The 2025 federal election campaign will reach a conclusion this Saturday 3 May when Australians decide the leadership of our country for the next three years.

Election day will mark the culmination of months of build-up and five weeks of official campaigning, dominated by the consumer cost-of-living crisis.

Amid the heightened political focus on the severe pressures facing Australian households, Australia’s vegetable industry has been grappling with its own cost-of-production crisis – made worse by ongoing challenges securing viable returns for produce, compliance overload, workforce shortages, a lack of capacity to invest in innovation, and low and declining vegetable consumption among Australians.

These pressures have intensified and compounded to the point where one in three growers continue reporting to AUSVEG that they are considering leaving the industry in the next 12 months – and that a further third would go if someone offered a fair price for their farm.

AUSVEG advocacy and political engagement on the key challenges facing Australian vegetable, potato and onion growers has intensified as the pressures facing Australia’s commercial vegetable, potato and onion growing businesses has become more pronounced, largely due to the prolonged period of suppressed returns.

In anticipation of the federal election, AUSVEG last November launched its 2025 Federal Election Priorities, outlining 21 specific commitments needed to address the industry’s key challenges – across the four pillars of Secure Supply, Skills and Workforce Stability, Structural Supports for Business and Sustainable Future.

These included a $125 million, five-year investment in a consumer behaviour change campaign to boost vegetable consumption by one serve per-person, per-day by 2030, alongside initiatives to shore-up national food security, cut compliance and governance overload, address major skills and workforce shortages and promote business investment and opportunities.

Political response

Unquestionably, all political parties and their leaders have been more firmly focussed on the consumer cost-of-living crisis – rather than the vegetable industry’s cost-of-production crisis during the 2025 federal election campaign.

While the major issues and challenges facing Australia’s vegetable industry, and the flow on implications for future national food security, may not have received the full attention they deserve, there have been some significant policy commitments of relevance to the vegetable industry during this election campaign.

With a few days left until polling day, these have included bi-partisan support for a National Food Security Strategy or Plan, as well as a range of commitments on other key issues facing the sector.

Leading into and during the election campaign, AUSVEG has engaged tirelessly with all political parties and candidates across the political spectrum, to ensure the vegetable industry’s needs and challenges are well understood – and to emphasise the urgent need for commitments to the industry’s election priorities.

This included at the recent Future-Proofing the Fresh Vegetable Supply Chain Forum, on 15 April where Labor, Coalition, Australian Greens, Jacqui Lambie Network and independent political representatives heard directly from leading vegetable growers about their key challenges, and were given the opportunity to commit to positive action.

As part of our regular political engagement, AUSVEG was also present in Canberra last week, representing the vegetable industry during the Coalition’s launch of its National Food Security Plan, and received a formal response from the ALP campaign headquarters, to our 2025 federal election priorities.

Throughout the campaign, AUSVEG has also emphasised and highlighted the industry’s key challenges, and necessary solutions during regular media appearances. There is no one silver bullet to solve the current industry downturn but what AUSVEG is advocating for is a suite of measures that together aim to ease the current cost-of-production crisis.

While neither major party to date has made a firm commitment on our ongoing call for a $125 million, five-year investment in a consumer behaviour change campaign to boost vegetable consumption by one serve per person per day by 2030, we have welcomed the strong support of Tamanian Senator Jacqui Lambie, from the Jacqui Lambie Network, for this initiative.

The issue of boosting vegetable consumption among Australians will remain a key focus of AUSVEG’s political advocacy on behalf of industry into the next term of government.

While the analysis below against the 2025 AUSVEG Federal Election Priorities shows some welcome commitments, the urgent and pressing nature of the major challenges facing vegetable, potato and onion growers across the country will need to be a critical priority for whichever party forms government after Saturday.

Regardless of the election outcome, AUSVEG will continue to push for the policies and commitments that growers want and need, to ensure they remain viable, and can continue supplying the fresh vegetables that Australians depend upon.

Election commitments against AUSVEG 2025 Federal Election Priorities   

SECURE SUPPLY

Consumption and engagement
AUSVEG election priority:

Increase domestic vegetable consumption by one serve per person per day by committing to a $125 million, long-term, national multi-channel behavioural change campaign. ($25 million per year over 5 years)

Political response:
No major party has made a firm commitment to this critical national priority, despite the potential for $4.7 billion in net economic benefits, including a $3.3 billion boost to the vegetable supply chain, the creation of 13,000 new jobs, and $1.4 billion in healthcare budget savings.  This issue remains a key priority for AUSVEG, and we have welcomed the support of Senator Jacqui Lambie from the Jacqui Lambie Network for initiatives to lift vegetable consumption, as discussed at the recent Future-Proofing the Fresh Vegetable Supply Chain Forum, convened by AUSVEG.

Food Security
AUSVEG election priority:

AUSVEG has called for a range of measures to bolster long-term national food security, including the development and urgent implementation of a national food security strategy, alongside measures to boost sovereign food, and key farm input manufacturing capability.

Political response:
In early March the Albanese Labor Government announced a $3.5 million commitment for the development of a National Food Security Strategy, if re-elected.

Last Thursday, the Coalition announced its National Food Security Plan, to be underpinned by the proposed $20 billion Regional Australia Future Fund. The announcement also included an intention to develop sovereign manufacturing capability and cut regulatory burden.

While the bipartisan recognition of national food security as an issue is welcome, these latest commitments cannot just result in more talk-fests and rounds of consultation. Action is long overdue and the Feeding the Nation report released in November 2023 clearly outlined key recommendations that are actionable in the short term.

Competition
AUSVEG election priority:

AUSVEG has called for any relevant recommendations from the recent ACCC inquiry into supermarkets to be incorporated into the strengthened Food and Grocery Code of Conduct, while also calling for funding for industry organisations and peak bodies to increase industry capacity to train growers on retail negotiations and the new Food and Grocery Code.

Political response:
Following the release of the ACCC supermarket inquiry in March, the Labor Government released its initial response, pledging to provide $2.9 million over three years for fresh produce industry associations to deliver targeted education programs, ensuring suppliers understand and can enforce their rights under the Food and Grocery Code. Later in March, at the beginning of the official election campaign, the Labor Party pledged to make price gouging illegal.

On the same day, the Coalition reaffirmed its plans for $2 million on the spot fines for code contraventions by supermarkets, increased powers for the ACCC to conduct random audits of major supermarkets, the appointment of a Supermarket Commissioner and sector-specific divestiture powers for the ACCC and courts, as a last resort.

Throughout the many recent inquiries into the supermarkets AUSVEG has repeatedly emphasised the fundamental point that growers need to receive a fair and viable prices for their produce, while also cautioning against interventions that may artificially distort free market dynamics or result in additional compliance and red tape burden for growers.

STRUCTURAL SUPPORTS FOR BUSINESS

Business
AUSVEG election priority:

AUSVEG has called for range of measures that reinvigorate growers’ capacity to re-invest in their businesses, in the face of the current industry profitability crisis, and lack of funds to invest in innovation. This includes the need to introduce an instant asset write-off – immediate deduction with a $50,000 threshold for businesses with a turnover of $50 million or less – for investment in productivity-increasing farm assets, such as machinery and processing equipment, as well as capital assets like accommodation. AUSVEG has also identified the need to establish an independent review into levels of compliance and regulation detrimentally affecting the productivity and profitability of the horticultural sector.

Political response:
The Labor Party has committed to extend the instant asset write-off of $20,000 for small businesses with turnover up to $10 million for another year, while the Coalition has committed to an ongoing  instant asset write-off of $30,000 and also signalled its intent to cut compliance burden for business in its food security plan.
AUSVEG’s position remains that both the threshold for the write-off and the size of business eligible should be expanded to $50,000 and turnover up to $50 million respectively, to give more growers opportunities to invest in profitability and productivity enhancements.

Trade and market access
AUSVEG election priority:

AUSVEG has called for higher prioritisation of horticulture commodities in international trade negotiations, including ministerial involvement in negotiations and delegations, as well as increased resourcing for the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry and Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to focus on non-tariff trade barrier and red tape reduction for horticulture commodities.

Political response:
While much of the election campaign discussion on international trade has been dominated by a focus on the USA, the need to develop new and expanded international markets for Australian vegetables remains an important industry priority. This is particularly the case given the need to ensure the international competitiveness of our domestic vegetable industry in the face of the current cost-of-production crisis. It is welcome that the intent to re-start FTA negotiations with the EU been flagged as a priority post-election.

SKILLS AND WORKFORCE STABILITY

Workforce and Immigration
AUSVEG election priority:

AUSVEG has continued to call for a range of initiatives and measures to address the industry’s workforce and skills shortages. This has included, once again, the need to introduce a properly-resourced National Labour Hire Licensing Scheme, as well as increasing industry capacity to upskill and educate horticulture businesses to navigate increasingly-complex industrial relations, and other workforce regulations.

In acknowledgment that international workers are critical to the vegetable industry, AUSVEG has also called for a suite of fit-for-purpose solutions and measures, that make it easier for growers to fill vacancies across the spectrum of skill-sets in full-time, part-time and temporary positions. These include, committing to maintaining the current status of the Working Holiday Maker Visa – including the 88-day work requirement – the review, streamlining and expansion of medium-term workforce schemes, like PALM, as well as the introduction of a specific Agriculture or Harvest Visa, to provide additional short-term opportunities for suitable overseas workers to earn money in Australia.

Political response:
In announcing its Food Security Plan, the Coalition has signalled its intent to reinstate the Agriculture Visa, review the PALM scheme, and reverse aspects of Labor’s industrial relations reforms. The Coalition has also previously signalled its intent to retain the 88-day specified work requirement for Working Holiday Maker Visa Holders.

The Labor Party has indicated ongoing commitment to the PALM scheme, including potential expansion, but has not indicated any broad scale reforms or winding back of the changes that have caused angst in the vegetable industry. Labor has offered support for the establishment of a National Labour Hire Licencing Scheme during the last term of government. Labor’s position on retention of the 88-day Working Holiday Maker Visa remains unclear, post-election, and there is nervousness around what additional industrial relation changes will be introduced, given the sweeping reform post the last election.

SUSTAINABLE FUTURE

Biosecurity
AUSVEG election priority:

Commit long-term, sustainable biosecurity funding, including increasing plant biosecurity agencies’ capacity and resources to combat incursions.

Political response:
The Coalition has committed to legislating a sustainable biosecurity funding model that includes an Import Container Levy. Leading into the election, the Labor Party withdrew its contentious Biosecurity Protection Levy from the Senate.

The following additional announcements relating to agriculture have been made by the major parties leading up to or during the election campaign, noting the below is not an exhaustive list and does not capture announcements on issues like health, childcare, major infrastructure and other topics which may also have associated benefits for regional communities, and the horticulture industry.

Agricultural trade events
A Labor commitment of $23.8 million over three years from 2025–26 to sponsor agricultural trade events

Tasmanian Freight Equalisation Scheme
The Labor party has committed to increasing assistance for the (TFES) providing an additional $95 million for the scheme over two years, including a review
The Coalition has committed an initial $65 million over one year to support TFES, including a review

Weather forecasting/Disaster preparedness
Both the Coalition and the Labor Party have committed $10 million for a new weather radar in regional Queensland.

Farm Safety
Both the Coalition and the Labor Party have pledged $2.5 million to enhance farm safety through Farmsafe Australia.

Buy Australian
The Labor Party has committed $20 million to encourage consumers to buy Australian made products through the Buy Australian campaign.

Regional roads and infrastructure:
The Coalition has committed $1 billion to for local councils to deliver critical community infrastructure and road projects, through the Local Roads and Community Infrastructure Program.

AUSVEG Federal Election Forum

Future-Proofing the Fresh Vegetable Supply Chain Forum, Tuesday 15 April 2025 – Harvest Moon, Forth Tasmania

On 15 April in northern Tasmania vegetable industry representatives came face to face with sitting federal MPs and Senators and candidates from all parties, to address the challenges facing the vegetable industry during the AUSVEG Future-Proofing the Fresh Vegetable Supply Chain Forum.

The growers asked the political audience in attendance a range of questions on their positions on the key issues facing the industry.

The forum attracted good media coverage with the ABC, WIN News 7 News attending and reporting on proceedings.

Grower representatives at the forum

The MPs, Senators and candidates at the forum

AUSVEG election media coverage

AUSVEG has featured prominently in the media, leading into and during the federal election campaign discussing the issues facing vegetable growers and also its election priorities. Recent appearances on Landline (Sunday 27 April) and Sky News (Thursday 24 April), can be viewed below.

AUVEG CEO Michael Coote talking to Landline. (Click on image to watch video)

AUSVEG CEO Michael Coote talking to Sky News Australia’s Business Today program.