Farmers welcome bipartisan support for biodiversity stewardship and certification initiatives

The National Farmers’ Federation has welcomed Shadow Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Minister, Joel Fitzgibbon and Federal Labor’s support for the concepts of an Agricultural Biodiversity Stewardship Program and sustainability certification.

NFF President Fiona Simson said bipartisan support for these important policy areas was critical to assisting the farm sector to continue to deliver positive environmental outcomes for all Australians.

“The NFF have been seeking to improve the paradigm in which farmers manage their natural resources for many years.

“As of today we have broad scale political support for such change and that is reassuring.

“This is a key component of delivering the NFF’s vision for agriculture to be a $100 billion industry by 2030, which Mr Fitzgibbon also supports.”

“Mr Fitzgibbon says he believes market-based instruments should be developed in a robust and transparent manner and we agree.

“The NFF continues to hold the view that market instruments, such as those proposed, would benefit from public investment to develop appropriate mechanisms, as would investment in the market, at least in the initial stages.”

Ms Simson said she looked forward to working with the Parliament to deliver these critical outcomes.

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