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Sample bill for Research and Development

question is that the amendment now be agreed to and I give the call to the Honourable member for Forrest Thank You mr. Deputy Speaker mr. Deputy Speaker Primary Industries as you know have always been an essential part of the Australian economy from our early history of Australia riding on the ship's back our primary industries have innovated changed and grown exponentially a critical part of this growth has been the investment in research and development as well as extensive marketing as the farmer myself I know that there is one it is one thing to produce a product it is entirely another to find profitable long-term markets for those products which is why trade and our free trade agreements have been and will continue to be so important to the primary production sector and when we look back to what's been asked of us as a government repeatedly it's been the number one issues that the issue that farmers have requested the market access issue now some of those challenges for those of us who are farmers and primary producers is to continue to extend Australia's competitive edge in the global food and fiber market to tackle challenges such as competition in both domestic and export markets the employment in our towns that go with our primary production the long-term impacts of the change of climate on AG productivity and sustainability mr. Deputy Speaker the Australian Bureau of Ag and Resource Economics forecasts our farm exports at forty eight point seven billion dollars in 2017 18 it's a massive earner for our country and as you know very well mr. Deputy Speaker how well it underpins so many regional communities the small businesses and the local economies right around Australia since 1945 when the government established a Bears we've seen increased productivity constant increases constant innovation and some amazing farmers some of the best in the world without a question and mostly because of continuous research and development and there are industry-specific Development Corporation's as we know from the Australian egg corporation the meat and livestock Australia horticulture innovation Australia and the very well-known Australian wool innovation and many others these R&D corporations also have a marketing function and the R&D isn't just into more efficient ways to produce the respective commodities but also in the marketing the marketing of the products relevant industries invest in their R&D corporations through the levies on the production itself and the Australian government invests by matching the industry R&D levy expenditure it is a real partnership and a unique model in Australia and the world mr. Deputy Speaker ing to a bear's estimates for every dollar invested in agriculture R&D agricultural R&D our farmers our primary producers actually generate a $12 return within 10 years for every single dollar it's a great return on investment strong Agriculture Fisheries and forestry industries are a massive benefit for all Australians and underpinned so many of our rural economies as I said the local jobs the small businesses and as I mentioned earlier this 15 rural R&D corporations out of those 15 14 can carry out marketing activities but only 10 do and they provide a very valuable service to their industry sectors in both the R&D and the marketing this has helped to build our pork wool and red meat industries for example and expanded Australian access to international markets particularly relevant with the free trade agreements as I said delivered by this government Japan Korea China the trans-pacific partnership Peru Singapore the coalition government has worked hard to open the international markets and access for our primary producers and as I said it was the most common thing said to me and to you mr. Deputy Speaker market access we won't just want a fair go into the market and that's what this government has worked overtime to delay but and I've said previously and I'll say it proudly every single time our primary producers in Australia are some of the most efficient in the world in spite of operating often in much harsher and more extreme weather and and growing conditions than many of our international competitors but much of that capability and capacity to manage environmental challenges comes from continuous research and development for instance dairy Australia is an R&D corporation that defines its role as to build a sustainable and internationally competitive industry and provides solutions that help farmers adapt to ever-changing operating environment that's the world we live in it doesn't stand still for us on the farm mr. Deputy Speaker and of course it acts as the collective investment arm of the dairy industry invests in research development and extension as well as industry services in my electorate of forests Western dairy assist farmers with many programs made possible from R&D contributions Western dairy helps farmers with programmes in relation to compost financial analysis farm stay safety and one called stepping back we've actually assist farmers in transitioning and setting up for the next generation of farmers which is really critical in this space australia's rural and Agra employs nearly more than one and a half million people the overall AG supply chain contributes 12% to Australia's GDP and I really like this statistic mr. Deputy Speaker each year the average Australian farmer feeds 600 people what a great achievement we feed 600 people each person and I think that's often overlooked innovation and agility and efficiency are critical to our industry strategic targeted and regionally relevant research and development is the key to that as is the collaboration the extension onto farm beach researchers investors government's primary producers and agribusinesses that direct return into the in beyond the farm gate itself I know in 2015 Deloitte's said agribusinesses the sector with the strongest competitive advantage for Australia's outlook as well as the benefits of R&D flowing directly to farmers and regional state and federal budgets that's what it does it doesn't just sit with the farmer it flows right across the board it flows down to help provide innovative cutting-edge education for our agricultural students which is one of the reasons I cannot understand the W a state labor government that announced 64 million dollars in education cuts some of which they've had to reserve reverse because of public pressure the actual of the CWA actually marched on the state parliament recently and they protested against those sweeping cuts to regional education but the one that really I believe is so so retrograde and negative the most blatant and ill-conceived cash grabs is taking 20% of funds from the agricultural education provisions trust fund now this is actually taking physically taking funding from our agricultural colleges and esperance farm training school in w-a these funds are actually earned by the school's themselves and generated from selling their own produce now the Xavier school in my electorate is a fantastic facility but they're going to lose at least $50,000 every year now these are the funds that the AG schools use the farm machinery for developing their farms and applying the latest innovation and technology and to repair and replace fences and the constant recurrent costs they've have to meet so the labor is cutting hundreds of thousands of dollars from these regional AG schools now I have no doubt and I'm sure there are members in here that agriculture is critical to the waa and Australian economy and in w.a it's worth eight point six billion our line just to the WI economy and that we expect that could double over the next 12 years as our beef our lamb our wine our beer our dairy our fruits and vegetables seafood pork wheat and grains are marketed overseas in high-end products that's where we belong in that end and the high value end of niche products because we have fantastic quality and we should never underestimate that and its impact around the world our farmers and our primary producers work very closely together to get these products to the markets and our future farmers they need the best possible education with the most current innovation and training technologies the machinery the tools and trades equipment like that at the Xavier schools trade training center it is exceptional the students currently have access to well-equipped workshops their training on the machinery and tools currently being used in the relevant industry whether it's automotive construction furnishing metals and engineering but it's also as you would know mr. Deputy Speaker the AG school is an economic contributor in itself to our local Harvey community in employment in sourcing output from loka inputs from local businesses over 600 students attend these colleges what this tells me mr. Deputy Speaker is unfortunately the W a state labor government just doesn't understand the constant changes that occur in the AG sector they don't understand why our AG students need access to cutting-edge cutting-edge farm machinery technology and equipment and that's delivered by continuous research and development but access to the funding to keep up upgrading what they have at their disposal to teach great young people but mostly what he's worrying is that they don't want to invest in the future of agriculture for the next generation what sort of a message does this give to the great young people who want to go into agriculture and see a great future and this is in a state that is set to double its population by 2050 so as farmers constant innovation constant focus on is what we do it's what helps to keep us competitive competitive and we are constantly improving our efficiency and productivity and we know that around 58 is the average age of farmers in Australia that's why these young people at the AG colleges in Western Australia are so important we actually need every single one of our new young farmers so I actually say to the state labour government cutting funding from lwas a Greek I'll chiral colleges is a short-sighted City centric decision continuous R&D and marketing are the keys to being competitive this legislation wills deals with the for statutory R&D corporations that are still governed by the 1989 legislation the fisheries cottons grains and rural industries R&D courts unlike most of those the are Indies they must have a statutory levy attached in order to undertake marketing this change was made in 2013 following wide consultation which led to the passage of the rural research and development legislation Amendment Act of 2013 now the process to impose a statute pre levy is often time-consuming and its collection can be expensive the fisheries are in the corporates industries bodies say that the smaller industries can't afford the cost of establishing and collecting a levy so this bill will make it possible for the fisheries cotton grains and rural industries R&D corporations to carry out marketing activities by using voluntary contributions for example a gift a grant or Abba quest so it simply updates the legislation and puts these four corporations on the same footing as the other corporations the bill also ricourt requires the Rd corporations to report on the marketing activities that they carry out each financial year in its annual report so this ensures the transparency for the industry and the bill expands the definition of marketing activities to include matters that are incidental to marketing this allows the R&D corporations to plan and to coordinate marketing activities and that will allow besides using the funds provided to them for R&D purposes so mr. Deputy Speaker in finishing my remarks today can I just give a great shout out to every farmer every primary producer that's out there in Australia I have enormous respect for my fellow farmers I'm very proud of them on Saturday evening I ended attended a dairy industry association of Australia event where the the award-winning the the DI double-a award-winning products were celebrated and there were some fantastic products from right around Australia but I I'm sorry from right around Western Australia but what I what I did do mr. Deputy Speaker which will be of no surprise to you I did remind those grape manufacturers small medium large manufacturers in w-a that we are interdependent me as a producer and my family as producers of some of the best quality milk in Australia and they as manufacturers are interdependent and we work together to basically produce some of the best quality dairy products to the market and I'm hoping that they in turn as I said to them take advantage of the fantastic free trade agreements that we've done and look at how not only to get their products well established in the domestic market but actually get them into the wider international markets as well we can compete anywhere in the world with our great farmers and our fantastic manufacturers and I just urge them to get on with it mr. Deputy Speaker I thank the chief government wit for her contribution