2016-08-16
The Australian Greens are calling on the government to act to prevent retrospective price decreases in the dairy industry, while the ACCC investigates. The Greens outlined this proposal in a letter to the Deputy Prime Minister and Shadow Minister for Agriculture in June.
"Dairy farmers are hurting now and swift action is required from the government and ACCC," said Senator Richard Di Natale, Australian Greens Leader.
"The Greens reached out to the government and opposition months ago to propose temporarily banning dairy processors from unilaterally and retrospectively reducing the prices paid to farmers."
Australian Greens spokesperson on Agriculture Senator Rachel Siewert said:
"The Greens proposal will shift the incurred liabilities away from the farms and businesses of farmers onto the balance sheets of processors like Murray-Goulburn. This will give parliament time to consider how best to respond to this type of market failure through an ACCC investigation and an independent review of the allocation of risk in the dairy industry.
"The government's correspondence didn't rule out the Greens proposal and now we are calling for action. Just offering concessional loans won't do enough to help dairy farmers stay afloat."