Dairy farmers in Sarah Henderson’s south-west Victorian electorate of Corangamite were left with huge debts after Murray Goulburn (MG) slashed prices.
Ms Henderson praised Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce for meeting with major milk processors to discuss the crisis, but said more could be done to make sure farmers have access to help.
«I have made representations to the Agriculture Minister that the [loans eligibility] criteria is too tough,» she said.
«It’s very difficult to refinance and I would like to see the criteria amended to give greater access to these concessional loans [for] so many dairy farmers who are in crisis.»
The Department of Agriculture has confirmed just 49 applications for low-interest Commonwealth loans were lodged before the end of July, despite Mr Joyce declaring in May that $55 million would be made available «immediately».
Just one loan has been approved so far.
ACCC should take a close look at dairy: Henderson
Ms Henderson has also called for the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to undertake a wide-ranging investigation into the dairy industry.
The competition watchdog is currently reviewing contract issues and the behaviour of milk processors in the lead up to the milk price crash in April.
But Ms Henderson said there was scope for a much broader investigation.
«For some time, I have been asking the ACCC to examine a range of issues: competition, transparency, the pricing of milk, the contracting and trading and supply issues, including with respect to cheap milk through the likes of Coles and Woolworths,» she said.
Broader role for competition law
Other MPs across the political divide would also like to see competition law beefed up to assist farmers in contract negotiations with their processors.
Labor’s agriculture spokesman Joel Fitzgibbon said stronger collective bargaining provisions would allow farmers to exercise their power in contract negotiations.
«Farmers seem to have no market power in this sector, but we know that the processors and the retailers need the farmers as much as the farmers need them,» he said.
«I suspect there might be a case for strengthening the collective bargaining authorisation provisions in the Consumer and Competition Act, but I also think we need to work on some way of delivering organisational principles and infrastructure for farmers.
«It’s alright for them to have the right to collectively bargain, but you have to have a mechanism through which to do so. I believe we need to look at that as well.»
South Australian Senator Nick Xenophon made headlines on Tuesday, calling for the reintroduction of primary school milk programs.
But he also sees a role for stronger competition law in the dairy sector, to get rid of «clawback» clauses that allowed processors to retrospectively cut prices and which plunged farmers into debt.
While new competition laws will take effect in November, which will allow the ACCC to take action on «unfair» contract terms, it is not yet clear whether those will apply to dairy contracts.
«We need to look at changes to consumer and competition law in this country, so that the unfair contracts laws would cover these sorts of clawbacks,» he said.
Source: ABC
Link: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-08-17/dairy-loan-criteria-should-be-revisited-victorian-mp-says/7752214