The Liberal Government is committed to growing our primary industries, to create jobs and strengthen the economy.
We understand the importance of reliable water to our farmers, which is why yesterday’s announcement of $115 million to progress the Tranche 2 Irrigation Schemes is so important, including $60 million in Federal Government funding, $30 million from the State Government and the same level from farmers.
Expanding access to reliable irrigation water will strengthen our regional communities and create hundreds of new jobs on farms and in our country towns.
It will also transform agriculture, giving farmers security for their existing enterprises and the confidence to invest further. This is about putting the money and the water where farmers want it.
Today, the potential for irrigation to grow Tasmanian agriculture was evident during my visit to meet with dairy farmers in Edith Creek, a key area for the proposed Circular Head Irrigation Scheme.
With more than 430 registered dairy farmers across our state, employing about 2,600 workers, there’s huge potential to expand the industry with essential infrastructure like irrigation.
In the four months to September Tasmanian milk production grew by 12.5 per cent, while our total export oriented dairy industry is worth some $500 million a year.
These figures can grow even further with vital infrastructure like irrigation giving farmers the confidence to invest, coupled with a growing global demand for our clean, safe and premium milk
products. This will go a long way to helping us achieve our vision of growing the farm gate value of Tasmania’s agricultural industries to $10 billion a year by 2015.
Jeremy Rockliff, Minister for Primary Industries and Water
