Bad policy increases food costs

It’s simple: if it’s more difficult and expensive to grow food, we all pay more at the supermarket.

This week we have seen the problems faced by fruit growers in the Goulburn Valley as SPC reduces pear and peach production because imported fruit is cheaper.

There are too many government policies that increase the overall costs of our farmers, making them less competitive internationally.

In the Goulburn Valley, as elsewhere in southeastern Australia, skyrocketing water prices are making production more expensive.

Every year we waste billions of liters of water through unnecessary transmission losses and dump it into the sea in South Australia.

This is because governments, especially the government of Albania, refuse to work with local communities to maximize our precious water resources for production and environmental purposes.

Most people don’t understand that there is enough water to meet the needs of the environment as well as supply our hard-working Australians to grow the food they buy in the supermarket.

There is a lack of government willingness to move beyond buying water from farmers and storing it in dams, which has had adverse consequences, including an increased risk of flooding.

Less water to grow food means less food and higher food prices. This is the reality.

Agricultural communities in our country would not mind governments if they stored water from the environment and used it efficiently. But it’s not like that.

Instead, they waste water in the name of the environment because it appeases green groups and therefore wins votes, especially in capital cities.

Milk consumption in our country is constantly decreasing, as is the production of many basic foodstuffs.

As a nation, we can say enough is enough, we want policies that support our farming communities, or we can accept the indisputable fact that growing less will cost more and everyone will have much higher food bills.

Yours etc.

Shelley Scoullar

Albury