Member for Mallee Dr Anne Webster said the region’s farmers and families could now celebrate a huge cost-of-living win, after the Coalition forced Labor to bin its bad fresh food tax.

The Coalition moved a successful motion in the Senate to remove Labor’s fresh food tax, known as the biosecurity protection levy, allowing common sense to prevail.

“Labor’s fresh food tax would have hurt families at the checkout, as well as 84 agricultural commodities that were facing $50 million in annual taxes under Labor to pay for the risks their competitors bring to our shores by importing from overseas,” Dr Webster said.

“Labor’s senseless and terrible tax idea will never see the light of day under a Coalition government. The Nationals staged an enormous campaign in conjunction with industry and farmers to stop Labor’s reckless fresh food tax.  At one point, over 50 agricultural representative groups signed a joint letter to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese expressing unified opposition about the new tax.

“The Coalition is proud to have saved families and farmers from this bad fresh food tax, which would have increased food prices even further and hurt our farmers even more.

“In what parallel universe would a government charge its own farmers to pay for the biosecurity risks their competitors are creating?

“Labor’s fresh food tax was senseless given The Nationals offered sensible, better alternatives such as an importer container levy, which would charge importers to pay for biosecurity risks they create bringing produce into the country.

“However, Labor and the Greens haven’t ruled out taxing Australian agriculture and farmers in the future – the Coalition calls on them to do so, immediately.”

Farmers and farm managers represent almost 10 per cent of the Mallee workforce, according to the ABS, meaning yet another farming tax would apply a significant handbrake on local productivity.

“Mallee producers already pay sector-specific levies on citrus, avocadoes, wine grapes, table grapes, grains and dozens more. Those voluntary levies support productivity improvements and the mandatory biosecurity levy might have seen farmers pull back their voluntary levy contributions, and thereby reduce research and development and productivity.”

National Farmers’ Federation President David Jochinke said “this tax was deeply flawed and unfair to farmers” adding he “tip(s) my hat to our members, industry stakeholders and the thousands of farmers who voiced their concerns about this tax.”

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