DAVID DOWSETT [HOST]: President Donald Trump dominated the news yesterday with tariffs… So, what does this mean for our agriculture industry moving forward, considering the incredible hurdles our outback farmers face right now. Joining me to answer some of those questions is Queensland Labor Senator, Anthony Chisholm, Assistant Minister for Education, as well as Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry and Regional Development. Anthony Chisholm, good morning.
ANTHONY CHISHOLM [ASSISTANT MINISTER]: Good morning, David. Good to be with you.
DOWSETT: So, Trump's US Tariffs continue to really dominate the news and how it will impact Aussies. Is there a clear response from the Federal Government yet?
CHISHOLM: Well, there has been, and I thought the Prime Minister was very strong in his response yesterday about how disappointing the decision by the Trump administration was in taking this unilateral action across every nation in the world. We weren't surprised by that, and we’ve been doing some work obviously in the lead up to this on how we mitigate these decisions by the Trump administration. It is particularly disappointing, and it will have an impact, and we want to ensure we're supporting those sectors that do trade with the US, and our cattle industry is one of those industries that will be impacted by this decision.
DOWSETT: So, is it better to negotiate some sort of outcome or retaliate like some other countries are choosing to do?
CHISHOLM: We don't believe that retaliation is of assistance because all that does is damage Australian households and doesn't get us anywhere, and I think that's what the Americans are going to confront themselves. So, we don't think that’s the solution. But what we want to do, is put forward the strongest case that these unjustified tariffs should be removed and that they should honour the free trade agreement that we have with the US, and we'll pursue that vigorously. But at the same time, we'll also ensure that we're supporting Australian businesses and those that’ve been impacted, and that's what the Prime Minister was ready to announce yesterday, given that it was pretty clear what was coming our way from the Trump administration.
DOWSETT: So, what about the impact on our farmers from this? With over 100,000 head of cattle lost in outback floodwaters, can they afford this big hit?
CHISHOLM: It's obviously going to be a challenge, and that's why we need to be there with support. I was out in Quilpie and Longreach on Wednesday, and I had a chat to those who've been impacted, and I think the estimations are a loss of about 150,000 across cattle, sheep and goat. But that's only an estimation because the priority for the choppers and helicopters up there at the moment is to keep the surviving livestock alive and also support remote communities as well. So, it's going to take a while before we get proper analysis on the damage that's been done. But no doubt that just emphasises the importance of providing support both to those local communities, but also to those people who’ll be hurt by this in the beef cattle trade. And that's what the Prime Minister announced yesterday with a $50 million announcement for those sectors to help them and their peak bodies navigate this, but also look for additional markets and that's something we do have experience on. The decision from China in recent years, which we managed to overcome, did mean we had to look at other markets to make up for the trade that we lost from China. I think that's a similar case here with what we're dealing with America, as we’ll have to look at what other markets we can sell our beef to. We know that it's good quality, we know that it's popular around the world and we want to work with the sector to ensure that we're maximising those opportunities as well.
DOWSETT: So, following the floods, though, as Assistant Minister of Agriculture, are you expecting the beef market to fluctuate?
CHISHOLM: Well, that's often the case and obviously with natural disasters, it does have an impact, and then we've got the tariff decision. But I think the concerning thing with the tariff decision is what other countries do in retaliation and the impact that has. So, that's much harder to predict. But we want to be there and support our beef sector. We know that export is a critical part of it, and we want to continue to support it. But we do know that our produce is seen around the world as clean and sustainable. It's very popular. So, we're confident we can overcome some of those barriers, and work constructively with the sector to ensure that we're still able to export in the vast quantities that we do.
DOWSETT: Are you expecting supply issues in the future?
CHISHOLM: That's something that will be worked through, but obviously there's going to be a loss of head, given what we've seen through western Queensland that we're still analysing the impact of. But the herd has been building up over recent years, so we're confident that we'll be able to find additional markets to ensure that those people that do rely on export will continue to be able to do it.
DOWSETT: And just finally, it appears that the Nationals are campaigning with a lot of small announcements throughout the Wide Bay, Flynn and Hinkler electorates. How will Labor counter that?
CHISHOLM: Well, we have good candidates in place like we do in Hinkler with Trish Mears, and we'll be announcing local promises in the coming days as well. But our focus is also on the broader national issues and what we know is that with an Albanese Labor Government, people will be better off with tax cuts and higher wages, versus what we're seeing from the Coalition with higher taxes and lower pay, and also the cuts that will come if they’re successful. So, that's the main focus of our campaign. but as always with good candidates, we'll be out there announcing local priorities as well to support the community, because we understand that's an important part of what an effective Federal Government does.
DOWSETT: Anthony Chisholm, thanks for your time this morning.
CHISHOLM: Thanks, David. Good to be with you.
DOWSETT: Queensland Labor Senator and Assistant Minister for Agriculture, Anthony Chisholm on ABC Wide Bay.
