Sustainable Agriculture

The Greens (WA) have a vision of a new, uniquely Australian, agricultural landscape, a sustainable agriculture and growing rural communities. Farmers and land managers can be proud custodians, delivering environmental services such as clean air and healthy water to urban communities in addition to food and fibre. 

Goals

The Greens (WA) want: 

• sustainable land management
• improved water efficiency, water quality and conservation within agricultural systems
• to work with the farming community to address the critical issue of soil degradation and loss of soil health facing Australian agricultural industries
• an end to broad-scale native vegetation clearing and, where possible, restoration of native vegetation and biodiversity
• increased support for research into sustainable agricultural innovations and industries. 

Initiatives

Landscape Change and Ecosystem Services¹

The Greens (WA) will initiate and support legislation and actions that: 

• develop a policy approach to a whole of government process to tackle natural resource management issues (including salinity and water quality) over a 20-50 year timeframe
• focus policy development and land use change at a landscape scale, based on socially and ecologically coherent bioregions
• support, by policy, research and funding, the development an agricultural system based on deep rooted perennial plant species² which conserve water and soil fertility and maintain biodiversity³
• establish clear targets that underpin State, regional and local action plans
• ensure catchment management strategies take into account climate variability and manage risk for extreme climatic events (including floods, droughts and fire)
• support reform of Exceptional Circumstances⁴ criteria and funding
• investigate the need for agricultural restructuring and property amalgamation in a manner that addresses the social, equity and structural issues of the transition to more sustainable landscapes
• develop and implement a national approach to conservation covenanting⁵ to protect remnants on private land deemed of significant ecological value
• fund broad-scale revegetation programs which address habitat requirements and strategically target where to effectively intervene in the landscape
• advocate steps to reduce dependence on, and minimise use of, agrichemicals (including pesticides and fertilisers), non-renewable energy and irrigation
• develop a comprehensive policy approach to address the need for the restructuring of the arid lands pastoral industry
• encourage organic and biodynamic farming systems where appropriate.

Research and Industry Development

The Greens (WA) will initiate and support legislation and actions that:

• fund research on ecologically sustainable land management practices
• support research programs to identify priority regions for action and ecosystems at risk
• fund research into salt-tolerant crops, pastures and other herbaceous perennials to develop sustainable systems for saline land
• facilitate the development of profitable new industries that make use of perennial plants
• support long term investment in substantial resources into the research and development of new products and technologies
• review current subsidies and incentives for existing industries, with a view to identifying and reducing the extent of public subsidy of current unsustainable practices
• put in place structures to effectively mobilise private sector investment in salinity and natural resource management that balance public and private benefit
• encourage the development of value adding and quality agricultural products
• support research into bioenergy and biofuels⁶ based on native perennial plants
• increase funding for research and development programs on environmentally sound weed management and integrated pest management that do not rely upon genetically engineered organisms and involve humane and effective methods for the control of feral animals
• support and expand government funding for geophysical surveys to map salinity in the wheatbelt
• ensure that hydrological, biological and landscape information is made readily accessible.

Community Ownership and Education

The Greens (WA) recognise that community participation in planning, decision making and implementation is essential and will initiate and support legislation and actions that:

• facilitate meaningful community consultation and participation in decision making
• develop and support a new community driven model of land management and care aimed at ecological sustainability in community development, land management and agricultural production that builds upon the success of Landcare while overcoming its limitations
• foster programs that build meaningful and workable partnerships between government, industry (including agribusiness), farmers, catchment groups, researchers and Non-Government Organisations
• facilitate dialogue between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and non-aboriginal people to incorporate traditional understanding and land management skills into regional programs
• ensure community access to information, support services and funding
• plan for the social and economic impacts of reduced availability and higher prices of fossil fuel for fertilisers and other agricultural production and distribution purposes
• encourage communities to source agricultural goods from their local area wherever possible, including from urban agricultural initiatives
• support the development of education programs that:
  -train landholders in vegetation and water resources management
  -educate the public and raise awareness of these issues
  -enable farmers to assess and monitor the environmental effects of their own farming practices
  -expose undergraduate and postgraduate students to broad-based interdisciplinary studies in sustainable agriculture and natural resource management
  -provide training to existing government agency staff and private agronomists in the establishment of new farming systems and their incorporation into profitable whole farm planning.

Legislation and Institutional Reform

Agricultural and natural resource management portfolios must be reformed to ensure effective support for sustainable agriculture. The Greens (WA) will initiate and support legislation and actions that:

• support the establishment of a salinity fund to support programs addressing salinity - the funds to be raised through a levy, the form of which would be subject to community consultation
• review current legislation to identify gaps and ensure a comprehensive and effective legislative framework
• plan for the impacts of reduced availability of, or higher prices for, fossil fuels on the cost of agricultural production and distribution, including the reduced availability or higher cost of fertilisers and other agricultural chemicals
• establish a clear regulatory environment for agricultural business, through legislation that includes further control of broad-scale native vegetation clearing
• manage and, where possible, restore native vegetation and indigenous biodiversity
• prevent the accidental or deliberate introduction of exotic plants, animals and organisms
• introduce mandatory notification, assessment, licensing and monitoring of all genetic engineering proposals, including strict environmental impact assessment by an independent scientific panel
• introduce a Natural Resource Management Act that:
  -establishes a statutory Natural Resource Management Council
  -provides statutory backing for regional Natural Resource Management Groups
  -facilitates the enforcement of catchment management plans
  -regulates the construction of drainage schemes and the disposal of saline water
• ensure equitable use of water resources with sufficient allocations for environmental flows
• enforce all existing environmental harm legislation
• link funding for natural resource management to legislative and policy reform on native vegetation protection and salinity at both State and Federal levels
• support local and national regulatory systems which enable environmental and food quality standards to be maintained and improved
• protect traditional sources and supplies of plant and animals
• develop and evaluate a nutrient pollution tax
• introduce world’s best practice for agrichemical use
• maintain and improve current strict quarantine controls including the use of the precautionary principle⁷ relating to the importation, propagation and movement of exotic plants, animals and microbes and improve accountable risk avoidance procedures
• support the abolition of the National Competition Council and a review of the impact of National Competition Policy on regional communities against integrated triple bottom line criteria
• support the continuation of the single desk for negotiation of international grain sales, amending the Trade Practices Act if necessary.

Glossary
1. Ecosystem Services - the idea that areas of the landscape can provide services to the community such as fresh water and clean air, and that in some problem areas it may be in the wider interest to subsidise these services rather than allow unsustainable land use.
2. perennial plants – plants that live for more than two years and tend to have deep root systems
3. biodiversity - the wide variety of all life forms; the many different plants, animals and micro-organisms, their genes and the ecosystems of which they are a part.
4. Exceptional Circumstances - The Exceptional Circumstances Relief Payment (ECRP) is delivered by Centrelink on behalf of the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. The payment provides assistance to farmers living in 'exceptional circumstances' affected areas who are having difficulty meeting family and personal living expenses.
5. a conservation covenant restricts or prohibits the land owner from certain activities on the land that could degrade the environmental value of the land; is permanent and binding on current and future land owners (by way of a registration on the title to the land where possible); and is approved by the Minister for the Environment and Heritage.
6. biofuels - fuels made from plant biomass such as agricultural wastes, forestry industry wastes, food processing wastes, pulp and paper sludge and woody weeds. The two most common types of biofuels are bioethanol and biodiesel.
7. precautionary principle - where there are threats of serious or irreversible damage, lack of scientific certainty shall not be used as a reason for postponing cost-effective measures to prevent environmental degradation.