Consultation on National Food Plan green paper begins

Consultation on the National Food Plan green paper commenced yesterday, beginning with a series of public forums. Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Joe Ludwig launched the green paper and called for feedback on the policy options it presents.

“The Food Plan will help us meet the needs of growing domestic demand, and seize the opportunities of increased global food demand, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region, by looking into existing policy and getting feedback on where improvements need to be made,” said Ludwig.

Several industry bodies have already responded to the green paper. The Heart Foundation welcomed the green paper, but said the National Food Plan must address diet-related health issues such as diabetes, heart disease and stroke.

“For any food plan to genuinely address the critical issues facing our country, it must have a plan to make us healthier and reduce deaths,” said Dr Lyn Roberts, the Heart Foundation’s National CEO.

The Heart Foundation believes objectives such as reducing salt and saturated fat content in foods, banning trans fats and promoting greater fruit and vegetable consumption should be included in the National Food Plan. The Plan should also address the discrepancy in food costs between urban and remote areas, Roberts said.

John Shipp, Director of the Australians for Northern Development & Economic Vision/Institute of Public Affairs (ANDEV/IPA) North Australia Project, said the green paper ignores the potential to expand agricultural output in northern Australia.

“North Australia has the opportunity to become a food bowl meeting booming demand for high-quality produce in China and the wider Asia-Pacific region,” Shipp said.

But the green paper says, “large-scale expansion of irrigated agriculture in northern Australia - the scale of which would be required to create a northern food bowl - does not appear to be sustainable or feasible.”

Shipp disagrees. “There are areas of North Australia that receive almost double the annual rainfall of the Murray-Darling basin. If Australia’s agricultural sector is to make the most of these exciting opportunities, we need to overcome this ridiculous aversion to building new dams.”

“Current government policies lack the vision necessary to take advantage of the opportunities that exist in Asia, both as a destination for exports and as a source of capital,” Shipp said.

The schedule of public meetings for the National Food Plan green paper consultation is available here. For more information on lodging a written submission, click here. Interested parties can stay up to date with developments on the National Food Plan blog and by following @NatFoodPlan on Twitter.