Liberals oppose changes to the APC Act

The Rural and Regional Committee's motion at the Liberal Party conference in Perth on the weekend called on the party "to oppose amending the Agriculture Produce Commission (APC) Act 1988 to include broadacre agriculture".

This means any attempt by the State government to introduce a change in policy to include the term may well get rejected in the Upper House if supported by the Liberals'political wing.

Pastoralists and Graziers Association of WA president Tony Seabrook said he was at the meeting and spoke against the motion, as did two others, while no one spoke in support of it.

"The vote was unanimous against the idea," Mr Seabrook said.

He said the issue needed to not get political because it wouldn't do any good for anyone.

"The last thing we need is another tax," Mr Seabrook said.

"We just want to see this thing put to rest so everyone can move on."

The Rural and Regional Committee put forward and passed three motions at the conference - to reject the inclusion of broadacre in the APC Act, to seek an extension to the phasing out of twin tiered vessels in the live export trade from January 1, 2020, until the original date, which was in 2023, to draft new laws against animal activists reflecting concerns about trespassing issues and biosecurity threats as well as push for an investigation into the tax-free status of activist groups.

Rural and Regional Committee chairman Steve Martin, Wickepin, said the party was focused on areas of concern for rural and regional WA to sure up more support and win additional seats in the regions at the next election.

He said the PGA had presented its case to the committee a month ago in the lead up to the party conference and in order to be fair they heard from WAFarmers on Friday last week.

"We gave (WAFarmers chief executive officer) Trevor Whittington the opportunity to present his case," Mr Martin said.

"It is our view, however, that including broadacre in the APC Act would be bringing in another levy on farmers who already pay enough."

Mr Martin said the committee didn't "see the need" for the change or that it was "justifiable".

WA Agriculture and Food Minister Alannah MacTiernan said the government would be making a decision on whether it would seek to make a change to the APC Act soon, but it was considering the proposal by WAFarmers.

"We are considering it on the representation of WAFarmers because we believe that WAFarmers would represent the view of the majority of broadacre farmers in WA," Ms MacTiernan said.

She said while WAFarmers had asked for it, there was an extensive process to work through in order to affect it.

She said growers had to agree to establishing a committee under the act and there would be an opt out clause available for those who didn't want to participate.

Mr Whittington said there were "no surprises with the motion put up by the Liberal Party policy committee as the PGA are overly well represented on it".

"Who would have thought the PGA would back regulations restricting choice for farmers, a true supporter of liberal values supports freedom of choice," Mr Whittington said.

"While the PGA spent a lot of time working individual Liberal delegates attending the State conference, the reality is the resolution attracted a handful of speakers and voters, many of which are aspiring future MPs keen to show their ability to follow the voting direction of the party power brokers.

"Unfortunately, while the PGA have all of 100 or so grain growers, they seem to have an inordinate amount of influence on some members of parliament and some influential Liberal MPs to the detriment of our industry as a whole.

"I would hope that the fact that WAFarmers Grains Council, Livestock Council and General Section have voted unanimously for the removal of the exemption filters through to all members of parliament to balance those representing the PGA.

"MPs from all sides need to factor in that zone and grower meetings held in Geraldton, Wickepin and York to date have resulted in unanimous resolutions supporting the removal of the 30-year exemption that only applies to broadacre growers.

"One would hope that when the matter comes up in parliament the Liberal Party room has the common sense to listen to the views of 1150 members of one organisation versus 100 of another and trusts farmers to have the ability to choose to opt out if they don't want to support funding a research report into the economic merits of tier three rail or the science of live export stocking densities."

Liberal Agriculture spokesman Jim Chown said he wouldn't entertain an amendment to the act to include broadacre farming because he believed "no case had been presented to signify or establish that broadacre farmers would benefit from it".

"Another levy would be a nail in the coffin for the industry, especially with the competition we are seeing from the Black Sea," Mr Chown said.

"I don't see where a committee under the act would benefit growers.

"There are a number of levies already that growers pay and competition in the Black Sea is ramping up over the next 10 years.

"If they want to change it then there should be an opt in, not an opt out."

Mr Chown said while the Rural and Regional Committee had a policy to oppose a change, it was not binding on the political wing of the party.

Mr Whittington said he would meet with Liberal MPs to discuss the proposal.

Mr Martin said the committee also voted to support a motion to "upgrade or replace the existing pipelines that run water around WA".

"They are carting water from Wickepin to Lake Grace," Mr Martin said.

"The pipelines are old and in need of repair so we voted for a future Liberal government to look at upgrading those.