Senate Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport Legislation Committee, , 6:08 to 10:05
Senator Canavan questions the Secretary on her initial meetings with agricultural representative groups, including the National Farmers Federation, and plans to repair relationships with the sector.
Topics: National Farmers Federation, EU free trade agreement
Speakers: Speaker 5, Speaker 3, Speaker 2
>> just start before sorry chair uh just on behalf of Minister Collins and myself we welcome Miss Anderson to the role and look forward to working uh with her uh and answering your questions today.
>> Thank you. Thank you Senator Can. >> Uh thank you chair. Congratulations to Miss Anderson on your appointment. Uh good luck in the role. uh uh I wanted to ask a general question then you coming into the role as the last few years have seen uh a tense relationship between the agricultural sector and the government there's been a number of flash points the uh the the new levies that were proposed a lot of sheep uh bans uh of course perhaps the most heated now that we'll get into today I'm sure the cost recovery arguments as well uh have you met with uh major agricultural representative groups in your first few weeks as secretary.
>> Uh yes, Senator, I've I've made a good start. I started on the 8th of December. So, um obviously there was a bit of a challenging Christmas period involved. Uh since I've started, I've met with the National Farmers Federation, uh the Australian Chicken Growers Council, the Australian Dairy Products Federation, Livestock Exports Council, and the Meat Industry Council. And I've got um a range of meetings scheduled with pretty much every uh portfolio representative body uh that you can think of over the coming few months as well. As you'd imagine, I've also had to meet with um research and development corporations, portfolio agency heads, and not to mention all of the staff in the department trying to do my best to get around and do that. So, I've had a fairly packed diary and noting that we've had a bit of an interruption with the Christmas and New Year period while both the department and also those industry bodies were having a bit of a a standown. I've got more to do, but I think made a decent start.
>> Okay. What were the industry? What were the sectoral ones you you mentioned? Did you
say dairy? >> Uh the dairy products federation. I haven't um met with all of the dairy um producers sort of organizations yet, but I think >> with cattle Australia yet? >> I haven't met with Cattle Australia yet.
>> You have not? No, I haven't. Okay. All
right. >> Requests have gone out to all of these bodies. We're just in the process of scheduling.
>> All right. >> Um uh um do have you got some ideas or plans to repair relationships? I mean I particularly for example the NFF uh they've usually been a very uh I'm trying to find the right adjective I would use for them, but they're not particularly uh bulshy usually. But the last few years, the statements I've seen from them, I haven't seen from the NFF before uh about our government, either Labor or LNP or coalition. Uh uh have you got any particular plans to repair the relationship between the agricultural representative bodies and
the Australian government? >> Uh Senator, I have plans to make um extremely good and solid working relationships with all of the portfolio bodies that I can. Um that is part of the role and I very much see myself as central to those relationships. So I'll be doing my best to not only meet them but to be available for discussions both on at a general level and on a specific level over the next well hopefully a long period of time as secretary of the
department. >> Okay. Um well thank you for that. Before I get into some more of the detail I might just ask up front uh and I always get confused here in this estimates about uh corporate matters or or uh um crossportfolio etc. Uh the EU free trade agreement. Have you been involved at all with that in your first few weeks?
>> I've certainly been briefed on it, Senator. That would be a matter under
outcome one. >> Okay. So, you'll flick us to there. Um I I suppose in particular, have those representative groups raised with you concerns about uh the negotiations for a
free trade agreement with the EU? >> Uh I'm just trying to recall. Yes, I think a couple of those organizations have raised um the significance of that arrangement uh the free trade agreement for their industries. Um but more generally obviously I've been reading the press and and being briefed by the team as well about some of the issues uh for the EU free trade agreement.