A draft report released by the Productivity Commission into the regulatory burden on Australian agriculture has been welcomed by Australian Dairy Farmers (ADF) as an important first step.
The report backs recommendations made by an ADF submission earlier that the level of red tape imposed on dairy farmers, including constraints around land use planning; plant science technologies; and transport regulations are costing farm businesses unnecessarily.
Acting ADF President, David Basham said minimising unnecessary red tape would deliver meaningful economic benefits for the entire dairy supply chain.
“As a producer of high quality, nutritious food which is exported to the world, the industry supports regulations to maintain and uphold the industry’s reputation. However, it is important that regulation is appropriately targeted, clearly understood and is not duplicated to the detriment of the industry and the economy,” Mr Basham said.
“When regulation is unnecessary, it often adds an avoidable cost to dairy farmers, which has to be absorbed by the business. This can have the effect of constraining growth or limiting a farmers’ ability to allocate funds to necessary aspects of the business.”
“This report opens up the conversation with industry about reducing red tape on dairy farmers while maintaining our high biosecurity standards and safe, quality products. There are a number of aspects in the report which ADF will be providing feedback on, including the need for an effects test to prevent predatory pricing.”
ADF is pleased that the Productivity Commission has released the draft report