Labor’s fresh food tax and the damage it will cause by driving up the cost-of-living and making groceries more expensive, will be investigated by a Senate committee today.
Nationals Leader David Littleproud said the fresh food tax, which is due to be implemented on July 1, is as an attack on families and farmers.
He said the biosecurity protection levy will force farmers to pay for the biosecurity risks of international importers.
“The Senate inquiry in Canberra and its outcome is crucial because this new tax will impact almost every single Australian family and farmer,” Mr Littleproud said.
“The new tax makes absolutely no sense. It will hurt families at a time they can least afford it and farmers who are already under pressure.
“Farmers will be forced to pass on costs, meaning families will feel more pain at the grocery checkout. In what parallel universe would a government charge its own farmers to pay for the risks their competitors are creating?”
Mr Littleproud said every family and farmer deserved to feel angry that the fresh food tax had already been passed in the House of Representatives.
“The Nationals will continue to fight this senseless new tax. We will fight for families and we will fight for farmers, especially when it comes to taxes that impact food prices.”
Ahead of the inquiry, Dandenong North chestnut farmer Luciano Cester has written to every Senator, urging them not to support the tax.
“Primary producers like me will likely attempt to compensate by scaling back production from the rise in cost associated with a new biosecurity tax,” Mr Cester said.
“If demand for goods remains the same or increases, this manufactured scarcity of production will contribute to a rise in prices for agricultural goods to consumers.
“The Australian economy and farmers should not be made to bear the additional financial burden of this new biosecurity tax.”
