The Federal Coalition firmly opposes Labor’s Biosecurity Protection Levy, also known as Labor’s fresh food tax. This is a tax that will increase cost-of-living pressures and drive-up food prices, impacting families at the checkout.
This legislation is another example of this Labor Government biting the hand that feeds it.
The levy will charge Australian farmers for the biosecurity costs of importers.
In what parallel universe would any Australian government tax their own farmers, to pay for foreigners to bring their products into this country?
Ultimately, farmers will be forced to pass on costs, which means families will spend more on their fresh food.
The Federal Coalition recognises that a strong and robust biosecurity system is crucial for protecting Australia against the threat of exotic pests and diseases.
The Federal Coalition has always supported a sustainable funding model for biosecurity. However, in contrast to Labor’s approach, taxing farmers was never considered or part of the mix.
As the Leader of the Opposition announced in his response to the May 2023 Budget, instead of taxing farmers for biosecurity, the Federal Coalition will introduce an Importer Container Levy – as recommended by the independent Craik Biosecurity review.
Under the former Coalition Government, we were a considerable way down the path to implementing this approach – however it has not been taken forward by Labor.
By applying a charge on containerised cargo coming into Australia, an Importer Container Levy is the sensible and fair way forward.
This is what the Coalition stands for.
The Albanese Labor Government should apply some common sense, take the action that’s required – and scrap this tax.
Two independent reviews on the Biosecurity Protection Levy conducted by the Productivity Commission and the Australian National University have found that this policy is flawed.
In conclusion, the new tax on farmers will inevitably be passed onto consumers, which means even higher grocery bills for those in Flynn.
As the Federal Member for Flynn, I am determined to stop this new tax on our farmers and our food.
It is unfathomable the Labor government would ask farmers to pay for the biosecurity risks of international importers from other countries.
Instead of taxing farmers, a future Coalition Government will scrap this tax. Under our plan, importers of foreign products will pay for the biosecurity risk they pose – not Australian farmers as it should be.
