Joining Sky News’ Laura Jayes on AM Agenda to discuss the plight of our agricultural industries from fruit growers to abattoirs from the shortage of labour. While the NSW government today threw a lifeline in offering to foot half the quarantine cost for overseas farm workers, the Victorian Labor government’s dragged the chain to the point it’s now too late for many of our farmers with many having to plough perfectly good crops into the ground.
Another critical industry, yet under attack, is coal mining. It was great to put on the record the importance of the coal mining industry in the NSW Hunter – a producer of high quality thermal coal and provider of many thousands of jobs and livelihoods. And a contributor to reducing emissions by exporting high quality coal to developing countries which would otherwise rely on dirtier coal.
And discussing the inquiry into former Australia Post CEO Christine Holgate, who despite the Cartier controversy, put in some real reforms that ensured the financial sustainability of the more than 2500 licensed post offices in rural and regional communities and I am calling on the board to ensure the new CEO continues that commitment to Australia Post services in the bush.
Watch here.