In the past when we've talked about the possibility of importing dairy if production figures and number of farms and cattle continue to decline, we were accused of scaremongering. But with Australia's sea and air ports shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic, we are grimly reminded of the importance of ensuring that Australia isn't reliant on other countries for basic necessities like dairy.
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Both state and federal governments have done a stellar job at sorting out the logistics of keeping Australia functioning in the face of coronavirus. It does seem, however, that most government departments have been so caught up in demonstrating they are on top of the pandemic, that it has overshadowed all other priorities and programs.
So, it was a relief to hear a number of ministers, department heads and leaders of our industry groups say that from this week, the focus would be on getting back to normal business.
The future of the Australian dairy industry relies on returning profitability and quickly. To do that, the restructuring of the national dairy bodies and a national program to assist farmers to receive a sustainable and fair farmgate price need to be finalised and implemented.
Both projects (the Dairy Plan and the Fair Go Dairy logo program) were at critical timing points before the disruption caused by the pandemic and both require ministerial and high-level government assistance and involvement to move to the next phase.
It would be fair to say that all of us would like to get back to business rather than have our entire business operations dominated by the pandemic. To do that, we need government and national bodies to refocus on these pre-coronavirus priorities and this will be QDO's focus over the next few weeks.
We need government to provide plans which outline the shortest possible time frames available in the current state of 'normal', and we need clarity from government as to what assistance it will be able to provide to the dairy industry.
Given the huge to financial commitment that's been necessary to keep the Australian economy afloat in the face of the pandemic, we need assurance from politicians that the survival and success of the dairy industry is a priority for them.
When it comes to the election later this year, we shouldn't only be evaluating government on how well it has handled the logistics of the pandemic, but also on government's ability to continue to function efficiently and effectively on regular business through the pandemic.
