Honouring our Ag industries on Ag Day
Nationals Leader David Littleproud has thanked agriculture industries, producers, and workers around Australia on this National Agriculture Day.
He said today was a celebration of where our food and fibre comes from and of one of Australia’s hardest working and most important industries.
“As the Leader of The Nationals, I want to personally thank the incredible people that work in agricultural industries from paddock to plate,” Mr Littleproud said.
“Australians enjoy the world’s best quality food and fibre thanks to our agriculture industry.
“Whether it’s a steak, fresh fruit and vegetables, bread or really anything we put on our plate every day, we really are spoilt for choice in Australia. We often take it for granted because our ag workers always provide world-class produce.”
Australia’s agriculture industry plants and provides enough food for 80 million people.
It also supports hundreds of thousands of jobs from paddock to port or plate.
Mr Littleproud added today was a special reason to acknowledge the ag industry, after it propped up the country during COVID-19.
“When the economy was put under a doona, our ag workers kept working, kept producing, kept propping up the economy and the Budget.
“I know farmers are going through a really tough time at the moment, especially with floods decimating crops in regional and rural areas.
“Others can’t get the workers they need and are only planting or producing at 60 per cent capacity, since Labor scrapped the Ag Visa.”
Mr Littleproud said it was disappointing Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had used the lead up to Ag Day to announce that a free trade agreement with the UK won’t come into force until next year.
He said failing to ratify the deal by the end of the year would badly impact industries including beef, sheep, sugar, dairy, rice, wheat and cereal crops, horticulture and seafood.
“Labor has dragged its heels and it will cost our ag industry.
“We will support the legislation in Parliament for the free trade agreement with the UK, to implement this crucial deal as quickly as possible.
“The Nationals will always back our farmers and we will always fight for our agriculture industry.”