Australia’s horticulture industry could soon have new representation in the nation’s capital ahead of this year’s federal election, replacing the Horticulture Australia Council that folded in May this year.
The potential new lobbyist comes at the instigation of Apple and Pear Australia’s (APAL) general manager Tony Russell, who is leading the industry taskforce behind the new group.
“We’re trying to get all the key industries together in one body so we can work together to represent horticulture across the board,” Mr Russell told Fruitnet.com
The move is planned as a replacement for the now-defunct Horticulture Australia Council (HAC), which served in the role of industry representation but was discontinued in May this year due to a lack of financial support from industry peak bodies.
“We’re trying to reform that representation and get that happening again,” Mr Russell said, explaining that the new model was enjoying greater support than the HAC because it required less financial resources from industry bodies with few funds to spare. The lobby body is expected to cost A$50,000-100,000 annually.
“At this stage we’ve got good intent from the industry, and in some cases the funds have already been collected. We’ve got about ten industry organisation that have signed up financially, and we’d like to think we could get 20 or so industries in the end. Then we’d be in good shape.”
Key issues for the lobby group involve water, the environment, workplace relations, the Australian Horticulture Code of Conduct, quarantine and biosecurity reform, market access, and research and development.
While it was hoped the new lobby group would be able to represent the horticultural sector in Australia’s current federal election campaign, Mr Russell said that goal is probably out of reach with only two weeks left before voters go to the polls.
“I think we’re going to struggle to get any policy issues from the horticultural perspective introduced at this late stage,” he said. “So it’s probably unlikely we’ll appoint a lobby before the election, `but` the plans are still there; we definitely intend to have a representative voice across the whole of horticulture.”
The proposed new lobby group has support from industry bodies such as AusVeg, Growcom, Fruit Growers Victoria, Citrus Australia, Apple and Pear Australia and the Biological Farmers Association, as well as bodies representing the banana, nursery and stonefruit industries.
The current model for the lobby group is seen as something of a provisional step, according to Citrus Australia’s CEO Judith Damiani.
“I believe it’s more of an interim measure while we gather our thoughts, while we form a stronger alliance `in the horticulture sector`,” she told Fruitnet.com. “But we’ve gathered a lot of support already.”
