Federal Member for Parkes Mark Coulton recently met with The Nationals candidate for Parkes Jamie Chaffey together, they are pledging to fix 10 terrible Labor policies that are harming agriculture in the Parkes electorate on National Agriculture Day.

Mr Coulton is passionate of the important role the agriculture industry plays, providing fresh food and fibre to households across the country and the world, regardless of where you live, it is something we rely on every day.

“We're lucky to have the best farmers in the world right here in the Parkes electorate. Our farmers produce top quality food and fibre, all while being the most water efficient and innovative.

“I want to thank all the incredible workers involved in our agriculture industry, from the farmers to the truck drivers, the agronomists and suppliers to the contractors and researchers.

“The Nationals 100 per cent support our agricultural industry, but unfortunately, farmers are struggling to get food from paddock to plate in the Parkes electorate because of what Labor is doing to them.

Just last week, Senate Estimates revealed the number of Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) workers in agriculture has fallen by more than 20 per cent, from 21,915 in July 2023 to 16,705 workers in September 2024, because Labor made the scheme unworkable." Mr Coulton said.

Unfortunately, when supply goes down, prices go up, which is where families are feeling the punch, at the checkout.

Mr Chaffey said "today should be a day of celebrating the wonderful agriculture industry, but our farmers are under siege.

The Nationals, as part of a future Coalition Government, will fix 10 bad Labor policies. They plan to:

• • Reinstate the live sheep export trade
  • Bring back the Agriculture Visa and fix Labor’s PALM scheme mess
  • Stop Labor’s changes to the Murray-Darling Basin
  • Introduce an import container levy, so our own farmers don’t pay for the biosecurity risk created by international competitors
  • Reverse Labor’s cuts to regional infrastructure
  • Stop Labor’s truckie tax and vehicle efficiency standard
  • Create a mix of energy, rather than Labor’s all-renewables approach, which is destroying agricultural land
  • Scrap harmful emissions profiles, or Scope 3
  • Stop Labor’s proposed taxes on superannuation, which will impact family farms
  • Ensure the 88-day backpacker work visa remains in place for the agriculture sector.