Australia needs to do more to ensure its biosecurity system is fit for purpose amid the “huge risk” of lumpy skin disease, which infects cattle, on the nation’s doorstep, the shadow agriculture Minister has warned.
But Labor’s Julie Collins said the party would release its biosecurity policy closer to the election while participating in the National Rural Press Club’s agriculture leaders’ debate against Deputy leader of the Nationals David Littleproud on Tuesday.
She said there needed to be long-term sustainable funding, when asked what she would do differently to the Coalition with biosecurity.
“We need to do more to make sure that we don’t get that (lumpy skin disease) come into Australia. It’s a very serious issue,” Ms Collins said.
“Labor will have more to say in terms of biosecurity between now and election day.
“We are concerned that our biosecurity system is not fit for purpose.
“We are concerned that there are issues and I think that all of us in this room understand that this is a huge risk to Australia.
“This is a huge risk to our $80bn industry.”
Lumpy skin disease is a highly infectious skin disease of cattle and water buffalo which is transmitted by biting insects.
It causes cattle to develop large skin growths over much of their body, making them unwell and sometimes leading to them dying.
Due to it being confirmed in livestock in Indonesia, the Queensland government separately on Tuesday held a roundtable to talk to industry leaders about the risk.
Mr Littleproud used the debate to announce that the Coalition would help farmers with at least three years of experience buy property in rural areas by guaranteeing 40 per cent of their loan deposits.
He said that if the Liberals and Nationals were elected, they would launch an 18-month pilot program that would guarantee 40 per cent of a farmer’s commercial loan of up to $1 million.
The $75m program would try to address the fact that existing landholders are ageing, with the average broadacre farmer 62 years old.
“Rising land values and the typical 40 to 60 per cent equity deposit required by commercial banks without this government guarantee mean that getting access to a bank loan to start a viable business is very difficult,” he said.
“This support will help families access capital to assist with succession planning, as well as help those families and farmers getting into ownership for the first time.
“Government sharing the risk means that the bank can offer better terms to suitable applicants – lower interest rates and lower equity requirements.”
The loans would have a maximum term of 10 years, with an option to extend for two years if a farmer is experiencing significant financial hardship.
With land values skyrocketing, Mr Littleproud was asked whether it would amount to just a foot in the door for hobby farmers.
He denied it was a subsidy.
“It has to be repaid, so the forces of economics will actually dictate how far this goes, so this is a pilot we want to look at,” he said.
Ms Collins, who did not announce any new policy, said Labor would have to “look at the detail” when deciding whether to support it.
