Interview with Jeremy Jones, ABC Capricornia Breakfast

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
RADIO INTERVIEW
ABC CAPRICORNIA BREAKFAST WITH JEREMY JONES
FRIDAY, 3 MAY 2024

SUBJECTS: Beef Week 2024, Albanese Government investment in Agriculture, Sustainable Agriculture

JEREMY JONES: Beef is days away and organisers are expected to see record breaking numbers of people through the gate. But what benefits are we expected to see in the region specifically? Has Beef thrown its support behind businesses here? Well, Federal Minister for Agriculture Murray Watt joins us now. He's going to be here for Beef as well. And good morning, Minister. Thanks for joining us.

MURRAY WATT: No worries, Jeremy, good to be with you.

JEREMY JONES: And, Minister, what impact does this event have on the agriculture sector? I guess not just locally, but outside our borders.

MURRAY WATT: Yeah, look, I think obviously Beef is a massive event for the Rockhampton region, but it truly is a national event and that's why the Albanese Government is putting in $6 million to host this event and to stage it and let it expand, because it really does have national and, in fact, international significance. I think one of the most exciting things about Beef this year is that we'll get those international guests back. This is the third time I'll be attending Beef myself and I remember it was a bit of a downer last time that we couldn't have those international guests because of COVID and the fact that we've got them coming back in is really important because it helps strengthen some of those trade and export links that are really critical for our beef industry.

So, you know, as a proud Queenslander, I always argue that Rockhampton is the beef capital. I have a bit of beef with my NSW colleagues who say it's Casino, but, you know, the fact is that we'll be getting people from right across the country and right across the world coming to Beef, which shows that it's a really important event far beyond the region.

JEREMY JONES: You're hearing from Murray Watt, Federal Minister for Agriculture. And there seems to be quite a few seminars focusing on sustainable farming. Is this part of a trend in the industry? Do you think this is something that's a key focus for a lot of farmers?

MURRAY WATT: Absolutely, Jeremy. And our cattle industry and, in fact, agriculture as a whole has done enormous work over the last few years to ensure that it does become more sustainable. That's really important for farmers bottom line, quite apart from any of the environmental benefits that will come from it. Our data forecaster in the Department of Agriculture shows that over the last 20 years, the impact of climate change has meant that the average Australian farmer's profits have fallen by about 23 per cent. So, it's already starting to have an impact on people's bottom lines.

And we also see that consumers, both here at home in Australia and also in our international markets, are expecting and demanding higher levels of sustainability when it comes to what we produce. So, there's really strong economic reasons for why farmers are interested and getting more interested in sustainability, reducing their emissions, but also it's a good way of potentially reducing their costs as well. You know, the more we can be moving towards cleaner, cheaper energy on farm as well as in processing sheds, that can help bring down costs. So, that's good for people's bottom lines as well. And helping our agriculture industry become more sustainable is certainly one of my key priorities as the Minister, and it's one of our government's biggest priorities. And we'll be certainly talking about that not just through Beef, but over the course of this year.

JEREMY JONES: And the feds have contributed $6 million to this year's Beef. It gets bigger every year. And you mentioned a lot of international guests coming on. Is there a conscious effort to, I guess, keep things local as well, though? It's such a big event here for us in Rockhampton.

MURRAY WATT: Yeah, I mean, we obviously want to make sure that Rockhampton and the whole Central Queensland region gets a really direct benefit from this event. Of course, the fact that we will be having people come in from around, around the country and around the world is fantastic for the local tourism industry. I learnt the hard way the first time I went to Beef, that you've got to book your accommodation well in advance. So, I've got myself much better organised this time. But every hotel will be full, every pub will be full to the rafters with people having a beer after the event. So, it's going to be a terrific event for the local economy as well as the beef industry, of course.

JEREMY JONES: I certainly got a taste of that during Rockynats when all the pubs were full here. I guess, looking to the future of the event, is there a risk? I mean, it could become too commercial, I guess costs have gone up for people to attend. How do you balance that as a local event versus a big commercial event that it can become?

MURRAY WATT: Yeah, I know that that's something that's a real focus for Simon Irwin and his team at Beef, who've done a terrific job over the last three years getting organised for this event. And I know that's something they're conscious of. Of course, it does have a business and a commercial side to it, and that's important for people in the industry. But I know that Simon and his team always go out of their way to try to put on free events associated with beef and keep their costs down as much as they can. And I guess the fact that we're prepared to put some, a pretty significant amount of money in does help keep some of those cost increases down. But we do want to make sure that this is an event that the average person in Rocky or Central Queensland can take advantage of as well.

JEREMY JONES: And you'll be in town. The Prime Minister will be in town as well. Can we expect any big announcements?

MURRAY WATT: Yeah, well, I can't give them away today, Jeremy, but we'll have a bit to say more about how we can help our agriculture sector and particularly the beef industry going forward. You know, I think you can sort of see some of the things that I've been focusing on already in the portfolio like biosecurity, sustainability, drought, trade. They're the kind of things that we're going to have as a focus. And I know the Prime Minister is very excited about coming to Beef. He's looking forward to getting his fangs into a big, beautiful Central Queensland stake. So, it's going to be a great event all round.

JEREMY JONES: Well, Minister, a big thanks for joining us and looking forward to seeing you next week.

MURRAY WATT: Absolutely, Jeremy. Look forward to it, mate.

JEREMY JONES: The Federal Minister there for Agriculture, Murray Watt, joining us. He'll be here for Beef week next week along with the Prime Minister.