Media Release

SOUTH Australia’s peak body for primary producers and associated industries has given the thumbs up to Katter’s Australian Party’s policy platform to restore and rejuvenate the state’s industries, said KAP Leader and Federal Member for Kennedy Bob Katter.

A meeting with Grow SA at their head office earlier this week – attended by representatives from the wine, dairy, horticulture, fruit, vegetable and citrus industries as well as representatives from the Riverlands, farmers markets and independent supermarkets and grocers – heard not only of the concerns but also the solutions proposed by the KAP, with the key focus on restoring a fair global playing field for our nation’s farmers.

Mr Katter said the industry representatives left the meeting with the comfort of knowing that there was light at the end of the tunnel and a future for agriculture in South Australia with the KAP.

“Australian farmers receive an average subsidy/tariff support of about 5 per cent while their competitors in OECD countries enjoy average support levels of more than 35 per cent,” said Mr Katter.

"It's like your competitor having a 35 metre start in a 100m race – you just can't compete.”

Mr Katter said that in order for these industries to survive, we needed:

• To tighten the laws governing imported food;
• Treasury intervention to address the artificially high value of the Australian dollar and skyrocketing interest rates that are totally out of whack with the rest of the world;
• To strengthen restrictions on foreign ownership of strategic assets;
• To reduce the market share of the supermarket giants;
• A horticultural code of conduct to ensure transparency in pricing between growers and retailers; and
• To ensure our farmers can collectively bargain for a fair price.

Mr Katter announced that he was introducing private members bills when Parliament resumes to reduce the supermarket giants’ market share and to label imported produce to warn consumers it could be “grown in conditions that may be injurious to your health”.

He has already moved legislation for a horticultural code of conduct and an arbitrated milk price for dairy farmers; as well as private members bills to reverse the sale of Cubbie Station and halt coal seam gas drilling in our precious aquifers.

"The Americans are screaming blue murder because WalMart and their competitor have now reached 23.1 per cent market share. Here we have two supermarkets with up to 90 per cent, so if they decide to cut down the amount of money they are going to pay farmers, they can, because there is no competition,” said Mr Katter.

"On top of this, they are bringing in product from overseas. Yet it has been revealed that the Chinese are putting formaldehyde into cabbages. And we all know that the antibiotic streptomycin is being used on foreign-grown apples to fight fire blight; and that water contaminated with raw sewage is being put in overseas prawn farms.

“Meanwhile, we have gone from exporting $200m a year of fisheries products to being net importers of $200m of fishery products. In fruit and vegetables we went from being net exporters of $1000m a year to net importers of $250m a year. And it’s similar with pork.

“The harsh truth is that within three years, this country will be a net importer of food. We will be unable to feed ourselves.

“But nothing whatsoever is being done by the Australian Government, who should be there to protect the vulnerable; not to facilitate their exploitation.”

“The ALP-LNP corporations’ policy of free trade with a closed Australian market is completely destroying this country, but the KAP has the policies underpinned by a real determination to see these industries restored," concluded Mr Katter.