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Legislative Council - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2012-05-01 Daily Xml
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GRAIN INDUSTRY FUND

The Hon. J.S.L. DAWKINS (15:20): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Fisheries a question regarding the Primary Industry Funding Scheme for grain producers.

Leave granted.

The Hon. J.S.L. DAWKINS: Following my previous questions in this place about the minister's recent decision to implement a grain industry Primary Industry Funding Scheme, a number of issues with this levy and the resultant fund have been raised with the member for Hammond in another place and myself. It is needless to say that the industry is very keen to see the minister take action to secure this fund for its primary purpose: the development of South Australia's grain industry—this state's largest agricultural commodity. My questions to the minister are:

1. Will the minister confirm that the Primary Industry Funding Scheme for grain producers actually came into operation on 1 March this year, and can she indicate how much has been collected in this scheme to date?

2. How much money remains in the now dormant fund which was collected by levy under the Wheat Marketing Act, and what is the minister intending to use these funds for?

3. Will the minister commit to using all funds collected through the Primary Industry Funding Scheme to benefit grain producers and not take out a cut for the state government to aid its tight budget?

4. When will the minister be making the funds collected through the PIF scheme available to the grain industry for its development?

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Agriculture, Food and Fisheries, Minister for Forests, Minister for Regional Development, Minister for Tourism, Minister for the Status of Women) (15:22): I thank the honourable member for his ongoing interest in this area. As I have spoken about in this place before, I have established a new funding scheme for the grain industry to replace the SAFF grain section fund established under the Wheat Marketing Act.

I have to say and I will continue to say that I was not happy to have been put in a position to have to do that. I believe most firmly that these matters should be dealt with by the industry bodies themselves. They should manage these affairs themselves and work out whatever their suitable representative structure is, their governance structures and spending priorities. They should be directly accountable to the industry itself and they should just get on and do it, is what I have always said.

However, that was not to be. It crashed and put at risk the industry fund itself. I am of a firm belief that this industry fund is very important to the industry and that it would have an adverse effect if the fund was to fold. Because it is a voluntary fund, there was the risk of grain growers starting to bail out, so to speak—excuse the pun—and asking for a refund, if their confidence was rattled enough. So, the whole fund could have simply crashed and burned and that, as I said, would not be to the industry's advantage at all. In fact, I think it would be disadvantaged by that.

The previous minister and myself tried to get parties together to resolve their differences which became irreconcilable, which is incredibly disappointing and very frustrating. Nevertheless, they weren't going to reconcile their differences, so I was forced to step in and, therefore, I established this fund. As I have said in this place before, the scheme remains a voluntary scheme. It is established under the primary industry fund regulations, which is under the Primary Industry Funding Schemes Act 1998.

Grain grower organisations will be able to apply for funds from this scheme to provide services to grain growers in accordance with a five-year management plan. The five-year management plan for the new scheme will be drafted by an independent consultant following extensive consultation with grain growers and the industries. I have said in this place before—and I will continue to say—that all funds that remain dormant, and future funds, will continue to be spent solely in the interests of the grains industry.

The scheme is established to improve accountability for the use of funds contributed by grain growers. The scheme requires grain purchasers to presume consent of grain growers and deduct from the proceeds of the sale of the South Australian grain grower an amount prescribed of 5¢ per tonne. Grain purchasers then remit the deductions within 28 days of each month and, unless I approve a written request from a grain purchaser to vary that remittance, I am happy to look at that quarterly or annual payment.

The funding scheme started on 1 March 2012. The first remittances of deductions from the sale of the grain sold on or after this date will be paid by grain purchasers during April. A five-year management plan is to be drafted in wide consultation with grain growers and industry by a private consultant to be appointed for the task. The plan will be reviewed and updated annually, again using a consultative process.

The five-year management plan will cover the types of activities which may be funded; how an organisation may access the fund; how applications for projects will be assessed, which may be by a committee, and, if by committee, how that committee will be formed; reporting requirements for projects funded under the scheme; and the level and format of consultation that grain growers consider appropriate for the required annual revisions of that management plan. The plan will be completed by June and presented at a public meeting held for the purpose in accordance with the provisions of the PIF scheme in August 2012, at a time close to the SAFF annual general meeting.

The residual funds in the Wheat Marketing Act, Grains Section Fund, will be applied in accordance with the intent of the act for the purposes that benefit the grain growers who have contributed to that scheme. I believe that the amount in that fund is something around $150,000 or $200,000. I am hoping that someone from my office—my trusty adviser—will just verify that for me, if they are listening. However, if my trusty adviser cannot verify that information for me while I am here, if it is not in that vicinity, I am happy to bring back that amount.

The grain purchasers' remittances are continuing for the SAFF fund for grain sold from the 2011-12 harvest. Most of the grain sales for the last harvest were deemed to have occurred at the time that the sale contract was dated and the grain delivered, and the date of the sale was on or before 29 February 2012, before the date of the transition to the new scheme. So, the deductions may be remitted to the Wheat Marketing Act 1989, SAFF Grains Section Fund.

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