The Murray Regional Strategy Group - a coalition of industry, community and irrigation organisations across the NSW Murray Valley - is concerned about the food security crisis that Australia will face unless action is taken.
It welcomed a recent announcement from Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Agriculture Minister Julie Collins to develop a Food Security Strategy, but says within his cabinet there appears little understanding of what is required to grow food for domestic and international consumption.
“On the one hand we have the Prime Minister highlighting the importance of food security, yet on the other it is being compromised by Water Minister Tanya Plibersek,” MRSG chair Geoff Moar said.
“It appears these city-based politicians do not understand the link between water and food production.
“How can we have a genuine strategy that grows the world’s best, clean green food in regional Australia for our city supermarkets, when at the same time we are unnecessarily removing massive quantities of water that is the essential ingredient to growing that food?”
Earlier this month, Ms Collins claimed a re-elected Albanese Government would “help secure Australia’s food future with the development of a new national food security strategy”, which will be titled ‘Feeding Australia’.
“We will identify opportunities to improve supply chain resilience, with the goal of minimising price volatility and costs at the checkout,” Ms Collins said.
Mr Moar responded that the ideology was welcomed, but it cannot be achieved under current policy settings.
“Almost coinciding with Ms Collins’ announcement was a surprise decision by Plibersek to buy an additional 100 gigalitres of water, thereby reducing the amount of food our farmers can grow. And if we grow less, it costs more at the supermarket,” Mr Moar explained.
He said MRSG and its members have grave concerns about the ability of any government to develop an effective food security strategy when its own departments are not in synch.
“You cannot seriously have an agriculture minister promoting the need for more food production at the same time as your water minister is undermining food production,” Mr Moar said.
He added it was also disappointing that the proven, massive detrimental social and economic impacts of water buybacks were continually being ignored by a federal government that originally committed to ‘governing for everyone’.
“It appears the ‘everyone’ does not include communities that suffer from these buybacks, or the millions of Australians who will be forced to pay more for food because of them. It is extremely difficult to understand why the Albanese Government wants to destroy the nation’s food bowl.
“More than four Sydney Harbours of productive water have been recovered from food production since the Millennium drought, and as a result we have seen imports of staple foods skyrocket by nearly $15 billion to just under $40 billion a year in the last decade. This includes a $7 billion increase since Minister Plibersek’s aggressive approach to water buybacks.
“It was interesting that the Water Minister announced another 100 gigalitres of buybacks, equivalent to 20 per cent of Sydney Harbour, less than a week after the Prime Minister and Agriculture Minister announced their Food Security Strategy.
“Is this due to a lack of understanding or a deliberate attempt to undermine the Prime Minister and a Cabinet colleague?”
Mr Moar said MRSG has invited Minister Plibersek to the NSW Murray region to gain a better understanding of the link between water and food production, and provide achievable environmental solutions that do not include ongoing buybacks.
He said it is disappointing that Ms Plibersek continues to ignore the invitations.
Now, MRSG has invited Prime Minister Albanese and Opposition leader Peter Dutton to the region before the upcoming election.
“We urge our political leaders to meet with us to discuss the myriad of opportunities which exist to deliver environmental outcomes without taking more water from food production.
“If the Prime Minister is serious about his Food Security Strategy he will look at these options.
“If we continue along the current path, we can expect less Australian grown food, more imports and higher prices, regardless of what any strategy tries to tell us,” Mr Moar said.
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