I AM delighted to see head teacher Albanese gathering his troops and providing some lessons in easing cost of living pressures on his subjects.
However, I suspect he needs a gentle reminder in the basics of economics around supply and demand. As any smart economics teacher will tell you, increasing supply will ease demand and, as a consequence, help reduce prices.
Yet our Prime Minister, who has been referred to as ‘anti-ag Albo’ for his numerous anti-agriculture policies, has failed to appreciate the importance of supporting our farmers instead of hindering their ability to grow the food and fibre we need. While he might tell us all how much he supports agriculture, the actions don’t match the rhetoric.
The Murray-Darling Basin contains more than 40 per cent of Australian farms, which produce a third of Australia’s food supply, much of it in southern NSW and northern Victoria. Over the past decade, significant positive steps have been taken to ensure we have an effective balance between providing vital water supplies for this food production and also ensuring there is enough for a healthy environment. Numerous other projects have been identified that can be rolled out over a number of years to support this process.
Instead, head teacher Albo and his underling Tanya Plibersek, say they will (unnecessarily) take more water from farming because that’s what their “green” supporters have asked for.
Can we please get serious about addressing the cost of living crisis? If we support our farmers instead of choking them, we will have more food on supermarket shelves and this will automatically lead to reduced prices (not to mention more prosperous farmers and the communities which rely on them).
Shelley Scoullar
Speak Up Campaign
Chair
