THE National Farmers’ Feder-ation says it has secured major policy wins across biosecurity, taxation, environment and trade.

Speaking on February 13 as Federal Parliament’s second sitting week for the month wrapped up, NFF president David Jochinke said farmers had faced a long list of policy challenges from Canberra,”.

He said he had spent the past sitting fortnight balancing his time between the farm and the halls of Parliament, speaking directly with political leaders.

“Farm advocacy can be a hard slog, so it is important we acknowledge when we achieve positive outcomes for the sector,” he said.

“The wins of the past fortnight are the culmination of focused advocacy, not just by the NFF, but in step with our member organisations.”

He said scrapping of the Biosecurity Protection Levy meant Australia’s 85,000 producers could rest assured they would not be forking out for a “deeply flawed and unfair charge”, saving the sector millions.

Mr Jochinke said another win was the blocking of the proposed new tax on superannuation.

“Crossbench senators again refused to back this legislation, sparing 3,500 farming families from a higher tax bill this July — and protecting another 14,000 farmers who own farm assets in their superannuation from being slugged, should their property values grow,” he said.

Shelving of the Nature Positive legislation was another positive development.

“Shelving this bill — which would have created a federal Environment Protection Agency and added more green tape for farmers — was an important step forward,” Mr Jochinke said.

“Hopefully, it removes the distraction preventing real discussion on environmental reforms.”

And Mr Jochinke said the Australia-United Arab Emirates Free Trade Agreement had been approved by the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties approval. 

“Bipartisan support was received for the deal, as recommended by the NFF, removing tariffs on over $2 billion worth of Australian agricultural goods,” he said.

“These wins collectively delivered producers hundreds of millions of dollars in either avoided costs or increased supply chain value.

“In my time in advocacy, I can’t recall another period where so many major policy wins were achieved at once.

“It reinforces the NFF’s role as the farmers’ ‘embassy’ in Canberra, making sure producers are heard when critical decisions are made on policies that will impact them.”

However, Mr Jochinke said while these outcomes had been positive, now was not the time to take the foot off the pedal.

“With an election on our doorstep, we must remain laser-focused to ensure farmers’ voices are heard by candidates across the nation,” he said.

“We will work with all sitting and future politicians to ensure they understand that policies which support agriculture are policies that are good for their communities and the country as a whole.”