THE Australian dairy industry welcomed news the major political parties were negotiating to have the China Australia Free Trade Agreement ratified before the end of the year.
Speaking at Parliament house on Wednesday, October 14, Australian Dairy Industry Council (ADIC) chair Noel Campbell said it was encouraging the Labor opposition had taken an important step on Tuesday in identifying what needed to be done to get the deal over the line.
The ADIC brought cows to the Parliament to stress the importance of the dairy industry to the nation.
Mr Campbell said it was vital the China FTA was ratified before the end of the year to allow 50 per cent of the tariff cuts on infant formula to be made by January 1.
It would cost the dairy industry $60 million if the deal was not struck by then.
Opposition agriculture spokesperson Joel Fitzgibbon said Labor had proposed "moderate and reasonable" safeguards to protect Australian jobs under the FTA.
These included requirements for testing the local labour market before foreign workers could be brought in under things such as 457 visas.
It also wanted to ensure appropriate salary levels for 457 visa workers to ensure only skilled positions were being filled under this scheme.
Mr Fitzgibbon said Labor also wanted guarantees to prevent the exploitation of labour, examples of which had been revealed earlier this year.
"Labor has no plans to being an impediment to the FTA," he said.
He said Labor was confident the deal would be signed by the end of the year.
Bega, NSW, dairyfarmers Michael and Ashleigh Rood, who brought two of their heifers to the lawns in front of Parliament house for the day, said ChAFTA would help the dairy industry in the long term.
The couple, who milk 180 cows on a farm they started leasing three years ago, said dairying was tough but rewarding.
"We have to be financially aware, we run a very tight ship with no room for mistakes," Mrs Rood said.
Mr Rood said as suppliers to Bega Cheese they were aware the price they received at the farmgate was dependent of global dairy prices.
"So when things are streamlined, it flows back to the farmgate," he said.
The Minister for Trade and Investment, Andrew Robb, said the government would consider Labor's proposals in good faith.
But it would not agree to anything that contravened the firm commitments made in the FTA, he said.
Later at a dinner in Canberra with dairy industry representatives and Parliamentarians and their staff, Mr Campell said dairy was a dynamic and growing industry, one that more than ever needed to push boundaries.
Government investment in research, development and extension was vital to ensure the industry continued to grow.
Technological advances in the industry included robotic milking, use of drones to monitor pasture growth, smartphone apps, cow breeding using genomics, and the development of new dairy-based ingredients and longer-lasting dairy products.
Hill End, Victoria, dairyfarmer Aubrey Pellett told the dinner he had identified exciting technological advances for his farm as part of his Nuffield study tour of the world last year.
These included a robotic dairy that could be used for batch milking, a system that monitored cow fertility, health and feed intake using a milk sample, a sensor attached to the cow that monitored it every 15 minutes, and virtual fencing.
But these were all capital intensive, making it difficult to use them all on his own farm.
He said there was an opportunity for a different form of payment for technology, using a subscription system.
