Labor told to deliver action on food security, ‘not a report’
Labor’s new food security plan must be ‘backed by action’ to urgently address critical infrastructure failings, farming groups and experts say.
Labor’s new food security plan must be “backed by action” to urgently address critical infrastructure failings, as well as fuel, pesticide and fertiliser supply risks, farming groups and experts have warned.
The Albanese government on Tuesday announced plans for a “Feeding Australia” national food security plan, to be guided by a new National Food Council.
The plan was welcomed as long overdue and timely, amid tariff wars, a Queensland cyclone, rising energy prices and bird flu. However, all involved in the food chain warned any plan needed to be highly practical and action-backed, rather than “just another report”.
“Farmers rely heavily on imported fuel, fertiliser and chemicals to grow our crops, exposing us to global disruptions,” said National Farmers Federation president David Jochinke.
He said farmers needed to be included in designing and implementing the plan “from the get-go”. “We need to ensure that this isn’t just another report, but a meaningful blueprint,” he said.
The call was echoed by Independent Food Distributors Australia. “We call on the government to include all those within the food supply chain – farmers, manufacturers, distributors, retailers and consumers,” said IFDA chief executive Richard Forbes.
He said the $3.5m allocated for the strategy was “a good start but … more funds will be needed”.
Andrew Henderson, senior fellow with the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, said the strategy would need to identify, prioritise and mitigate vulnerabilities “right across the entirety of the food system”.
“That’s liquid fuel security at a macro level, it’s fertiliser, it’s other critical inputs, it’s crop protection products, but it’s also domestic supply chain vulnerabilities like road and rail infrastructure,” said Mr Anderson, who is preparing a green paper on food security preparedness. “(It also needs to address) the capacity to be able to get critical imports from our ports back into rural and regional areas, where food production takes place, and then to get that food back to points of export and points of distribution.”
CropLife Australia said any plan should end regulation cost recovery, to stimulate investment in pesticide and crop innovations, while also warning council membership would be key. “We cannot allow such an important function to be hijacked by those who would otherwise undermine meaningful food security resilience with non-scientific and warped food ideologies,” said CropLife chief executive Matthew Crossey.
Nationals leader David Littleproud dismissed the pledge as “hollow words” in the “dying days” of the government, accusing it of ignoring calls for a food security plan for years.
Agriculture Minister Julie Collins said the strategy development would include farming and other supply chain groups and aim to limit the impact of external shocks, such as bird flu and extreme weather events.
“We need to have an integrated strategy to make sure that we look at the weaknesses across the entire food system, and that we’re able to mitigate those where it’s cost effective to do so,” she said.
She defended Labor’s record. “When we came to office, inflation had a six in front of it, it now has a two in front of it,” she said. “We’ve also been providing support, particularly for small businesses, with things like energy bill relief.”
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