Grain Producers Australia says taking steps to ensure all parties to Australia’s robust biosecurity system contribute to management costs should be at the forefront of Canberra’s efforts in this area.
It says Agriculture Minister Murray Watt’s announcement the Albanese Government has delivered an additional $47.1 million to the national biosecurity system under a revised fees and charges regime only touches the surface of what needs to be looked at for a sustainably funded system.
These fees and charges, largely applying to importers and travelers entering and leaving the country, had remained unchanged for the best part of a decade until July 2023 and has since brought in an additional $47.1 million.
GPA chair Barry Large said fees and charges for these activities match the actual costs of managing these processes, whether it be for inspections and assessments or potential incident management, is commonsense.
He said the push by Mr Watt and the Government to apply a new biosecurity tax to the agricultural industry, rather than recouping costs from existing fees and charges is short-sighted and unsustainable.
“There will always be inequities in the system when it comes to which parties contribute the most to biosecurity management but in the case of the biosecurity tax, introducing new costs for the groups that already contribute significantly to biosecurity risk mitigation through levies was not the answer,” Mr Large said.
“Addressing issues that act as a cost-recovery is a start and it remains the view of GPA that measures such as a levy on incoming shipping containers, a measure that has been avoided by the Federal Government, need to be considered as a matter of priority.”
The Bills relating to the controversial biosecurity tax are yet to be withdrawn from Senate notice papers, despite commitment from crossbench senators David Pocock (Canberra) and Jacqui Lambie (Tasmania), who opposed the bill to implement the levy.
If passed, this legislation will take $50 million from the pockets of farmers to fund the Agriculture Department’s general revenue, with no clear commitment funds would be spent on biosecurity-related activities.
GPA maintained strong opposition to this proposed legislation in the interests of all 22,500 levy-paying producers through its roles to Plant Health Australia and as the signatories to the Emergency Plant Pest Response Deed (EPPRD).
“We clearly take biosecurity seriously given the significant sums we already pay in levies to fund a range of activities, initiatives and partnerships, to deliver shared benefits for all Australians,” Mr Large said.
“We will never lose sight of the greater picture and take this view to our involvement in the Sustainable Biosecurity Funding Advisory Panel.”
