Shayne Neumann (Blair, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. How is the government working with farmers, researchers and those people working in the fishery and forestry industries in responding to climate change, and what are the benefits of taking action?

Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the honourable member for the question. Following negotiations that have happened at length over some time now between the member for Groom and Minister Wong, we are now in a position where there is a deal, which we all understand has been agreed to as of last night, to secure the opportunity for Australia to act on climate change. There is no sector of the economy more at risk from climate change than those working in our primary industries. It is important to go through some of the changes that are now there on the table and which, hopefully, in the course of this week will become law within Australia. These go all the way through the production chain, not simply for what happens on farm but for farm inputs through to work on farm and right through to the processing level.

First of all, there is no input which can be a greater burden on farmers than the cost of fuel and the impact that that has. Importantly, under the agreements which have been reached, and which were announced last night, for the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme, the fuel tax credit from 1 July 2011 through to 30 June 2014 will apply not only to agriculture and fisheries but also to those working in the forestry sector, something very much welcomed by those representatives of the forestry sector who were here in the parliament last night. In agriculture itself, whereas the government’s position initially was for it to be excluded at the moment with a final decision to be made in advance of 2015, the position now is for agricultural emissions to be excluded, and excluded indefinitely. In offsets, it is important that we continue to have a system of trading which is able to be traded internationally. That is why the government continues to argue internationally for the need to separate human activity from natural causes in the international accounting mechanisms. In doing so, though, there is now agreement as to what can happen in the meantime in advance of being able to have a system of international trading in particular for soil carbon. That is why there is now agreement for a voluntary market offset system through the national carbon offset standard. That will allow application for agricultural soils, both in the area of soil carbon and in the area of biochar, also for enhanced forest management and non-forest vegetation to be credited and also for mechanisms in place for credits on regrowth and soil carbon on land which was cleared legally between 1990 and 2008.

On many of these issues part of getting the international accounting working and part of getting these systems working more effectively within Australia is to improve the level of research and development. The government had already increased our commitment to R&D in this space by increasing the commitment that we made at the election from $15 million to $46.2 million. As a result of the agreements with the opposition, there is now another $50 million available for research in this area. In the food-processing area—because of course those working in our primary industries know all too well that costs in food processing are just as likely, and often more likely, to be passed back to the farmer rather than to be passed on to the consumer—there is a dedicated stream within the Climate Change Action Fund of $150 million to assist with work in reducing emissions from waste water, helping with the conversion from coal to natural gas, helping with the potential for renewables. This is in addition to the eligibility that many food processors will have as manufacturers for the transitional programs which are available on electricity prices themselves. There is no sector of the economy, as I said at the beginning, more at risk from climate change. With these amendments they have a system which they can well and truly work within and which allows Australia to take action.