Food security report recommends creation of dedicated food ministry

The creation of a new ministry has been raised as one way to safeguard the nation’s paddock to plate supply chain. See the other recommendations here.

A minister for food has been suggested as part of a proposal by federal parliament’s agriculture committee to safeguard the nation’s paddock-to-plate supply chain.

It was one of 35 recommendations made in a report released on Thursday following an inquiry into food security called after the pandemic, geopolitical crises and widespread flooding had exposed Australia’s supply chain vulnerability.

The committee also proposed creating a national food council to advise the suggested food minister, to sit within the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, and developing a national food plan that would tackle things such as nutrition and reducing food waste.

Committee chair Meryl Swanson in the House of Representatives in Parliament House in Canberra. Picture: Gary Ramage

Committee chair Meryl Swanson told The Weekly Times the shaky situation required a dedicated level of government oversight and co-operation with industry.

“When you look at the global food security index we are sitting at 22nd for food security,” she said.

“Industry came in droves to the inquiry and gave us a clear message that we have lagged behind in this country. Systemic change is required and we did not shirk away from the hard stuff.”

She said other nations had successfully dealt with similar issues by creating a food council that advised a food minister, and a food strategy.

“That seemed to be the optimal trifecta. It seems really novel but sometimes you have to be a disrupter to really cut through, and that is what I am hoping this report will do,” she said.

“I think we have really bitten the bullet on this, we can’t just sort of say “everything’s going to be fine”, these are pretty serious actions for a committee to be suggesting.”

National Farmers’ Federation president David Jochinke. Picture: Martin Ollman

National Farmers’ Federation president David Jochinke said cross-cabinet understanding of agriculture and food production was more important than a stand-alone ministry.

“I’ll wait for further detail but my initial impression is that having a specific minister for food is not the goal in and of itself,” he said.

“What we need is an understanding of agriculture and food production right through the federal cabinet. It covers so many portfolios, not just agriculture but environment, land, treasury, energy.

“My first meeting (as NFF president) with Anthony Albanese alongside Fiona (Simson) and Tony (Mahar) was on that exact point: that we need a broader understanding of the importance of agriculture so all ministers understand its value, not just isolated to the Agriculture Minister or a Regional Development Minister, because it’s all interconnected.”

Ms Swanson, who has close personal links to the agriculture sector, said the new minister should also look at how to help solve issues that have plagued agriculture, such as rising energy and fertiliser shortages and costs and labour shortages.

“So how do we ensure fertiliser is available and how we make sure that potentially we manufacture some of the inputs here so that we are not stranded,” she said.