Horticultural businesses to take big Carbon Tax hit

SENATOR THE HON RICHARD COLBECK

Senator for Tasmania

Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Fisheries and Forestry
Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Innovation, Industry and Science

M E D I A R E L E A S E

21 June 2012

Horticultural businesses to take big Carbon Tax hit

The Federal Government has no idea what the Carbon Tax is about to do to Australia’s fastest growing industry in agriculture – the horticultural sector.

Australia’s horticultural sector has a farm gate value of $9 billion and is the third largest agricultural industry yet the Federal Government failed to do any modelling on how it will be affected by the Carbon Tax, Tasmanian Liberal Senator Richard Colbeck said.

“Instead of Labor doing its due diligence, it has been left to Horticulture Australia to do this work and the results are not good,” Senator Colbeck said.

“The report shows horticultural businesses operating on slim margins are likely to struggle.

“Horticulture Australia is predicting carbon tax cost increases between $5102 and $41,859 a year on-farm, and blow-outs of more than $70,000 annually for processors.

“This report also shows losses increasing over time, which is absolutely contrary to the furphies spread by Labor about life getting better for primary producers under a carbon tax and the potential for farmers to pass cost increases up the supply chain. It is just nonsense.

“As for the assistance the Government constantly cites to defend the coming imposts on business, it won’t even be available when the tax starts to bite.

“Serious capital expenditure will be needed to negate increases like electricity costs and the report clearly identifies the scale of the challenge, stating horticultural operations “currently lack the necessary capital, skills or knowledge required to transform their businesses”.

“Where do businesses find this money at a time when they are already being rocked by downward pressure on prices, the high Australian dollar and increased export inspection costs?

“Some 30,000 horticultural businesses are about to take a hit. That’s 30,000 Australian businesses that employ hundreds of thousands of people that the Government didn’t even consider when designing this tax,” Senator Colbeck said.
Senator Richard Colbeck