Wednesday, 27 November 2024

 Ros SPENCE (Kalkallo – Minister for Agriculture, Minister for Community Sport, Minister for Carers and Volunteers) (14:34): As Victorians we pride ourselves on the great food culture in our cities and in our regions, and that is built on the back of our strong agriculture sector, which is worth more than $20 billion to our state’s economy. We know that agriculture is the backbone of many rural and regional communities, directly generating over 150,000 Victorian jobs and indirectly generating nearly another 140,000 jobs through transport, retail and finance, and that is why the Allan Labor government invests in this sector, because we all rely upon its success.

The 2024–25 state budget is providing $85.5 million to protect Victoria from biosecurity risks, ensuring that Victoria is equipped to minimise these risks and provide well-coordinated, effective responses to emergencies. We have seen this occur through our swift and effective response to the threat posed by avian influenza in May this year, with no further infected premises since June 2024.

We are supporting our farmers in south-western Victoria, who have been experiencing extended drought conditions. On 30 September this government announced a $13.53 million package to support farming communities already affected by drought conditions in that area. I am very pleased to report that 369 applications have already been approved, an interim drought coordinator is in place and a technical decision-making support program and activities are being rolled out in the affected areas.

We are also committed to supporting the sustainable growth of a strong Victorian plantation industry. Already leading the nation, we are delivering a further $145 million to expand our plantation industry, with over 1.1 million seedlings already in the ground. The Allan Labor government will always back rural and regional Victorians and our strong agriculture sector.