14 June 2024. Last updated 14 June 2024.
The Clean Energy Jobs Bill passed on the 18th of April 2024 has brought to light some of the grave concerns that farmers in our state have about mandated emissions targets.
Imposing mandatory GHG emission targets on the agricultural industry will have undesirable, unintended consequences that will be felt by the whole country.
More than 90 per cent of the food Australians eat is produced domestically. Do we really want to risk increasing the cost of food during a cost-of-living crisis for the sake of reaching targets we never agreed to in the first place?
Increased expectations about climate management will impose higher costs on producers. This must be matched by increased support and better access to finance.
Australian producers already pay some of the highest rates and levies in the world. In place for over 30 years, the Australian agricultural levy system is a partnership between government and industry that supports investment into best practice production, including greenhouse gas emission reduction.
In 2022, it was estimated that a total of $565 million was paid to Australian agriculture’s four statutory research and development corporations and nine industry-owned research and marketing companies.
Producers are already doing their part in supporting corporations that fund research into reducing emissions – it’s time for incentives to help our farmers be a part of the solution.