Thursday, 9 March 2023

Hemp industry

David ETTERSHANK (Western Metropolitan) (12:07): (74) My question is for the Minister for Agriculture, Ms Tierney, and relates to grants for the hemp industry. Minister, yesterday my colleague Ms Payne asked you a question in relation to a hemp grant scheme, highlighting in particular Western Australia, where the government has provided grants to local companies to drive the growth of the hemp industry. Your answer, though, yesterday, Minister, did not touch on grants at all. Quite specifically, Minister, will you contemplate a grant scheme to incentivise the Victorian hemp industry?

Jaclyn SYMES (Northern Victoria – Attorney-General, Minister for Emergency Services) (12:07): I thank Mr Ettershank for his question for Ms Tierney, the Minister for Agriculture. Unfortunately she is absent today, but I will pass that question on to her and her office and get you a response.

David ETTERSHANK (Western Metropolitan) (12:07): I thank the minister for her response. Funded projects under the Western Australian grant scheme included seed and crop trials, establishing a hemp-processing facility and building carbon-neutral homes from hemp biomass. Could you see similar projects being the recipient of grants here in Victoria?

Jaclyn SYMES (Northern Victoria – Attorney-General, Minister for Emergency Services) (12:08): Mr Ettershank, I will pass that on to Minister Tierney. But as the former Minister for Agriculture, there are a range of grants that anybody that is a primary producer could access, so some of the issues that you touched on might actually be eligible for existing grant programs. But I will let the now relevant minister respond in more detail about any of the available grants that might pick up some of those projects that you talked about.