ACROSS the agricultural sector industry bodies don’t often agree on a lot of things - but the new biosecurity levy before parliament currently is one thing everyone can agree is not fair.
The idea of the new legislation is to introduce a ‘Biosecurity Protection Levy’ (BPL) which would be in play from July 1, 2024. The government would look to generate over $1 billion per year from the scheme, with funding becoming a ‘shared responsibility’ between ‘those who create the risk’ and those who ‘benefit from biosecurity measures’, which includes farmers.
Following industry pressure, the Albanese government has announced a reduction in the portion to be funded by producers.
The revamped model estimates about six per cent of the revenue will come from farmers, 44 per cent from taxpayers, 48 per cent from importers and two per cent from Australia Post.
However, it seems the average holiday maker fresh off the plane from Bali will only minimally share in the cost of minimising risks to our agricultural industry, despite arguably posing one of the greatest biosecurity risks.
The VFF has contacted Victorian crossbench senators urging them to support Victorian farmers in opposition to the Albanese Government’s proposed Biosecurity Protection Levy.
The VFF has called on the crossbench senators to stand with Victorian farmers as the parliament starts debating the contentious BPL legislation. We would have preferred for the legislation to have been reconsidered before it reached this critical stage. Now, we are advocating for it to be thoroughly scrutinised by a Senate Committee.
Victorian farmers are already burdened by substantial levies, which cover biosecurity services and the management of pests and diseases introduced by importers and travellers. The new tax would unfairly force farmers to subsidise the biosecurity measures that benefit international competitors importing food into Australia.
This cost is also in addition to the many biosecurity measures farmers already take at their own farm gate; from putting together their own biosecurity plans to implementing relevant procedures.
