Election: Liberal Party, Labor, Nationals and Greens rural policy list
In the home stretch of the 2022 election campaign, see where each party stands on the policy issues that will shape the future of the regions.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has cautioned voters of the uncertainty that lies ahead and urged them to stick to a government they know, while Leader of the Opposition Anthony Albanese has called for change.
In the lead-up to the May 21 election, The Weekly Times will focus on policies that matter to rural and regional Australians. Scroll down to read the full list of party policies on everything from water management to weed control, or use the links to jump to a section.
FARM LABOUR
MOBILE AND BROADBAND COVERAGE
CARBON AND CLIMATE CHANGE
DAIRY
FERAL PESTS AND BIOSECURITY
FARM SAFETY
FOREIGN OWNERSHIP
GRAINS
LANDCARE
LIVESTOCK
TRANSPORT
WATER
NEW DAMS
RURAL AND REGIONAL HEALTH
FARM LABOUR
The past two years have heightened the need to address a critical lack of farm labour, which was tipped to reach a shortfall of 24,000 workers in the six months to March this year.
AG VISAS
Liberal-Nationals:Federal Agriculture Minister David Littleproud announced an agriculture visa would be delivered by Christmas last year. So far just Vietnam has signed up. Eight other ASEAN nations, India and the UK have been invited to join.
Labor: ?
Opposition leader Anthony Albanese did not state a clear position about the new visa at the National Farmers’ Federation conference in early April, promising an “announcement” on the topic before the election.
SKILLS AND TRAINING
Liberals-Nationals: ?
Labor: Mr Albanese has promised farmers and regional Australians that Labor “supports individual enterprise”. He said Labor would create 465,000 new fee-free TAFE places in areas of demonstrated labour shortage.
MOBILE AND BROADBAND
MOBILE COVERAGE
Liberals-Nationals: ?
Labor:Promised to establish a $400m fund to expand multi-carrier mobile coverage.
MOBILE TOWER BATTERY BACKUP
(to maintain coverage after fire and floods cut power)
Liberals-Nationals:$13.2m, as part of the Strengthening Telecommunications Against Natural Disasters package to upgrade battery back at 467 mobile base stations from the current maximum of four hours to 12 hours. Plus $10.9m for Optus, Telstra and TPG to deliver 544 resilience upgrades for generators, battery extension devices and fire protection.
Labor:?
BROADBAND CONNECTIVITY
Liberals-Nationals: $480 million to upgrade and extend the footprint of fixed wireless and satellite networks by 2024, providing faster speeds and higher data allowances for up to one million people in regional, remote and peri-urban Australia.
Labor: $30 million to help expand on-farm connectivity and enable better wireless extension solutions in the field.
CARBON AND CLIMATE CHANGE
CARBON OFFSET MARKETS
Liberal-Nationals: Has made large-scale interventions to Australia’s carbon offset market this year. Imposed a government veto power over any proposed native forest regeneration projects or project expansions that are more than 15ha and more than a third of a farm.
Revenue from the sale of Australian Carbon Credit Units is considered primary production income, which the government estimated would save farmers $100m over four years.
Labor: Supports the Coalition’s tax change to treat revenue from carbon farming as primary production. Does not support the government’s veto power over native forest projects, which it labelled “an unacceptable level of intervention and uncertainty”.
Greens: Plans to put an end to land clearing and native forest logging and initiate large-scale tree planting projects. Will “work with farmers to increase carbon sequestered on land” and will release “more policy specifics” in coming weeks.
CLIMATE CHANGE
Liberal-National: Current policies put Australia on a path to reduce emissions by 30-35 per cent by 2030. Aims to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 through technological advances. The government’s Long Term Emissions Reduction Plan assumes it will be possible to offset 10-20 per cent of Australia’s emissions by paying for international and domestic offsets.
Labor:Aims to reduce Australia’s emissions by 43 per cent by 2030 and hit net zero by 2050. Committed to a Safeguard Mechanism as a lever to force down industrial pollution by tightening caps on carbon each year, starting in 2023.
Greens: Aims to reduce Australia’s emissions by 75 per cent by 2030 and phase out coal and gas.
DROUGHT AND NATIONAL DISASTER ASSISTANCE
Liberal-National: $100m available each year under the Future Drought Fund until 2023-24, plus $90m in research and development initiatives, including into drought resilient farming practices. Plans to spend $150m from its Emergency Response Fund on flood recovery over the next financial year.
Labor:Emergency Response Fund to spend up to $200m per year for disaster prevention and resilience, with a plan for state and territory governments to match that funding commitment.
DAIRY
MANDATORY PROCESSOR LEVY TO FUND DAIRY AUSTRALIA
Liberals-Nationals: “If the Dairy Industry is unified about wanting a processor levy, I am prepared to work with the industry to explore the options,” David Littleproud said.
Labor: Agriculture spokeswoman Julie Collins failed to respond to requests for comment on April 7.
RE-REGULATION OF MILK PRICING
Liberals-Nationals: No specific commitments to industry support. Have ruled out any re-regulation of the sector.
Labor: Went to the 2019 Federal Election with a commitment to commission the ACCC to examine re-regulation, but has made no commitment in the current campaign.“We’ve been talking to dairy farmers, and we’ll be making announcements about what we want to do in the coming weeks,” Labor agriculture spokeswoman Julie Collins told ABC radio last week.
FARM SAFETY
QUAD BIKES AND SIDE-BY-SIDES
Liberals-Nationals:
Ahead of the 2022 election no new policies or funding has been announced to address quad bike and side-by-side vehicle safety by the Coalition.
During government Coalition introduced the mandatory Quad Bike Safety Standard.
163 known deaths involving quad bikes occurred in Australia since 2011, including six in 2021, of these, 16 per cent were children.
Labor: ?
FUNDING
Liberals-Nationals:
No new policies or funding targeted at farm safety was announced by the Coalition when questioned by The Weekly Times.
At the 2019 election the Coalition pledged $3.5 million to fund the National Farm Safety Education Fund Strategy. This education strategy has oversight of farm safety issues at a national level until June 30, 2023.
“Less than five per cent of people work in agriculture, but 20 per cent of workplace fatalities happen on farms. We need to do better,” he said.
Labor: ?
FERAL PESTS AND BIOSECURITY
BIOSECURITY FUNDING
Liberals-Nationals: Agriculture Minister David Littleproud said the government had made $1.1b available for biosecurity and export services in 2021-22, building on more than $500m in funding announced since last year’s budget. An additional $61.6m over four years had been outlined in the federal budget to boost biosecurity in Northern Australia with another $20.1m announced to support “improved on-farm biosecurity and enhanced pest and disease traceability”.
Labor: ?
FOREIGN OWNERSHIP
$15M THRESHOLD
Liberal-Nationals: Agriculture Minister David Littleproud said Coalition policy involved no changes to the current threshold level despite the soaring value of rural property.
“I think that ($15m threshold) is a good threshold and a good test,” he said. “Not all foreign investment is bad – there’s good foreign investment and we should make sure that it works in the national interest and they pay their fair share of tax.” In 2015, the Federal Government reduced the Foreign Investment Review Board’s screening threshold for foreign buyers of agricultural land from $252m to $15m, and down to $55m for investment in agribusiness.
Labor: A spokesman said the party’s policy was to keep the FIRB’s screening thresholds steady, despite opposition to the threshold almost seven years ago. “Labor has no plans to change the monetary thresholds and will ensure that foreign investments are in the national interest,” the spokesman said.
GRAINS
ACCC INQUIRY INTO AUSTRALIAN GRAIN MARKETS
Liberal-Nationals: Have not committed to an inquiry.
Labor: Has committed to meeting with grain grower groups to discuss a potential inquiry.
HIGH LEVEL STRATEGIC ANALYSIS INTO REDUCING GRAIN FREIGHT COSTS
Liberal-Nationals: Have commissioned the bureau of Infrastructure and Transport Research Economics to undertake a review into Australia's road and rail supply chain resilience.
Labor: Has committed to meeting with grain grower groups to discuss a potential strategic analysis.
LANDCARE
Liberals-Nationals: About $1 billion is being invested in Landcare between 2018 and 2023.
Labor: ?
LIVESTOCK
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
Liberal-Nationals: Recently delivered the National Agricultural Innovation Agenda, which invests about $1.1 billion a year in agricultural RD&E. Has committed more than $200 million for new agricultural innovation measures since July 2020 including through the future drought fund.
Labor: Created Australia’s research and development corporations while in government. Said the party would continue to support work done by those organisations to drive innovation in agriculture.
Greens: Plan to create a $250m Green Agriculture Australia research centre, developing and deploying green alternatives for farmers.
DISEASE MANAGEMENT
Liberal-Nationals: Announced more than $90 million in new biosecurity measures in the 2022-23 budget. Expects to make available a record $1.1 billion for biosecurity and export services in 2021-22.
Labor: Will continue to support ongoing Commonwealth measures that protect the livestock industry.
Greens: Said the party was committed to working with the government of the day on this matter and remain open-minded about solutions.
ANIMAL WELFARE
Liberal-Nationals: Said animal welfare within Australia was generally a state and territory responsibility and the Federal Government had responsibility related to international trade — including export of livestock and meat products and partner requirements in negotiation of trade deals. Would take a leadership role in the development of animal welfare standards and guidelines (such as the poultry standards) to promote national consistency.
Labor: Would release the party’s plans on this issue before the election.
Greens: Support the introduction of national animal cruelty laws and the creation of an Independent Office of Animal Welfare, which would sit outside the Department of Agriculture. Said there should be strong and enforceable national animal welfare standards and public funding for animal welfare initiatives.
LIVE EXPORT OF SHEEP AND CATTLE
Liberal-Nationals: Committed to the live export industry and to upholding the highest standards of animal health and welfare to ensure the long-term future of the industry.
Labor: Has not released detailed policy. Said the party supports live export of cattle and the protection of animal welfare in agriculture.
Greens: Campaigned for an end to the live export of sheep and cattle for slaughter, consumption or profit. In 2018, the Senate passed a Greens co-sponsored bill to phase out live sheep exports during the Northern Hemisphere summer.
ANIMAL ACTIVISTS AND THE AUSSIE FARMS MAP
(which makes public the location of abattoirs and intensive farming operations)
Liberal-Nationals: Committed to protecting farming families from harassment, while supporting animal welfare outcomes.
Labor: Supports “the protection of Australian workers whether they are in the city or on the farm”.
Greens: Supports scrutiny and transparency of animal cruelty and mistreatment on Australian farms. Party position is the public has a right to know about animal cruelty. Governments focused on silencing activists should instead be ensuring that animal welfare is protected on farms.
TRANSPORT
Liberals-Nationals: Promised to build the 1700km Inland Rail line, connecting Melbourne to Brisbane, with the Australian Rail Track Corporation having already signed contracts worth more than $2.2b. Construction of the $14b project is expected to be completed by 2027.
Labor: ?
WATER
RECOVERY OF AN EXTRA 450GL OF ENVIRONMENTAL WATER FOR THE MURRAY DARLING BASIN
Liberals-Nationals: Placed a 1500GL cap on buyouts and reached agreement with all basin states on the recovery of the 450GL being based on off-farm water savings projects that are subject to a socio-economic test to ensure they have no negative effect on irrigation communities.
Labor: “Labor will deliver on the final 450 gigalitres of water for the environment that Scott Morrison and Barnaby Joyce have failed to deliver,” Anthony Albanese said. But the Opposition Leader has refused to rule out wading into the market to buy the water out of irrigation communities.
NEW DAMS
Liberals-Nationals: Committed $4.5 billion to constructing the 2100GL Hells Gate Dam on the Burdekin River, to create a 60,000ha irrigation area, in the hope of creating 3000 ongoing jobs.
Other commitments include:
$600m towards restoration of Paradise Dam
$505.65m to build Urannah Dam
$183.6m to build Rookwood Weir
$180m towards the Hughenden Irrigation Scheme
$30 million to the Big Rocks Weir
Labor: Yet to make any announcement on supporting or opposing new dam developments in the battleground seats of Queensland.
RURAL AND REGIONAL HEALTH
Liberal-Nationals: Committed to creating two additional University Departments of Rural Health and a Rural Clinical School, and an extra 80 Commonwealth-supported rural medical school places. Will review the Modified Monash Model classification system, and do an annual reclassification of Distribution Priority Areas.
$4.6b over four years to continue to drive improvements in health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians.
$107m for dental care in the Primary Health Care 10 Year Plan.
Labor: Will expand the overseas trained and bonded doctor access to Medicare. Will offer 20,000 new university places and prioritise universities offering additional courses in national priority areas including healthcare.
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