The Hodgman Liberal Government today welcomed the Australian Government’s commitment to farmers through its Agricultural Competitiveness White Paper.
While we continue to work through the detail, it is clear that our Federal counterparts share in our commitment to invest in our competitive strengths such as agriculture.
Many elements of the White Paper directly align with the Hodgman Liberal Government's objectives being achieved through our AgriVision 2050 Plan.
The Federal Government has committed to continued investment in irrigation. The Tasmanian and Commonwealth Governments are investing $90 million to progress the five proposed tranche two irrigation schemes, which together with private investment totals some $115 million towards these developments. Expanding access to reliable irrigation water will strengthen our regional communities and create new jobs on farms and in our country towns.
The White Paper demonstrates a commitment to strengthening Australia’s biosecurity, which is an investment in the protection of our state’s boarders, and the protection of our reputation for producing safe, clean and fresh produce. In the recent State Budget we committed an additional $4 million in detector dog teams and upgrades of vital biosecurity infrastructure such as laboratories.
It is also clear that the Federal Government shares in our commitment to reducing red tape to allow the agricultural sector to get on with the job, and will assist our state with our reform agenda to reduce red and green tape.
Additional Commonwealth support to access premium markets on top of recently signed Free Trade Agreements should benefit Tasmanian farmers and help us to reach our growth targets.
There is also an important investment in research and development, an area where the Hodgman Liberal Government is also investing to cultivate innovation and increase the value of our produce.
We are committed to increasing the value of the agricultural sector to $10 billion by 2050 and look forward to working in collaboration with the Australian Government to achieve this.
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