Tuesday's state budget was good news for agriculture, as we look to keep up the momentum and grow our sector to $30 billion by 2030.
We have seen a marked increase in biosecurity funding, which is so critical in the face of threats such as foot and mouth disease and lumpy skin disease.
For many months NSW Farmers has been taking the ball to the government on the issue of biosecurity, because any hopes of returning the state budget to the black would be absolutely scuttled if we saw an outbreak here.
It's also pretty pleasing to see the Premier honour his commitment to making sure farmers aren't slugged with a new property tax.
While there are problems with the existing stamp duty arrangements, independent research showed that moving farms to an annual property tax would have left farmers worse off.
The big investment in trying to tackle the problems of rural health is also welcome.
We have some lovely new hospitals out west with no-one to staff them, and while the hard work will be in securing those doctors and nurses, it's good to see the government stump up the funds to get those critical workers to where they're needed.
I was also pleasantly surprised to see a marked shift in the way government looks at biodiversity, with a move away from farmers-versus-environment to a smarter model that rewards people for the natural capital on their land rather than punishing them, a carrot rather than a stick.
Ultimately, we know that all of the funding announcements and plans in the world won't achieve anything without a good strategy that can be put into practice, so we are keen to see how the government will roll out some of these programs.
That being said, there are some positive moves here, perhaps most pleasing of all for NSW Farmers being that agriculture is now front of mind for many of the state's decision makers.
- James Jackson, NSW Farmers president
