Australian farmers are being treated as Labor’s cash cows under a new Biosecurity Fresh Food Tax, Member for Mallee Dr Anne Webster says.

The tax will force Australian farmers to pay for the biosecurity costs of international importers who compete for shelf space with their own products, and will drive up the cost for families to put food on the table and in their kids’ lunchboxes.

Labor this week announced a remodelling of the tax, which will now be set at a proportion of an industry’s gross value of production over a three year period rather than the proposed 10 per cent base rate.

“In what parallel universe would any Australian government tax their own farmers to pay for foreigners to bring competitive products into this country?” Dr Webster said.

“Labor is driving up the cost for farmers and this can only go one way, a flow on to family bills at the checkout.”

“The devil will be in the detail when Labor introduces this to Parliament but there are already significant fundamental flaws in the whole proposal,” Dr Webster said.

“The Government is intent on treating agriculture like its prized cash cow, raising taxes regardless of the cost to farmers and families.”

The Department of Agriculture this week told Senate Estimates it still needs to formally advise industry of their new rate over the coming days and months.

“Labor should accept the Coalition’s suggestion and charge importers for their own biosecurity risks in sending their product to Australia,” Dr Webster said.

“Taxing our farmers is entirely unreasonable, despite the claims from Agriculture Minister Murray Watt.

“Whether ripping water out of irrigation communities through buybacks, railroading transmission lines through prime agricultural land or raising costs to pay for the risks imposed by international importers, Labor fail to understand or care about our food and fibre producers.”

“This will not end well.” Dr Webster said.