WA's new Agriculture and Food Minister Alannah MacTiernan has outlined her agenda for key sectors in farming and agriculture, including a future northern research institution and rebuilding the Department of Agriculture and Food.
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Ms MacTiernan is considering the potential for a northern agricultural university research institution as part of efforts by the new Labor Government to broaden the industry's horizons and help maximise jobs in WA.
Ms MacTiernan said she had noticed universities were a magnet for attracting research dollars for industry - but WA's North did not have this option.
Ms MacTiernan said agricultural research needed to be a top priority State-wide.
"I am concerned," she said.
"The gravitational pull in research is in Queensland and the Northern Territory because they have well-established universities in their north and we just don't have that in WA.
"I want to work with the universities in WA to see what we can do, to have some sort of collaboration to have a proper research base for northern agriculture and horticulture."
Ms MacTiernan said WA could establish a serious research institution based in the north and until that happened she believed WA would continue to be the "poor cousins" of the eastern States.
"We need to have a concerted look at how we can establish a facility in the north that looks at the cattle industry, horticulture, carbon farming and other agricultural industries," she said.
"We know there is under-investment in WA and we need to provide an institution."
Ms MacTiernan said different proposals had been put on the table which she would have to investigate.
"I am not happy about proposals that involved hiving off some of our research capabilities into the private sector," she said.
"I think if you look at successful innovation, there is a role for government to do some of the early stuff.
"Once you get through to an early commercial phase, by all means send it off to the private sector."
Ms MacTiernan said in previous years cost cutting had been prioritised and no thought had gone into how to best do research.
"It was done bizarrely in a time when money was being thrown around massively in building buildings," she said.
"We have undervalued the long-term investment into science in this region."
Ms MacTiernan told Farm Weekly this week that other issues on her agenda included pastoral tenure issues which were yet to be addressed, rebuilding the Department of Agriculture and Food (DAFWA), prioritising research and science and ensuring WA was well placed to respond to market changes.
"We've had letters and phone calls, as you can imagine, from across the sector," she said.
"Other than a fairly significant visit up to the Pilbara last week, we've been focusing on getting across the details of the budget because we're trying to do something about the financial situation we find ourselves in.
"Working through and honouring our election commitments has to be the first priority."
Ms MacTiernan, who is in her second week into her ministerial role, said the comments were based on some of her "first-cut thoughts" on the issues within agriculture.
She said her top priority in the coming few weeks would be looking into budget management.
"We can't just keep allowing the State to go this way," Ms MacTiernan said.
"We need to look at what we can salvage, what are the things we must focus on and try do our bit for budget repair.
"It is going to be a difficult time, there will be some disappointed people all around the State, because there will be things we won't be able to do that were promised under the last government.
"There will be a change of direction, but my real focus is looking longer-term and create new industries."
Ms MacTiernan said she had prioritised liaising with DAFWA during her first week as minister.
She said she had reassured DAFWA staff that Labor would work to rebuild the organisation.
"We see its research and agronomy as incredibly important,'' she said.
"We don't just see it as a regulating body, so we really want to see what we can do to help rebuild that capacity in ag research,"
Ms MacTiernan said further meetings with DAFWA staff were planned this week, following an outbreak of tomato potato psylid.
The exotic plant pest was detected for the first time in Australia last month in the Perth metropolitan area and has since been detected in regional WA.
A new Quarantine Area Notice came into effect on Monday to direct movement and treatment of specified commercially-produced fruit, vegetables and seedlings to contain and control the pest.
