GPA POLICY PRIORITIES LEADING NATIONAL PRODUCTIVITY WINS

POLICY priorities to boost productivity growth for grain producers, industry and the national economy were progressed at the Grain Producers Australia Policy Council meeting this week.

GPA’s 2025 Annual Report shows important industry issues GPA has already taken action on, during the past year. And strong performance advocating policies that help boost productivity in key areas such as biosecurity, market access, with grain product integrity and quality management, and competition.

GPSA Chair John Gladigau presenting at this week's meeting, on SA drought conditions.

GPA’s latest Federal Election Policy Priorities document was informed by GPA’s 2025 grower policy priorities survey, with six core priorities identified, and advocated for, in this term of Parliament. HERE

GPA Chair, Barry Large, said discussions at the GPA Policy Council meeting this week would help build further momentum on the policy priorities that GPA has already established and advanced, for Australian grain producers.

“Growers representing growers is in GPA’s DNA. This ensures we identify and advance important policies that can increase on-farm productivity, and subsequently deliver shared benefits across our industry, while boosting returns to others including the environment and the national economy,” he said.

Key agenda items – GPA Policy Council meeting:

·        Grain export markets: Grains Australia and AEGIC

·        Australia Grains Biosecurity Plan – biosecurity protections: Plant Health Australia

·        Wheat Port Code Review: Grain Trade Australia

·        End Point Royalties: Australian Crop Breeders

·        APVMA Reviews: grain product quality and integrity

·        RD&E investments/fairness and equity of levy-spending: GRDC

·        NRS Performance/Annual Monitoring Plan: NRS

·        National Drought Policy: Members Discussions

·        Fertiliser product quality/markets: Fertilizer Australia

GPA Chief Executive, Colin Bettles, said GPA’s 2025 Federal Election Policy Priorities document demonstrated significant opportunity to maintain momentum on policies to increase the Australian grains industry’s economic growth and performance, while boosting national productivity.

“This document shows the Australian grains industry has grown significantly, contributing $81.15 billion in total gross value, over the past three years (2022-24), at an annual average of about $27 billion,” he said.

“This $27 billion represents almost double the industry’s value, prior to the last federal election ($13.8 billion in 2020-21). And this $81.15 billion is more than 30pc of the annual average, for Total Value of Farm Production, that’s been achieved in this same time frame ($261 billion).

“In March 2025, ABARES released its 2024-25 winter crop forecasts, estimating total production at 59.8 million tonnes – the third largest on record. Overall, this 59.8m/t grain crop represented a 26pc year-on-year increase from 47.5m/t produced the year before, at 27pc above the 10-year average of 47.1m/t.

“Now’s the time to start thinking about how to deliver proactive reforms to future-proof key areas of our industry. This also ensures we maintain momentum on this productivity growth and optimise investments in initiatives that deliver better returns for growers, and many other shared beneficiaries.”

Mr Bettles said GPA’s policy priorities also aligned with priority areas in the Government’s Economic Reform Roundtable consultation process on: productivity, economic resilience and budget sustainability.

• improve productivity – for example, cutting red tape without lowering standards, leveraging technology and Artificial intelligence

• build economic resilience in the face of global uncertainty – for example, attracting investment, promoting trade and security supply chains, diversifying our industrial base and building a skilled and adaptable workforce

• strengthen budget sustainability – for example, options to improve the structural position of the budget and fund high-quality services and priorities.

Federal Treasurer, Jim Chalmers, and the Prime Minister will host the Economic Reform Roundtable (19-21 August) focusing on these key priorities. Ahead of this, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Julie Collins, will also host an Agricultural Productivity Roundtable featuring industry stakeholders and leaders, to identify priority initiatives that support the government’s broader reform agenda. HERE

“GPA looks forward to contributing to these important processes and maintaining positive momentum on the policy priorities and progressive economic reforms we’ve advocated for during the previous parliament – and those we’ll continue advancing and progressing, in the current parliament,” Mr Bettles said.

“We’re well placed to ensure we can further increase returns to all Australian grain producers, and boost shared value and benefits including; national productivity, budget sustainability and economic resilience.

“This also drives shared benefits across the Australian grains industry, including increased volume and value of grain exports, resilient supply chains and export trade, and rural communities and environment.

“With Australian grain production and exports subject to ever-increasing external influences – relevant to global trade and the international economy – we also need to ensure we can take advantage of this current opportunity to deliver forward-thinking reforms, to properly manage these escalating risks.

“This risk volatility not only impacts global grain trade and market access, but also escalating domestic costs and local supply of essential farm inputs, vital to sustainable grain production in Australia.”

GPA’s 2025 Annual Report: Performance Highlights. HERE

GPA’s 2025 Federal Election Policy Priorities document. HERE

1. Lower Farm Input Costs - Improve Local Supply/Manufacturing

2. Access to Agricultural Pesticides (APVMA Reforms)

3. Grains Industry Red & Green Tape – Regulatory Burden/Costs

4. Improve Digital Connectivity and Reliability

5. Grains Supply Chain – Reduced Freight Costs and Grain Market Access & Trade and Optimise Grain Market Competition - Pricing & Transparency

6. Grain Producer Levies – Current Rates & Spending Priorities and Stronger Biosecurity Protections & Capacity and Taxation System Reforms/Opportunities

GPA 2025 Federal Election Policy Priorities (excerpt below, priority 6)

6. Grain Producer Levies – Current Rates & Spending Priorities, Taxation System Reforms/Opportunities and Stronger Biosecurity Protections & Capacity

* Continue to advocate support for current and future projects and initiatives, relevant to GPA’s legislated responsibilities, which seek to optimise the use and strategic investment potential of funding enabled by grower levies – including strengthening biosecurity protections and emergency response/preventative capacity, growing grain market access, RD&E programs, supply chain efficiencies, product integrity, MRLs etc.

* Advocate policies that can increase value and returns to all growers, and shared beneficiaries such as government and industry, by modernising, optimising and future-proofing the grains levy-system’s operations and investment potential and capacity.

* Continue advocating support for the Government’s commitment to develop a future national food security strategy: ‘Feeding Australia’. This $3.5 million commitment includes establishing a National Food Council, of industry and community experts, to advise on the plan’s development and implementation – and to investigate the potential for a domestic biofuels feedstock industry: ‘to support Australia’s transition to net zero’. A key factor to this advocacy is this strategy’s connection to policy recommendations made in the ‘Feeding the Nation and beyond’ report, from a parliamentary inquiry, tabled in November 2023.

* Advocate inquiry to properly examine increasing concerns about moral hazard, anti-competitive conduct and misleading claims, under competition laws – relevant to pernicious consequences for membership income/markets for legitimate member representative groups, with democratic responsibilities. Noting relevance to levy-payer responsibilities – and legislative obligations – to ensure fairness and equity.

ENDS