FORMER Dalwallinu farmer Jim Chown will step into the role of Shadow Minister for Agriculture and Food after the WA Liberal Party shadow cabinet reshuffle last week.
Mr Chown, who will also take on the regional development and royalties for regions portfolios, said he was keen to bring his experience as a farmer to the role.
"I am looking forward to engaging in this new role and I hope I have something to offer from an opposition perspective," Mr Chown said.
"I have spent my whole life farming and my family own one of the largest private piggeries in WA.
"Agriculture is an essential part of the WA economy and at times it is a silent part of our economy but it is one of the largest employers across the board.
"I would certainly like to bring something from my experiences as a farmer to this portfolio and I will be engaging with all stakeholders over the next month or so and listening to what their requirements are with the prospect of coming into government in 2021.
"As somebody who has spent their whole life in agriculture, my intention is to hold the government to account in regards to some of its policies.
"This includes its ongoing attack on live export, which is subtle at times, but in reality I think is not necessary when it comes under the Commonwealth remit.
"I am not sure why the Agriculture and Food Minister Alannah MacTiernan is pursuing these sorts of outcomes, especially in consideration of the fact there is a massive welfare issue in the Pilbara in regard to two stations and to date no charges have been laid there.
"It has been six months since everybody became aware of the matter and it is time someone was held to account."
Mr Chown said live export underwrote the value of sheep in WA and animal activists had taken up the left wing issue and "become very active and aggressive".
"I am disappointed at this stage that we don't have something of substance in the Parliament to ensure that they cannot trespass and if they do the consequences will be dramatic," he said.
"We need to send a very clear message that animal welfare in this State and certainly the farming practices in this State are responsible and better than world standard requirements.
"If we didn't have those protocols in place and policies in place on the ground, we wouldn't be able to compete internationally and we do that very well at the moment.
"If I was in government I would be on the doorstep of the Attorney-General demanding we put a bill through the house that if these people came onto a property as an activist, one they would be charged and two, the fines would be enough to put them off from entertaining further incursions on the properties and the maximum penalty would be a jail term.
"As part of that bill, if they tried to raise money to pay fines through some form of public exposure that would not be entertained by the court as due payment for the fine.
"Fines should be personal and it is grossly inappropriate that a court fines somebody and they go out in the public arena and get people to fund them to a pay a fine."
Mr Chown said there were other impediments being put in place of farmers in WA that could restrict their efficiencies in terms of competing on a global market.
"There is a challenge coming in terms of the use of glyphosate, which is an enormous armoury in the minimum tillage system," he said.
"The national standards and guidelines for animal welfare are under discussion in regard to saleyards and transport and those regulations will be coming forward soon.
"I would encourage the Minister to consult widely before adopting them because WA is a separate entity and has different issues in regard to animal welfare requirements, especially in regard to the distances we have to travel here as opposed to the Eastern States."
Trade would also be a key area that would need attention in the future, according to Mr Chown.
"WA agriculture from horticulture to broadacre farming has world best practices and we do have fantastic products but our greatest competitors, such as New Zealand, seem to be able to sell their products at a premium especially into Asia and Japan and we need to have the same sort of marketing abilities," he said.
"We need to tell our story better.
"Agriculture underwrites the financial viability of every regional town in this State and we are not selling ourselves correctly on the world market and we need to get on with the job.
"WA farmers have always adopted technologies and tailored them to their requirements, we have highly efficient farmers in this State but we fall down in efficiencies from farm to port.
"I am happy to see organisations like CBH stepping up in regard to efficiency, our growers are commercially orientated and focused and can't put much more efficiency in place than they already do.
"In effect the supply chain and exporting provisions need to meet the marketplace otherwise we won't be competitive.
"We export more than 90 per cent of our grain and the Black Sea is competing on a cost basis rather than a quality basis and there has to be a balance between quality and cost."
Ian Blayney, who preceded Mr Chown in the shadow ag role, will take on Lands, Aboriginal Affairs and Fisheries.
