On Wednesday, Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources, the Coalition’s David Littleproud and Shadow Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Labor’s Joel Fitzgibbon tackled the big issues facing the farm sector in front of a sell-out crowd.
The Agriculture Minister and the man who wants to take his job come 18 May went head to head this week in a debate at the National Press Club in Canberra.
The debate was co-hosted by the National Farmers’ Federation
and broadcast across the country by the ABC and Sky News.
Minister Littleproud [LW1] opened
the batting pointing out two young farmers in the room, Carolina Merriman and
Cameron Parker.
“This election is about them and the future of their industry. It’s time to bring young people home.”
Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources, David Littleproud
Wasting no time, Minister Littleproud quickly turned the
conversation to big issues like live export, animal activists, the Murray Darling
Basin Plan and the future of the dairy industry.
Mr Fitzgibbon began by highlighting the challenge of climate change and what he believes to be the ‘ag priorities’ for a new Government.
“We won’t fix the problem until we acknowledge them and be open to change,” he said in reference to climate change.
“The Government needs
to show leadership: improve sustainability, grow investment by increasing
confidence, pursue fairer market access, build new infrastructure and grow
productivity.”
Looking after the land
The first question from the press core went to each leader’s
plans for native vegetation laws and land stewardship.
When questioned on Labor’s intention for land clearing laws,
Mr Fitzgibbon said Labor was “happy to put 10 years of carbon laws behind us
and we have a very robust climate policy where we have excluded the
agricultural sector.”
He outlined Labor’s $40 million commitment to developing methodologies to allow farmers to be capitalise on the carbon market.
“This is the best defence to drought and building a resilient sector through the carbon market. We are not rolling out national laws on land clearing.”
Shadow Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Joel Fitzgibbon
Minister Littleproud claimed Labor needed to reveal more detail
behind its plans for native vegetation management.
“If you’re going to impose national vegetation laws you’re potentially locking up the potential of agriculture by taking away a farmers right of the stewardship of their land,” Minister Littleproud said.
