Fresh produce advocates like QFVG are aware that now is the time to go hard, be brave and use political pressure around the cost-of-living crisis to drive change for our industry. Recent comments from the Prime Minister, however, have left many growers angry and frustrated, and rightfully so.
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When talking about the decision by Facebook boss Meta to no longer pay Australian news publishers for their content, the PM responded by saying, "...we think that a fair thing is for people to pay for any product that is the result of people's hard work." Well, Mr Albanese, our growers couldn't agree more.
In another interview after the passing of the reworked stage three tax cuts in the Senate, the PM made comment that, "...real wages increased in 2023, our objective here is for people to earn more and keep more of what they earn." To that our growers' response is: We only wish.
From our grower engagement and investigative work, we've uncovered that grower earnings have remained relatively unchanged for over a decade, with prices for some commodities stuck in the 70s. Supply chain disruptions and global issues have also severely impacted the fresh produce sector with all growers reporting rises in input cost of between 30 and 65 per cent.
Can you imagine pouring money into a business with no idea if, when or how much you may get paid?
Growers, by their very nature, are both risk takers and optimists. However, the more we investigate, the more we realise that maintaining the status quo is no longer an option.
This sentiment was echoed by Burdekin Bowen growers last week as we met under a relative cloak of secrecy for fear of retribution. They were clear - something must change.
The looming biosecurity tax - are we fighting it? Growers called their R&D levy a production tax, with many just writing it off to focus on their own commercial trials.
These input costs are not small numbers and when growers have an inability to pass through these hidden 'taxes' combined with their escalating input costs, no wonder the next generation is not willing "to work as hard, and be as stressed as mum and dad for a small wage".
Once again, together we pondered the question, who will grow healthy food for the next generation?
One grower has made the comment, "I pay leave, personal leave, redundancy payments, public holidays, even pay when we didn't have work because of weather, but I couldn't afford to pay myself or take a holiday." We know this is the case for the majority of growers.
We are calling on the government to use the findings from the mounting number of inquiries under way to implement fundamental changes to ensure our industry is paid a fair price for the important and hard work they do.
