South Burnett Regional Council, Media Release, 12 May 2023

South Burnett Regional Council Mayor, Brett Otto has joined National Party Leader and Member for Maranoa David Littleproud in questioning the federal government recent budget announcement to impose a levy on farmers to fund biosecurity. Mayor Otto has called on the federal government to reverse the decision, saying it is another impost on struggling farmers.

With world demand for food expected to increase by 70 percent over the next 40 years, the South Burnett Regional Council Mayor is talking up agriculture as the future of the local economy.

“I absolutely support investment in biosecurity, indeed our council spends a significant amount of local ratepayers funds on disease control, including controlling invasive animal and plant species. We certainly do need much more investment in biosecurity from both state and federal governments, however not at the expense of our farmers”, Mayor Otto said.

From July 2024, a levy will be introduced on producers equivalent to 10 per cent of their 2020-21 levy rates. This means producers of grass-fed cattle will pay an extra 50 cents per head and a cotton producer will pay an extra 22.5 cents per 227kg bale, on top of their current levy payments.

Mayor Otto joined the Nationals leader in asking “why would any Australian government tax their own farmers to pay for foreigners to bring their products into this country?” and supports the National Party’s stance on establishing an ‘importer container levy’, as recommended by the independent Craik Biosecurity review.

Mayor Otto has echoed the Nationals MP’s sentiments in saying that “importers of foreign products should pay for the biosecurity risk they pose, not Australian farmers.”