Page 13 - Australian Pork Newspaper

Farmers welcome exclusion from direct
carbon burden but remain concerned by
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land clearing overtones
THE Australian Labor Party’s climate change policy detail released re- cently provides a com- prehensive framework and pathway forward.
National Farmers’ Fed- eration CEO Tony Mahar particularly welcomed Labor’s commitment to exclude agriculture from the so-called ‘Safeguard Mechanism’ changes.
“An assurance that ag- riculture won’t directly bear any additional bur- den in reaching Labor’s proposed 45 percent emis- sions reduction target by 2030 is positive, as is a guarantee that a carbon tax or a carbon pricing mechanism will not be introduced,” Mr Mahar said.
“We do however have reservations about the im- pact a 45 percent target could have on agriculture as a participant in the val- ue chain.
“For example, increased fuel transport or electric- ity costs are likely to have a consequential impact on the agricultural sector.”
Mr Mahar said the NFF supported the renewed fo- cus on carbon farming in- itiative methodologies to the value of $40 million.
“This will provide the opportunity to refine and expand options for land- based abatement,” he said.
While the lack of further funding support for an emissions reduction fund was disappointing, the
NFF noted the increased requirement under the Safeguard Mechanism should create more private sector demand.
“Our vision for agricul- ture to achieve $100 bil- lion in farmgate output by 2030 requires getting the land use balance right – a combination of diver- sifying income streams and growing agriculture through technology and intensification,” Mr Ma- har said.
“The NFF cautiously welcomes the availability of international credits, we are aware that there is not yet an international framework to assess cred- ible credits.
“We will need to de- termine and/or maintain credible assessment.
“The NFF view is in- ternational credits are not sufficiently credible and some market distortion is likely possible given how robust Australian Carbon Credit Units are consid- ered to be.”
Mr Mahar said the NFF’s main reservation on a first reading of the policy was the focus on land clearing.
“This is especially wor- rying given the news that excess Kyoto credits will not be counted towards the Paris commitment,” he said.
“The majority of the Kyoto credits were gained from prevention of land clearing through a legal
framework which offered no compensation for a re- moved property right.”
The NFF welcomed La- bor Agriculture spokes- person Joel Fitzgibbon’s commitment to rewarding farmers for the environ- mental benefits they de- liver every day on behalf of all Australians.
“The NFF has long cam- paigned to have biodiver- sity assets and efforts fi- nancially recognised and we were delighted to have Mr Fitzgibbon confirm his support for a signifi- cant agriculture biodiver- sity stewardship fund,” Mr Mahar said.
“This seems to be a key component of the ALP’s proposed changes to envi- ronmental law structure.
“We reiterate the need
to include the farm sector in the discussion to ensure agriculture is never again used as a scapegoat to achieve climate outcomes without reward.”
Mr Mahar also positive- ly noted Labor’s commit- ment to measures to sup- port a more sustainable forestry industry and an investment of $2 million in the red meat sector’s carbon-neutral-by-2030 target.
“We’ll have more to say on the policy proposal, pending further analysis,” Mr Mahar said.
“The NFF has, and will continue to, ensure agri- culture has a strong voice in our nation’s prolonged climate and energy policy ‘debate’.”
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US customs seizes
453 tonnes of Chinese
food products
US border agents seized 453,592kg of food prod- ucts arriving from China in March as they work to keep out African swine fever.
Customs and Border Pro- tection spokesman Antho- ny Bucci said the contain- ers seized also had noodles and tea bags that were used to facilitate the unlawful import of pork products.
The previous week, the agency said it had seized 450 tonnes of pork.
Federal customs and agriculture officials are on high alert for illegal imports because China is suffering from an out- break of African swine fever.
There is no cure and no vaccine for the disease, which does not affect hu- mans but is highly conta- gious and fatal to hogs.
Authorities may fine im- porters of the products, according to Basil Liaka- kos, chief agriculture spe- cialist for Customs and Border Protection at the Port of New York/New- ark, but they will have a hard time punishing the exporters.
The importers have not been named publicly.
Officials detected the illegal pork in shipping containers after finding food products that had al- ready been smuggled into the US, Mr Liakakos said in an interview. www.porknews.com.au
Home to the world’s largest hog herd, China has reported 114 out- breaks of the disease in 28 provinces and regions since August.
The US wants to keep out the virus because an outbreak would likely limit trade and raise pork prices for consumers.
While the products’ im- porters may face fines, exporters are typically not penalised, Mr Liakakos said.
“It’s very difficult to pe- nalise an exporting coun- try,” he said.
“You have to have a very large burden of proof to prove what they’re doing.”
The US and China are negotiating an end to a tariff dispute.
US officials determined the seized products could contain African swine fe- ver because China has the disease, according to Cus- toms and Border Protec- tion and the US Depart- ment of Agriculture.
The agencies have worked together for about a year to gather intelli- gence and target ships that could pose a risk for the disease.
The USDA will not test the seized products to de- termine whether they ac- tually had African swine fever because all products found in violation of US regulations are destroyed.
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Australian Pork Newspaper, April 2019 – Page 13
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