Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry representatives have dismissed instating a container levy or increasing import declarations as solutions to funding the Federal Government's proposed biosecurity tax/levy on producers.
The Senate Inquiry into the biosecurity levy heard from DAFF as a part of public hearings this week where Grain Producers Australia and other agricultural industry groups widely opposed the legislation.
GPA, Cattle Australia and NSWFarmers were among a raft of groups backing a suggestion from the Freight & Trade Alliance to increase the Full Import Declaration, a fee charged to all imports valued over $1000, by a modest amount to recoup the $52 million which would be raised by the BPL.
GPA Chief Executive Officer told the inquiry that GPA has long supported a move to introduce a container levy as recommended by the Craik Report in 2017, so the risk creators can contribute more to shared responsibility and accountability.
"There’s also no analysis or economic modelling to show why producers are being regarded as the only ‘beneficiaries that should be forced to pay more in levies, whilst other supply chain participants, who clearly benefit from strong biosecurity, are not even part of the conversation," he said.
"These participants also benefit greatly from the hundreds and millions of dollars that producers contribute in other levies, to support long-running investments on RD&E – but they’ve not even been considered or counted, as part of the BPL policy."