A Senate committee will today investigate Labor’s fresh food tax and the damage it will cause by driving up the cost-of-living and making groceries more expensive.

Member for Mallee Dr Anne Webster said the fresh food tax bill, which is due to be implemented on July 1 if it passes the Senate, is as an attack on families and farmers in Mallee.

Dr Webster said the biosecurity protection levy will force farmers to pay for the biosecurity risks of international importers.

“The outcome of this Senate inquiry is crucial because Labor’s proposed new tax will impact almost every single family and the more than 7,000 farmers and farm managers in Mallee,” Dr Webster said.

“The new tax makes absolutely no sense. It will hurt families at a time they can least afford it and farmers who are already under pressure.

“Farmers will be forced to pass on costs, resulting in families feeling more pain at the grocery checkout. In what parallel universe would a government charge its own farmers to pay for the risks their competitors are creating?”

Dr Webster noted the proposed fresh food tax will funnel approximately $500 per Australian grain and pulse farm alone annually into Government coffers.

She said every family and farmer were right to feel angry that the fresh food tax bill had already been passed in the House of Representatives.

“The Nationals will continue to fight this senseless new tax,” Dr Webster said. “We will fight for families, and we will fight for farmers, especially when it comes to taxes that impact food prices.”