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Matt Canavan wants the Nationals to reclaim agriculture, but reversing Australia’s decline in food production will require far more than promises to build dams.

Struggling to find a brand identity in the crowded space that is the centre right in Australian politics these days, Nationals Leader Matt Canavan has decided to go back to basics and adopt a stronger focus on agriculture.

Canavan has pledged to revive the Nationals’ core business of dams, water security and a commitment to boosting farming while warning of the long-term decline in production of Australian-produced fruit, pork and dairy.

In reality, the Nationals have not strictly been a “farmers party” for many years, their constituency is broadly any of the diverse electorates of regional Australia, and is focused on the mining industry, energy and manufacturing, trucking and transport, defence, and small business.

But with the rise of One Nation, which is currently dominating the national conversation on populist and popular issues as diverse as immigration, superannuation and cultural issues, it makes sense that Canavan tries to ensure that his party at least owns the agriculture space.

Australia’s Farming Crisis Is Deepening

The irony is that Australia’s “farmers” have dwindled in number over the past few decades as free trade, water buybacks and other policies have severely impacted industries like sugar, dairy, tobacco and forestry.

Canavan’s warning speech to the Nationals Federal Conference on August 15 was in marked contrast to the tone at the National Farmers Federation (NFF) recent landmark event, at which it celebrated Australia’s $100 billion in “farmgate output”.

More than 300 leaders from across agriculture, business and regional Australia gathered at the Great Hall of Parliament House. NFF president Hamish McIntyre declared:

“This milestone did not happen by accident. It happened because Australian farmers backed themselves, took risks, adapted, innovated and kept producing some of the best food and fibre in the world through some tough conditions.”

In fact, the “milestone” was built on an illusion: the $100 billion was largely achieved through big wheat crops and inflation, while the profitability of farmers themselves has not improved at all.

Meanwhile, back in the land of reality, The Australian reported that the Australian Bureau of Statistics and the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences have projected shortfalls in production of basic Australian foodstuffs.

By 2040, there will be shortfalls in Australian-produced pork (47 per cent), butter (40 per cent), eggs (21 per cent), apples (16 per cent), chicken (15 per cent), rice (14 per cent) and cheese (7 per cent). These statistics should be a wake-up call to all Australians that a country the size of Australia soon will not in fact produce sufficient basic commodities to feed itself.

More Than Speeches Will Be Needed

In his speech to the Nationals Federal Conference in Canberra, Canavan called for a renewed focus on Australian agricultural production.

“We need to grow Australian farming again. The Nationals remain committed to grow more food, create more farming jobs and provide affordable and healthy food for Australian families,” he said.

“We will grow Australian farming again by building dams and investing in water infrastructure, as we did when we were last in office.”

Ironically, these are the exact same calls on dams that Canavan’s old boss and now One Nation MP Barnaby Joyce made for more than a decade, including when he was Deputy Prime Minister.

Canavan held onto one success — that the last Coalition government built the Rookwood weir in Central Queensland, which is now helping to grow over 500,000 macadamia trees along the Fitzroy River. But he conceded that, “overall, we have not opened new farming areas this century”.

“In 2022, we left the Labor Party with plans and the funds to build new farming districts across the country. The Hells Gate dam, the Dungowan dam, the Emu Swamp dam, the Hughenden Irrigation Scheme, Big Rocks weir and the Paradise dam were funded,” Canavan said.

Canavan is right, but unless there is a major shift in federal and state relations, there is no prospect of any dams being built by anyone, including One Nation.

With governments carpeting the countryside with windmills and solar farms, turning prime agricultural land into carbon sink plantings, and a host of other policies — from animal welfare to water buybacks — Australian agriculture is in peril.

It will take more than one speech to turn around this crisis of government. It will take a major change of heart and gumption in Canberra.

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Republished with thanks to News Weekly. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.