Last week, the AUSVEG Public Affairs Team visited growers in Tasmania given vaccinated Victorians are able to travel to the state without quarantine for the for the first time since before the pandemic.

Our main purpose of the trip was to reconnect to growers following the COVID restrictions and gain an understanding of the benefits and challenges from the ACCC collective bargaining agreements set up between growers and processors, as well as discuss our federal election priorities.

There has been increasing interest across the country to consider using collective bargaining particularly on the back of increasing farm input costs.

AUSVEG’s state member the Tasmanian Farmers and Graziers Association (TFGA) has been approved by the ACCC to collectively bargain with key processors McCains and Simplot on key crops such as potatoes, beans, peas and more recently pyrethrum.

Each crop has its own committee, which is managed by TFGA under the agreement. Overall, there was a positive attitude towards collective bargaining, with many growers indicating that it had a significant positive impact for the sector. However, recent sharp increases in farm inputs have put pressure on many growers.

AUSVEG has a strong engagement with the ACCC on a range of policy matters and will continue to advocate to the regulator on issues such as unfair contract terms and the Horticulture Code of Conduct.

AUSVEG was accompanied by Bonnie Kenner, TFGA, who helped connect us with growers over the two-days and share an insight into the various policy issues within Tasmania.

(L-R) Bonnie Kenner (TFGA), Leigh Elphinstone (Chair of the Simplot Potato Negotiating Committee) and Tyson Cattle (AUSVEG).

(L-R) Mark Kable (Harvest Moon) with Tyson Cattle (AUSVEG).

AUSVEG Federal Election priorities
Many of the topics brought up in our discussions with growers were echoed our Federal Election priorities, which will be officially launched once a Federal Election is called.
The core themes of AUSVEG’s election asks are:

1. Driving increased consumption
2. Developing more efficient businesses
3. Becoming a more resilient industry

We look forward to pushing our Federal Election priorities over the coming months and will continue to work closely with the broader industry to ensure industry’s priorities are strongly considered by politicians from all parties.

First photo: (L-R) Tyson Cattle (AUSVEG) with and former AUSVEG Deputy Chair, David Addison (Charlton and Addison Farms), and Chloe Betts (AUSVEG).