Shadow Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, John Cobb writes:
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Farmers will go broke and food prices will rise, are the main findings of ‘official’ Government modelling into the cost of the Rudd Government’s Emissions Trading Scheme on farm production released today.
The Rudd Government’s ETS would be an expensive folly which will lead to higher food prices, less farmers and more imported food, with no net benefit for the environment.
The ABARE report, Effects of Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme on the economic value of farm production, finds that agriculture will be hit hard from day one under the Rudd Government’s ETS.
The ABARE report states;
‘Even if the agriculture sector is not a covered sector under the CPRS, agricultural producers will face increased input costs associated with the use of electricity, fuels and freight and may face lower farm-gate prices for their goods from downstream processors. These will have implications for the economic value of farm production’.
Graziers will be hit particularly hard and producing beef will be next to impossible with returns expected to drop by 22 percent. Producers of wool, mutton and lambs are also set to take a whopping 17 percent cut to their income.
Grain growers aren’t missed either with their income predicted to fall by 14.5 percent.
The dairy industry, already struggling because of low export prices will lose another 1.9 percent off the bottom line because of the Rudd Government’s emissions tax.
I am dismayed that the Rudd Government was ignoring the cost of Global Warming and Government policy on the food security.
Without viable productive farmers, food will become prohibitively expensive.
Every family needs a farmer to survive, but no farmer can survive a Rudd Government cut of 22 percent to their bottom line.
We are finally starting to see some figures on the cost of the ETS to food production and even the Government’s own modeller can’t hide the shocking affect its ETS will have on farm productivity.
Where does the Minister for Agriculture, Tony Burke and the Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd think their food will come from?
Far from helping our food producers cope with global warming and the Government’s ETS, the Minister for Agriculture, Tony Burke has slashed research and development which is needed to increase food production to feed the worlds growing population.
You can read the ABARE report for yourself here.
Addition reporting from today’s Australian Newspaper – Rural income to be cut by a quarter
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