Australia
October 2, 2007
In the lead up to the Federal
Election, Cotton
Australia today called on government and opposition parties
to consider the importance of cotton to the Australian economy
and to ensure safeguards for the continued health of the
industry.
In releasing its Federal Election Position Paper, Cotton
Australia listed its priority issues, the support required from
the next Federal government and outlined its own commitments to
environmental best practice.
“National water management is of course one of the major issues
in this election, and from the cotton industry’s point of view,
one of the most crucial,” Cotton Australia CEO, Mr Adam Kay
said.
With the operational aspects of the National Plan for Water
Security still being finalised, Cotton Australia supports the
critical investment in infrastructure, but wants to ensure any
acquisition of water rights are from willing sellers via the
market place.
“We are pleased with the Federal Government’s guarantee that
under any new national water policy setting, all previous
arrangements that have been put into place continue to be
recognised, including Water Sharing Plans in NSW and Water
Resource Plans in Queensland,” Mr Kay said.
While the cotton industry has set itself the bold target of
doubling its water use efficiency in the next 10 years it is
concerned about lack of water security and its impact on
regional communities.
“The cotton industry has been heavily hit by drought and, while
supportive of the recent changes to drought assistance, has
called for a number of additional safeguards. These include
greater investment in research that adequately provides farmers
with drought preparedness advice and better data on long term
weather patterns,” continued Mr Kay.
“With climate change now a fact, the cotton industry is
committed to researching its own impact and determining its
carbon footprint, with a view to providing best practice
guidelines for growers to establish adaptation techniques.
“We expect this commitment to be met with both recognition and
funding, and we consider it mandatory that cotton, and all
agriculture, be included in any ongoing discussion of a market
to manage carbon, given that farmers are custodians of 60% of
Australia’s land,” Mr Kay said.
A full copy of Cotton Australia’s Federal Election Position
Paper can be found on the
Cotton Australia
website.
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