The state’s peak farm body has launched a fresh appeal urging parliamentarians to vote against the proposed biosecurity tax on farmers, with the levy bill set to enter the Senate tomorrow.
NSW Farmers Biosecurity Committee Chair Ian McColl said a Senate Inquiry report delivered last Friday had failed to address the flaws inherent in the levy bill, leaving widespread concerns raised by farm leaders around the proposed tax still to be resolved.
“The Federal Government are calling this bill a biosecurity levy, but the funds collected by this tax are going straight into consolidated revenue rather than funding biosecurity measures,” Mr McColl said.
“We’re not certain how this levy will be collected, and don’t know where the funds will really go – the only thing we do know about this levy is that it’s a huge extra bill slapped on farmers who are already paying their fair share towards biosecurity.
“We voiced these concerns at the Senate Inquiry into this levy bill, but clearly, we’ve been cast aside and ignored, all for the sake of some consolidated revenue.”
With the levy bill set to enter the Senate tomorrow, Mr McColl called on parliamentarians to heed the concerns of farmers and vote against the bill, with smarter solutions for biosecurity funding models readily available.
“If passed in Federal Parliament, this levy bill will impact the bottom line of farmers and drive the cost of producing the nation’s food and fibre even higher,” Mr McColl said.
“We need smarter solutions for our biosecurity funding model, such as the creation of a container levy, to ensure passengers and producers are being adequately charged for the costs of the risks they create.
“Reviewing and renewing the way we fund our biosecurity measures could go a long way towards easing the burden on all of us, while also ensuring we have the funds we need to protect our nation against the threat and devastation of exotic pests and disease for decades to come.”
