Don’t leave farmers running on empty

The state’s leading farmer advocacy group has urged the Federal Government to reconsider fuel tax changes, arguing the changes could worsen the cost of living crisis.

The Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) says proposed changes to the Fuel Tax Credits Scheme as flagged by the Grattan Institute would further increase the already sky-high cost of living pressures on consumers and further financially strain farmers.

VFF President Emma Germano joined calls by the National Farmers’ Federation (NFF) for Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers to urgently rule out changes to the Fuel Tax Credits Scheme ahead of the Federal Budget.

“Farmers are already feeling the pinch with high input costs on a number on fronts, which inevitably get passed through our food supply chain and onto consumers at the supermarket checkout. It’s essentially a tax on food at the worst possible time and an unnecessary cost farmers can’t burden,” Ms Germano said.

“[This month’s] ninth successive interest rate hike is the latest attempt to control the spiralling cost of living. This tax does the opposite, and has the potential to send food costs soaring.”

Ms Germano said the proposal to extend the fuel excise to off-road vehicles hasn’t been thought through properly.

“A road tax on vehicles that don’t use the roads doesn’t pass the pub test,” she said.

“If farmers had an economically viable and easily accessible alternative to using diesel to produce and transport food and fibre we would use it. The reality is the industry doesn’t have a choice and the modern infrastructure we’ve been calling for has been ignored for years.”

The VFF says it will continue to support the NFF on its advocacy with the Federal Government on this issue, in the lead-up to May’s Federal Budget.