AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES & FOOD POLICIES
Key Policy Points
All Framers to be Tax Exempt from including,
- Corporate Tax
- Personal Income tax
- Payroll Tax
- Land Tax
- Capital Gains Tax
- Inheritance Tax
- Death Duties
- Charging GST
- Entitled to claim 100% ITC on all purchases
- Guaranteed Product Purchase Amount and Price
- 100% Rebate on fuel excise duty
- The right to deny entry and expel anyone from their land
- The right to deny entry or to permit the use of their land, for recreational and sporting activities to the public
Farming Policy
All Farmers and primary producers will be declared tax exempt and not be liable to pay any corporate tax or personal income tax or land tax. This includes all employees of the farmers.
All Farmers and primary Producers will be GST exempt, thus not requiring them to charge GST on their sales. They will also be able to claim 100% ITC on all purchases.
All Farmers and primary Producers will have access to the State Farmers Bank for interest free loans and no fee accounts. All loans will be ultra flexible, so, if a bad year occurs and crops fail, the loan repayments can be placed on hold until the next harvest. All Farmers will not have to put up their farm or home as collateral when seeking a loan. All loans will be based upon the specific needs of the individual farmer.
Farmers will have set minimum price tariffs on all produce. They will only be able to sell to supermarkets their produce at a minimum of, the production cost price plus 10 percent. This means that the farmer will get at least what it costs them to produce food, plus a 10% markup. This will stop supermarkets and food manufacturers from screwing over farmers and it will ensure that farmers will at least break even.
Food price sale contracts will now be set in favour of the farmer, instead of the supermarket chains. When an order is placed with the farmer, it will be at an agreed price, which cannot be any lower than the minimum tariff price. The supermarket will be legally bound to honour the contract and pay for the produce, even if they subsequently cancel the order, for whatever reason. This will stop supermarkets from placing an order at 5.00pm and then cancelling it at 9.00am the following morning, after the farmer has picked his crop all night. If the supermarket refuses to take the agreed order, then the farmer, having been paid by the supermarket, will then have the option to on sell the harvest to another wholesaler for an additional price of their choosing. This will stamp out farmer abuse as Supermarkets and food manufacturers will be forced to pay the farmer for their produce.
To assist farmers at harvest time, anyone wishing to work for the farmer picking crops will be paid tax free, even if they have full time employment.
It will be illegal to waste food. All so-called non-sexy crops, that fail the fussy supermarket test, will be shipped to canning factories, at the agreed price, to be processed, canned and sold via shopping outlets and for international export or foreign aid purposes. There will be no dumping of food or creation of surplus food mountains.
Land regeneration is very important for Australia. Farmers that have degraded land will be prioritised for regeneration under our works programme initiative.
Water is vital for all farmers so, until such time that we fix the water management of Australia, it is imperative that farmers have access to as much water as they need, in order, to irrigate their farms and look after their livestock. The water supply issue should not be a concern for the farmers as they have enough problems of their own to deal with. Our water supply issues are a concern for the government and it is for the government to fix them. It is a priority for desalination plants to be set up around Australia, with a network of pipes delivering water to the farming community. Refer Infrastructure & Building policy.
Sugar and Salt Reduction
We are living unhealthy lives, especially with the food that we consume. Too much emphasis is placed upon easy living or quick meals. We have far too much sugar, salt and other chemicals in our food, which is doing us harm. We need to work with the food manufacturers to reduce the sugar and salt in processed food. We do not believe in taxing corporations with things like a sugar tax, as this simply raises revenue and does not do anything about reducing the sugar.
We will ask food manufacturers to start reducing sugar in food, by 10% each year, so, after ten years some products will have no sugar at all. Improving food quality is a priority and we will expect the food industry to support this initiative. We will promote a healthy living lifestyle to encourage people to each healthier food.
Genetically Modified Food Ban
Food for consumption will not be allowed to contain any genetically modified ingredients. Although scientific research will be permitted, we will place a ban on growing genetically modified food for human consumption.
Pesticide and Herbicide Control
For modern farming to produce the quantity and quality of food, that we require as a nation, it is necessary for the use of pesticides and herbicides, but we need to research the long-term effects that these may be having upon the people. Alternative pest controls should be evaluated and tested, using more natural remedies. Any product that is proven to be harmful to humans must be discontinued.
Fish Farms
World fish stocks are declining due to over fishing. If this trend continues, we will simply deplete the oceans of many types of fish. To redress this issue, we need to set up major fish farms around the coast of Australia. We need to use our natural harbours to establish the farms, that are able to mimic the oceans and not require antibiotics or other chemicals to keep the fish healthy. The aim should be to produce significant quantities of fish, so that 50% of the stock can be released back into the oceans to help replenish the fish stocks. The other 50% should be used for food, whether they be fresh, cooked or canned and then sold all around Australia. As fish farms can be situated at any part of the Australian coastline, this business will be ideal for remote aboriginal communities that do not have any work or local employment. The farms can include the production of fresh water fish as well as shrimps and prawns.
Hunting and Fishing Bans
We will enforce a total ban on hunting whales and other endangered sea life. Stricter controls on commercial fishing in our waters will be enforced, to allow fish stocks to replenish. This will be made possible because of the introduction of fish farming.
