Coalition pledges loan scheme for farmers
Liv Casben |
Farmers will be helped to buy their first property under a $75 million pilot scheme proposed by the coalition aimed at encouraging more people into agriculture.
Amid soaring land prices, the federal government would guarantee 40 per cent of an eligible new farmer’s commercial loan up to $1 million.
Agriculture Minister Australia David Littleproud announced the scheme during an election debate with Labor spokeswoman Julie Collins at the National Press Club in Canberra.
Mr Littleproud said the scheme would help farmers get their loans approved, but insisted the money had to be repaid.
“This isn’t a subsidy,” Mr Littleproud said on Tuesday.
“What I don’t want to see is big corporates and foreign companies coming in and taking out the opportunity for succession to take place, where the son or daughter wants to have that go, to get a go.”
He said he hoped the future farmer guarantee scheme would help experienced farmers access capital, which he described as the biggest barrier to establishing their own farm business.
“This is about bringing our young people home. We have lost too many of them and this is an opportunity them to have a go.”
The average broadacre farmer is about 62 years old, with an estimated 10 per cent under 47.
The 18-month pilot scheme will require applicants to have at least three years on-farm experience, a minimum deposit and be a sound lending prospect.
Ms Collins said Labor would need to review the details before deciding whether to adopt the scheme, but agreed family farmers needed to support.
She said climate change was among the biggest concerns facing farmers and criticised the government’s inaction.
“We know (the coalition) got dragged kicking and screaming to net zero by 2050 … and we need to make sure that we have adaption and mitigation,” Ms Collins said.
But the Nationals deputy leader said it had been his party that created the biodiversity stewardship scheme, making Australia the first country to enable farmers to measure biodiversity.
When asked if Labor supported a resumption of live sheep exports during summer, which the coalition plans to resume to parts of the Middle East in early June, the Labor MP again said she wanted to see more details.
When asked if Labor would commit to a previous election policy of phasing out live sheep exports, she said “we are going to be making an announcement about broader animal welfare policy later on in the campaign”.
“Labor does not support a relaxation of the northern summer ban when it comes to live sheep,” Ms Collins said.
Ms Collins said she was also waiting for details on the agriculture visa before Labor would commit to its future.
No workers have yet arrived in Australia on the ag visa, with only a memorandum of understanding signed with Vietnam to join the program.
When pressed whether Labor would support the ag visa, Ms Collins said “we will have more to say, and I think that regional Australians and farmers generally will be very pleased with Labor’s policies”.
AAP
