Farmers in Victoria and New Zealand face a variety of challenges and it makes sense for them to work together, Victorian Agriculture Minister Jaclyn Symes says.
Symes, the Victorian government’s deputy leader, Regional Development and Resources Minister, spent three days in NZ.
Symes said the Zero Carbon Bill has put NZ at the forefront of work to address the impact of greenhouse gas emissions on climate change so a key part of her visit was to find out more about what NZ is doing.
Victoria is leading the call in Australia for a national response to address climate change and agriculture. It is working a proposal for state agriculture ministers when they meet later this year.
If that is to be effective it is important to find out what other countries are doing to support their agriculture sectors, Symes said.
“We have a similar approach to you guys on climate change but we’re just behind you.
“As agriculture minister I’m always looking to learn more about how our vital agricultural sector can keep growing and supporting more local jobs.”
How agriculture can address climate change concerns was a key part of her meeting with Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor.
It was invaluable to hear how the NZ Government and farmers are working together on ways to reduce emissions, she said.
Symes visited the Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Research Centre in Palmerston North to find out more about its agriculture-focused climate change research.
She now has a better idea of the sort of ideas and research being explored on this side of the Tasman, which could help inform Victoria’s research priorities.
Symes also visited Tracy and Wynn Brown’s Tiroroa farm near Matamata.
There she learned a lot about how the property operates and how dairy farming can be done in an environmentally friendly way, reducing gas emissions while remaining profitable.
Dairy farming is an important part of Victorian farming though some farmers are under increasing pressure, she said.
Like NZ, a lot of that is to do with water though the issue in NZ is water quality while in Victoria it is access.
In some areas, especially northern Victoria, water shortages because of drought are forcing some dairy farmers to consider a change.
In some parts of the state the cost of inputs has become crippling for some, with water and feed costs leading some farmers to question the economics of milk production.
Symes has been involved in making sure those farmers are given good business advice to help them make decisions about their future.
However, some have decided they are better off not dairying.
“It’s awful.
“There are some areas where it’s really difficult and some people are moving from the industry,” she said.
Fonterra is a significant player in the Australian dairy industry and the pressure on farmer suppliers has flowed through to its processing operations.
It plans to close its Dennington plant, which employs about 100 people, by the end of November.
Symes met Fonterra senior staff here to seek assurances about its Victorian operations.
The people she spoke to were up front, telling her the Victorian milk pool is down and that’s unlikely to change significantly in the near future so it makes sense to consolidate its operations in the state and shut the 100-year-old Dennington plant, which is less than an hour away from its Cobden factory.
Fonterra committed to use Dennington milk at Cobden while making every effort to find jobs for its Dennington staff at the Cobden plant, its biggest in Australia.
Symes, a lawyer, has been an MP for Northern Victoria since 2014. She has strong ties to regional Victoria.
After growing up in the northeast Victoria town of Benalla she moved to Melbourne to study at Deakin University and began law practice in 2006.
A passion for social justice led her to working as a carer for people with disabilities, which made her aware of the daily struggles they face and the importance of the right policies.
So she became an industrial officer with the Australian Services Union. She soon realised that to make a real difference she would need to influence policy, which led to a role as an adviser to the former Bracks/Brumby Labor Government, working for the then Deputy Premier and Attorney-General Rob Hulls.
She has maintained her connection with rural Victoria, these days living with her husband Gerard, their two children and dog in the central Victoria town of Broadford.
She wants to help rural areas find a future that is both economically and environmentally sustainable.
