In the latest attack on Australian agriculture, the Albanese Government has banned live sheep exports.
Yet again, we see a government bowing to activist pressure instead of working with farming communities to achieve sensible, balanced outcomes.
At some point, this anti-agriculture government will go too far and the general population will wake up to the indisputable fact that every time we reduce the ability of farmers to grow food and fibre, we are impacting national prosperity and increasing everyone’s cost of living.
I hear many city people complaining about the cost of food at the supermarket, but I’m not sure many have yet woken up to the fact that it is being largely caused by government policy, and it’s getting worse.
The Albanese Government is not supporting farmers, whether in WA or elsewhere across the nation. It continues with policies that reduce our ability to grow food, or substantially increase the cost of doing business for every farmer. As a result, the price of fruit, vegetables and other staples continues to rise.
Our fruit growers cannot compete with overseas suppliers, so we could soon see the end to many parts of the Australian fruit industry.
We are importing more milk because there are fewer dairy farmers, and a whole range of crops will be in decline when Water Minister Tanya Plibersek takes another 450 gigalitres away from irrigators (which, like live sheep exports, would be unnecessary if Plibersek was prepared to work with communities on viable solutions).
So I would urge all Australians to please try and understand that every time the government, backed (and frightened) by multi-million dollar environmental activism groups, takes away the ability of farmers to grow our food, the price you pay for the cleanest, greenest, best food in the world at your supermarket will rise.
That is until it’s not grown at all, and your only choice will be imported food, perhaps grown with invested water from polluted rivers.
Is that the future we want in Australia?
Yours etc.
Stephen Ball
Mayrung