We leave them to make up their own minds

You would think that those who seek to be elected to government on Saturday would not choose to ignore a significant sector of the economy, one that is actually putting bread and butter on the table of many Tasmanians.

Well, you would be wrong.

At the time of the last election, in 2009/10, the farm gate value of agriculture and fishing was $1.683 billion – which represented approximately six per cent of the gross state product.

The significant irrigation infrastructure that has taken place since 2009/10 and the current projects under construction have underpinned steady growth that will see the agricultural sector become the preeminent economic driver in Tasmania in the near future.

In 2010/11, the farm gate value of production (GVP) of agriculture, forestry and fishing grew to $1.98 billion. The total Tasmania gross state product (GSP) was $23.9 billion for the 2012 year.

The GVP of agriculture, forestry and fishing collectively amounted to almost nine per cent of this total – before input supply services and value-adding, which is well above that for the nation as a whole.

Taking into account basic multiplier factors, this means the farm-dependent economy contributes more than $5.4 billion to the gross state economy and that is in spite of adverse pressures on the forestry industry. More than 17,000 Tasmanians are directly employed in farm-related activities – one in six Tasmanian jobs.

These figures clearly confirm the importance of the sector as an economic driver for the economy and demonstrate that agriculture is a more significant contributor to the Tasmanian economy than in any other state.

With this in mind, it is clear that Tasmania needs to ensure that the agricultural base of the state remains competitive and profitable.

While Tasmania has struggled economically over recent years, agriculture has been a showcase of the economic potential that this state has to offer. Our members therefore expect that political parties and candidates will recognise the important role agriculture plays within the economy and this will be reflected in their policies.

In mid-January, the TFGA wrote to the major parties contesting the state election seeking their policies for agriculture. We were seeking input to enable us to collate and analyse the respective agricultural policies of all parties so that we could advise our members when they were considering where to place their votes. We asked for a response by the end of January.

The Labor Party advised that they had yet to formulate their policy, but that they would let us know when they did.

Nothing so far. Several individual candidates, from across the political spectrum, contacted us to discuss our priorities and their specific interests. In late February, the Liberal Party consulted us over their agriculture policy, which was released a fortnight ago. At time of writing, we have heard nothing from any other party.

The Liberal Party policy is a strong one, reflecting many of the issues we have highlighted as priorities for the continued growth and expansion of agriculture in Tasmania. Obviously, we can’t comment on the policies of other parties, as we have yet to see them (and the election is on Saturday).

Farmers are looking to a newly-elected government to provide incentive and the environment to allow us to get on with what we do best, that is, produce some of the best fibre and food in the world.

It makes it hard to provide information to farmers about respective party policies when some/most parties refuse to respond to requests.

It also makes it hard to take seriously the repeated statements by politicians lauding the important role agriculture plays in our economy when it seems they can’t be bothered to provide basic policy information.

So, we present the facts to our members about what we had requested and what we received and we leave them to make up their own minds about who is taking agriculture seriously and who really gives a damn.
TFGA CEO Jan Davis’ Mercury column today