WHEN will Australians realise that the constant damage to our agricultural sector is having a significant impact on the cost of living?
It’s simple: if growing food is more difficult and expensive, we all pay more at the supermarket.
This week we saw the issues being faced by fruit growers in the Goulburn Valley, with SPC cutting production of pears and peaches because imported fruit is cheaper.
There are too many government policies that are increasing costs across the board for our farmers, and as a result they are less competitive on the international stage.
In the Goulburn Valley, like other regions across south-eastern Australia, the soaring cost of water makes production more expensive.
We are wasting billions of litres of water every year through unnecessary transmission losses, and pouring it out to sea in South Australia.
This occurs because governments, especially the Albanese government, refuse to work collaboratively with local communities to maximise our precious water resources for productive and environmental use.
What most people do not understand is that there is sufficient water to meet the needs of the environment, as well as supply our hard-working Australians so they can grow the food you buy at the supermarket.
What’s missing is government desire to look beyond buying water from farmers and storing it in dams, which has adverse consequences including increased flood risk.
Less water for growing food means less food means higher food prices. That’s the reality.
Our nation’s farming communities would have no argument with governments if they were storing environmental water and using it efficiently. But that is not the case.
Instead, they waste water in the name of the environment because it appeases green groups and therefore is a vote winner, especially in capital cities.
Our milk consumption continues to decline, as does production of numerous food staples.
As a nation we can say “enough is enough: we want policies that support our farming communities”, or we can accept the indisputable fact that it will cost more to grow less and everyone will have a much higher food bill.
Shelley Scoullar,
Albury, NSW
