INCREASING FARMER AND RURAL INCOMES AIM OF PRODUCER BOARD EVOLUTION SAYS LUXTON

John Luxton, the Minister for Food, Fibre, Biosecurity, Border Control, and Associate International Trade today said that Producer board evolution was about improving farmer and rural communities income. The Minister made his comments in a spirited response to question 1 in the House.

"The key aim of giving rural people this opportunity which no other government for three generations has had the leadership to do, is to improve farmer, grower and rural community incomes.

"This Government wants ultimately to give growers and farmers choice about their off farm investments and how they wish to market the food and fibre they produce. Unlike other political parties we want rural people to have the chance to make their own decisions. We want to give farmers more control over their organisations, with less involvement from government or industry politicians.

This Government is about freeing up producer boards to increase farmer incomes and rural jobs. That is why we want to allow, rather than outlaw, as at present, new opportunities for investment, new trade contacts, and new innovation in the marketing of food and fibre.

We want less politics and ideology which simply opposes progress. The key aim of evolution has always been to increase farmers incomes and to build a more profitable future from the current base."

Mr Luxton noted that nothing is expected to happen on November 15 except that the 9 Boards will have given the Government their proposals for how they see the way forward.

"I want to make it quite clear that the Government will carefully and sensibly manage on a case by case basis the producer board evolution process. We are determined to build a more profitable future from the current base," Mr Luxton concluded.