Leader of The Nationals Matt Canavan has opened The Nationals conference this weekend by warning that Australia is sleepwalking into a food security crisis.
Senator Canavan said food production in Australia is not keeping up with increasing population and consumption rates, and if the trend continues, Australia will not grow enough of some basic household staples over the next decade.
“Our food security is in decline because our population growth is increasing well beyond our food growth,” Senator Canavan said.
“In this century, our population has grown by 50 per cent, while the volume of our food production has grown by just 30 per cent. Do the math – our nation is sleepwalking into a food security crisis.”
The Nationals’ modelling shows by 2040 projected shortfalls could include;
- One in two bacon rashes – or 50 per cent of pork.
- Two in five blocks of butter – or 40 per cent of butter.
- One in five eggs – or 21 per cent of eggs.
- One in six apples – or 16 per cent of apples.
- One in six chickens – or 15 per cent of chickens.
- One in six bags of rice – or 15 per cent of rice.
Senator Canavan said cuts to dams and water funding while pressing ahead with water buybacks are reducing our food security.
“Labor has cut over $7 billion in dams and water supply funding since they were elected in 2022. When we left office, we left funds for the Hells Gate dam, the Dungowan dam, the Emu Swamp dam, the Hughendon Irrigation Scheme, Big Rocks weir and the Paradise dam. The CSIRO had identified almost 400,000 hectares of great farming land that could be opened up with new water infrastructure in northern Australia.
“The food security shortfalls are already emerging with profound consequences, including almost 100 SunRice workers losing their jobs this week.
“Forget being able to eat ‘an apple a day to keep the doctor away’ – it is frightening that we might have to import one in six apples in just over a decade, or one in six bags of rice.
“We have become complacent and naive about the basic challenges of supplying food, energy and housing to millions of people.
“We have been too focused on virtue signalling rainbow morning teas and not focused enough on the water, energy, fertiliser and farmers that are needed to get the food there in the first place.
“As well as that, Labor’s net zero policies are hurting farming communities, while the Leftist elite fail to take real action themselves.
“Over 90 per cent of our emissions reductions have come from the conversion of around 7 million hectares of farmland to what they call forest, but in truth is just the growth of pests and weeds where food was once grown.
“At a time when we are facing food shortages of basic foodstuffs, we should not be shutting down farms, just to get to net zero.
“The Nationals remain committed to growing more food, creating more farming jobs and providing affordable and healthy produce for Australian families.
“A future Coalition Government with The Nationals and the team I lead will prioritise food security, by building dams, stopping net zero and water buybacks, using all of our resources to provide cheaper energy and have own fertiliser for farms, cutting red and green tape, and lowering compliance costs and migration.
“We will establish a Dams and Water Supply taskforce to find the dams that have been lost by Labor. We will deliver a plan to ensure that Australia doesn’t become reliant on other countries for food, like we have for oil.
“We need to expand the frontiers of our nation and protect our food security – to keep much more than just a doctor away. We can do that by growing more food.”
