Labor sells out – Freer Farm future unclear

· Labor votes against Liberal moves to secure the future of Freer Farm

· The Liberals believe Freer Farm is a vital agricultural teaching and learning facility that should not be sold

In Parliament today, Labor used its numbers to defeat the Liberals motion that would secure the future of Freer Farm for Tasmanian agricultural students.

I was astounded at the Government’s inability to appreciate the value in retaining this facility and it shows just how out of touch they are with the needs of Tasmania’s agricultural industry and the training requirements of our young people.

We should be examining ways we can maximise the value from the assets we already have. Freer Farm is one such asset.

We know there are problems with intergenerational change and retaining our young people on the land and it amazes me that Labor is so ignorant of this fact.

Freer Farm should not be used as a short term financial fix for Labor. Its value goes beyond plugging of budget black holes and I am staggered that Labor has voted against securing the future of the Freer farm training facility, yet alone their complete lack of understanding of the agri-business potential of the North West Coast.

The Motion debated this afternoon that labor voted against.

Mr Rockliff to move—That the House:—

(1) Notes:—

(a) the vital importance of agricultural focused teaching and learning facilities such as Freer Farm to the future of Tasmania’s agricultural sector;

(b) the North West Coast has an outstanding opportunity to be a world leader in the agri-food industry and in challenging economic times we should be focussing on opportunities that expand our capacity and help us achieve our economic potential;

(c) the serious and ongoing issues of intergenerational change for the agricultural industry and the need to maintain and build upon educational opportunities to overcome this issue;

(d) that if we are to build upon our agri-food potential then we need to further develop and broaden our agricultural skills base; and

(e) that all people involved in the agricultural industry play a key role in its success, whether it is people with practical or farm skills or our agricultural scientists.

(2) Calls on the State Labor Government to secure the future of Freer Farm as a vital agricultural teaching and learning facility.
Jeremy Rockliff MP Deputy Leader of the State Opposition Liberal Member for Braddon