Australian farmers are being treated as Labor’s cash cows under a new Biosecurity Fresh Food Tax, Member for Mallee Dr Anne Webster says.
The local member say the tax will force Australian farmers to pay for the biosecurity costs of international importers who compete for shelf space with their own products, and will drive up the cost for families to put food on the table and in their kids’ lunchboxes.
Labor has announced a remodelling of the tax, which will now be set at a proportion of an industry’s gross value of production over a three year period rather than the proposed 10 per cent base rate.
“In what parallel universe would any Australian government tax their own farmers to pay for foreigners to bring competitive products into this country?” Dr Webster said.
“Labor is driving up the cost for farmers and this can only go one way, a flow on to family bills at the checkout.”
The Department of Agriculture last week told Senate Estimates it still needs to formally advise industry of their new rate over the coming days and months.
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