3 December 2024. Michael Guerin, AgForce CEO.
Last week, as the Federal Government jammed 31 bills through the Upper House, two notable and important omissions inadvertently paid testament to the value of strong advocacy.
At the last minute the Government shelved a bill to create a National Environmental Protection Agency, as well as one to tax unrealised gains on the value of super funds.
Both are notable wins for advocacy created through significant work over a prolonged period of time – let’s quickly unpack each.
The proposed National Environmental Protection Agency is part of the so-called Nature Positive reforms that have been promoted by the Federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek since Labor came to power.
The idea of such a body is not necessarily a bad one. We can for example see very clearly in Queensland the need for fundamental reform across our environmental laws at state and federal level.
The overlaps and gaps are significant – and what suffers are landscapes, communities, and industry.
The fact this Government chose to largely ignore industry in the development process sadly ultimately led us to working with Independents and others to ensure the reform was stymied in its current form. What a missed opportunity.
Then there was the preposterous proposal to tax unrealised gains on super funds which they also sought to rush through the Parliament.
These were even more ludicrous than the proposed nature reforms, and another example of where Government sought to actively block us from the tax reform process. This ultimately led AgForce to work with others to ensure the reforms failed to pass in their current form.
Imagine if Government had chosen to work with us from the get-go on both of these important reform opportunities across vegetation, environment and tax reform, where we could have got to.
We could have had bold and fundamental reform in place to give communities and the next generation the confidence to invest. Instead, we have a stalemate.
What is clear is that everyone is preparing for the election. AgForce at a federal level now turns its attention to seeking clear and unambiguous undertakings from all political parties as they go to the Australian people in 2025 seeking a mandate to govern.
We desperately need reform. Our landscapes, communities, and industry rely on it to remain strong and resilient.
Let’s also hope the Government in the next term chooses to work more closely with industry so that the collective benefits we know can come from that synergy, can make a tangible difference.