ago in Darwin I saw an initiative undertaken by the Northern Territory Seafood Council, which was to have all the local restaurants put on their menus when they were selling imported seafood. We may want to consider at some point in future, rather than just point of sale of identification of country of origin (or, as the Hon. Mark Parnell talks about, state of origin) at a retail level at the supermarket, looking at it from a local promotion or tourism point of view to having displayed on menus when the food is not South Australian.

The final comment I make is that I am pleased the Labor Party and the Hon. Gerry Kandelaars are making some comments supporting this, but I am disappointed that on my understanding we still do not have a representative from the farming community on the Eyre Peninsula Regional Development Board, and that is something that should be addressed. With those few comments, I support the motion.

The Hon. R.L. BROKENSHIRE (20:43): I will be brief, because we have a lot of other business to do tonight and during the early hours of the morning, I understand. I congratulate the Hon. John Dawkins for moving this motion, which is a very important motion, one that Family First strongly supports and one that I personally support. It comes just one year after we celebrated 170 years since my mother's family first came to South Australia farming.

The Hon. D.W. Ridgway: You don't look a day over 56, Brokey!

The Hon. R.L. BROKENSHIRE: No, well, it is the easy life in politics. We have seen the highs and lows of faming: we have seen the family go broke, make money and I am hoping we will make some money some time in the future—that is what I am promising my son, which is why he is still farming. It is a very important industry. It is an industry I talk about regularly. I am proud and passionate about it.

I cannot spend enough time tonight describing the experience and reward you get when you are involved in agriculture, when you are working with animals, crops and nature. As the Hon. David Ridgway has said, farmers are very focused on the environment. If the environment is not right on our farms, then we suffer financially, with stress and with all the frustrations of things not being the way you would hope they would be with your farm. I will have other occasions this year in which to help celebrate the Australian Year of the Farmer.

I want to finish with a couple of key points. First, this the first year in the history of our nation that we have actually even focused on or acknowledged the Australian Year of the Farmer. Sir, as President, you should be proud of your own achievements. You have done very well. Not many of us will get into your chair; a lot of us would like to, but we will not have that opportunity.

Having said that, sir, you had that opportunity because your ancestors worked hard, developed land, generated economic opportunity and helped to grow agriculture. I am sure you would very much appreciate what your father, grandfather and family have also done for agriculture in this state—and look where you have ended up, sir: at the top of the tree when it comes to the Legislative Council. That all started from an agricultural background.

We do have the full-on deregulators, we have people who are not focused on agriculture enough, but I hope that all that will be debated. Many of us have argued that the future of agriculture is in family farming, not flogging off our land to foreign ownership backed by governments (particularly Communist governments) and also flogging off our water. We have a lot that we can and will debate, but I am disappointed that the Australian Year of the Farmer had to be an initiative from those in agriculture and not a federal initiative.

Notwithstanding that, I respect and appreciate tonight's bipartisan support through someone I think is an up-and-coming—and very quickly—senior member of this government, that is, the Hon. Gerry Kandelaars. He has commented tonight, on behalf of the government, that the government does support this. Well, if it is going to support it, the first time the government can show that support and put its money where its mouth is, is in May, in the budget.

My first challenge, in the Australian Year of the Farmer 2012, for South Australians in agriculture and for this government is to actually reinstate money and not have further reductions in the budget to PIRSA. That would be a good step forward. That would be a step towards the commitment that was made by the government to lift the focus of agriculture when we came back from the proroguing of the parliament and heard the Governor make his speech on behalf of the government.

The final point I want to make is that when you have international years, when you have an Australian Year of the Farmer, unfortunately most of the time little is achieved: 'warm and fuzzies', a few celebrations. One of the few achievements I can remember with any international year of whatever the subject is at the time was the international year for the disability sector. I think we actually started to refocus and, as a world, come some way towards recognition and delivery of what we should be doing when it comes to the issues around supporting people with a disability. I cannot recall many other international years when we achieved much at all other than 'warm and fuzzies'.

I would like to see this year not be another warm and fuzzy; I would like to see this year be a year when we actually put a proper effort into ensuring that, out of celebrating the Australian Year of the Farmer in 2012, we get outcomes for rural and regional South Australia and Australia for family farmers, for those people who live in the country, and for those people who live in the city; that we look at the incredible opportunities we have if we capitalise on food production for the world into the future. If we come back here next year and see no improvement—with our focus as a government, as a parliament, as a nation, as a state—with agriculture it has all been warm and fuzzy with no delivery. I support the motion and look forward to positive outcomes for farmers in South Australia in particular and, indeed, in Australia.

The Hon. J.S.L. DAWKINS (20:48): In summary, I will be brief. First, I would like to thank the Hon. Gerry Kandelaars, the Hon. Mark Parnell, the Hon. David Ridgway, my leader in this place, and the Hon. Mr Brokenshire for their contributions this evening. I would also like to thank a number of others in the chamber who have indicated their support for the motion, and I particularly note the Hon. Mr Darley, who raised the issue in this chamber last year in question time.

One of the key things in the motion is that the Australian Year of the Farmer is important to acknowledge the contribution that farmers and all others involved in primary production make to both feeding our nation and sustaining Australia's economy. There is an additional point that I would like to focus on that I think has been raised in the last couple of days in this place when we have been talking about conservation and animal welfare.

One of the things that we need to recognise in such a motion is the fact that the great majority of farmers, pastoralists and horticulturalists are excellent conservationists and experts in animal husbandry. I do not think we give those people enough credit, particularly in relation to the land that they farm and in other aspects of the environment, that they lead the way, and I think that that is one of the things that the Year of the Farmer can also focus on.

The Hon. Mr Parnell talked quite a bit about the labelling of food products in his speech; that is obviously a passion of his, and it is one that is close to a lot of us who have been in farming industries. I would like to highlight the terrific work that is being done by Grow SA, an organisation which has emanated out of the Virginia Horticulture Centre.

They have done terrific work not only in the Virginia region, but in the South-East of the state and the Riverland, to give local South Australian produce that particular focus and that label which is becoming very well renowned around not only South Australia but across the border. So, well done to the Virginia Horticulture Centre for that initiative.

One of the focuses of this Australian Year of the Farmer is to promote the career options and opportunities for young people and also people who are perhaps looking for a change in their life and to move away from the city. Those career options and opportunities are not only in agriculture, but also in associated industries. I think of sectors such as farm machinery dealers, stock agents, shearers and many others.

I think all of those vocations need to highlight the fact that there are great opportunities in those industries, and I hope that the Australian Year of the Farmer can achieve that aim in getting that message out, not only to those who believe in and are involved in agriculture but, more importantly, as others have said, to those who have a background in urban life and industry.

Sir, earlier this year I asked a question of the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Fisheries in relation to the amount of financial and in-kind support that has been provided to the Australian Year of the Farmer Ltd by the state government. I have not received those figures as yet, and I would be very interested to get them. I have written to the minister asking that she provide them to me.

In conclusion, can I commend the Chairman of the Australian Year of the Farmer Ltd, Mr Philip Bruem AM, and Managing Director, Mr Geoff Bell, for coming up with the idea of the Australian Year of the Farmer, and for not only encapsulating that thought but also doing the hard work lobbying businesses and governments around the country and getting so many people enthused about the fact the fact that this is a very worthy cause. To those two gentlemen, and to the many people around the nation who are supporting them, I give my congratulations. In closing, I once again thank the Legislative Council for its support of this motion, and I commend it to the chamber.

Motion carried.

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