Mayo has a long and proud history as an agricultural community. I am unashamedly proud of our region’s reputation as South Australia's food bowl. I have been working for a fairer deal for our local agriculturalists.

This means:

  • Lobbying for extra funding to help fight fruit fly incursions into SA
  • Lobbying for State and Federal assistance for a netting support scheme for growers
  • Lobbying for an irradiation and fumigation plant in South Australia
  • Supporting our growers’ ‘Hailstorm Heroes’ marketing campaign for hail-damaged fruit
  • Creating a level playing field between the banks and our farmers
  • Protecting the reputation of our agricultural products and producers

Results:

  • Successfully negotiated $7.3 million for a dollar for dollar netting scheme for apple, pears and cherry growers in Mayo to help them cope with the impacts of our changing climate
  • Successfully lobbied for a $17 million boost to fruit fly management across Australia
  • Introduced a Private Member’s Bill to create a level playing field for farmers dealing with the banks

Media Releases:

Speeches in Parliament:

 

Seasonal Workers Incentives trial

Fruit growers in Mayo struggle to source all the labour they need during the picking seasons, and they currently rely heavily on foreign backpackers. However, underemployment and long-term unemployment is a problem across South Australia and Australia, so I worked to negotiate a trial program with the Federal Government that would encourage local jobseekers to try out seasonal work in horticulture without it affecting their Centrelink payments. The intention was to help create a more stable workforce for horticultural businesses and to help to reduce youth unemployment, especially in the regions.

The result was the introduction of the two-year Seasonal Work Incentives Trial, under which jobseekers receiving Newstart or Youth Allowance (Other) for more than three months are eligible to earn $5,000 each year from seasonal work without losing their social security payments.

Results:

  • Successfully negotiated the introduction of the Seasonal Work Incentives Trial
  • The two-year trial started on 1 July 2017 and will allow up to 6000 Australian job seekers to do seasonal work and earn up to $5,000 without affecting income support payments

Speeches in Parliament:

Media Releases:

I have also asked Questions in Writing on the following topics:

  • Implementation of the Seasonal Workers Incentive Scheme

 

agriculture