Smart investment can open up significant opportunities for our Victorian agricultural industries to grow into local and international markets.
The demand for dairy products from Asia is growing and is set to keep on growing. We haven’t even begun to tap into the demand for baby formula and milk powder in China. China is looking to Australia to deliver high quality safe dairy products.
In its Future Industries Strategy, the Victorian government themselves identified food and fibre production as one of the state’s priority growth sectors. So what’s stopping us?
One of our key constraints is water availability and access. In Northern Victoria we are somewhat constrained by the Murray Darling Basin Plan. But in the south, in good rainfall country, there are lots of opportunities waiting to be developed. Access to land and close proximity to markets provide great opportunities for both horticulture and dairy. We just need to sure up our water security. It will take some savvy thinking and common sense planning to help us move towards the future. And we need some real dollars committed to building the infrastructure.
There are shovel ready projects such as the next stage of the Macalister modernisation project, which should be funded absolutely unconditionally.
It’s an important investment which stacks up on the grounds of improved agricultural productivity and regional development, irrespective of the lease of the Port of Melbourne. The case also stacks up for the Federal government, through their National Water Infrastructure Fund, to co-contribute to the Macalister modernisation.
This project is a critical next step in leveraging potential growth in both the dairy and horticultural sectors. Crucial projects such as Macalister shouldn’t be kicked around like political footballs, they should be a sure investment.
Water is an economic multiplier. We produce food and fibre; create jobs both locally and along the supply-chain. In Victoria around 16,000 people work on our dairy farms, with another 11,000 employed in the milk processing factories. The regional jobs and economic activity that is created from investing in water infrastructure can’t be downplayed. – Adam Jenkins, UDV President
