Only a re-elected majority Gutwein Liberal Government has a clear plan to secure Tasmania’s future and grow the state’s agriculture industry.

I am pleased to announce that if re-elected, we will deliver one of the most comprehensive and visionary agriculture plans in the state’s history, investing almost $50 million to accelerate the industry.

This will support rural and regional communities by creating jobs and propelling the sector towards our target of annual farmgate value of $10 billion by 2050.

As part of this investment, $30.2 million will be provided to support water resources and irrigation. This will include:

• $23.7 million over four years to supersize tranche three of Pipeline to Prosperity to meet increased demand for the Don, Tamar, Sassafras, Northern Midlands and Fingal irrigation schemes, including seeking up to $100 million in additional funding from the Australian Government for this project;
• $5 million for Tasmanian Irrigation to develop a business case for the South East extension scheme, while work is progressing on the Southern Midlands and Gretna schemes. We will be seeking to partner with the Australian Government on these projects, and together they will be the largest irrigations schemes in Tasmania’s history; and
• $1.5 million over four years to implement initiatives in the Rural Water Use Strategy, with funds for river health advisory project and industry communications, streamline dam management and safety improvements and license and permit monitoring and metering.

We will also invest $10.2 million in a new Ag-Protection Package to future-proof the industry and manage risks to primary industries including funding for the Tasmanian Natural Resource Management bodies, TFGA, Fruit Growers Tasmania, Dairy Tas and Biosecurity Tasmania.

To support farming communities and local farmers improve farm safety, we will also provide $5.6 million in a new Community Farming Partnerships Program. This will help farmers to manage the impact of drought, assist them with business resilience and provide financial counselling and support.

We remain committed to working with farmers, agribusiness, researchers and investing in sustainable growth. This is why we will commit $3 million into a new Agriculture Development Fund supporting research and development for all Tasmanian agriculture sectors that contribute to our AgriVision 2050 target.

Only a re-elected majority Gutwein Liberal Government has the plan to secure Tasmania’s future and is committed to supporting and growing the state’s agriculture sector.

Our Agriculture Policy can be viewed here.