IF new Federal Agriculture Minister David Littleproud wasn’t aware of the importance of sealing beef roads in the north before he arrived in Alice Springs this week, he certainly is now.
While artificial intelligence and augmented reality may have been key items on the menu at the 2018 Northern Territory Cattlemen’s Association conference, where ever the Minister was involved the topic of conversation was roads, roads and more roads.
He wouldn’t be drawn on what budget season might deliver in terms of big road funding packages,however he was emphatic his government recognised the importance of good roads in pulling economic leverages in the cattle game and said it was reaching beyond its funding responsibility to deliver.
Keep in mind, he said, there was no bottomless pit of money.
“We have a $500 billion debt and we are spending $30b more than we are making a year,” he said.
The response from outgoing NTCA president Tom Stockwell: “There are lots of areas where government money could be saved and a bit more made.”
Mr Littleproud delivered a rousing talk to open the big NTCA event yesterday morning, saying the NT was perfectly placed to seize growing international demand for Australia’s world-leading beef.
Nine per cent of the national cattle herd was in the NT “so it’s important I come up here and listen and learn,” he said.
He acknowledged most NT cattlemen and women would not have known who he was before Christmas - “I was surprised myself to be elevated to Federal cabinet.”
However, his grassroots background - he grew up on a mixed farming enterprise in South West Queensland and has worked his entire life in agribusiness and still runs a small regional business - and the fact he hit on pertinent issues in outlining where he sees his responsibilities laying certainly gave him a foot in the door among what is often a tough crowd to woo.
“I know if agriculture is strong it’s easier for me to pay wages every Friday,” he said.
“What blows my hair back when I get up in the morning is not just putting money back at the farmgate but putting it back into small regional communities.”
It was his job to “get the hell out of your life” but provide the environment and infrastructure to produce because at the end of the day, it was the ag producer creating the jobs.
Along with getting infrastructure on the ground, he talked about breaking down technical barriers to trade, fostering ties with the likes of Indonesia and Vietnam and spreading the story of ag’s importance as his responsibility.
“When we walk into metropolitan Australia, they need to understand and care about our livelihoods and what we do,” he said.
“They need to know about the ethical and environmentally responsible way you produce the best food and fibre in the world.
“We should never let anyone in this country forget we are the economic lifters of the nation because that is how we’ll get better policy outcomes at all levels of government. That is deserved and it will unlock the potential of each and every one of your businesses.
“Above all, it will provide people with a career and the ability to raise a family in regional and rural Australia.”
More than $13 billion runs through regional cities and towns across Australia thanks to the success of the beef and cattle industry, which employs tens of thousands of people, according to Mr Littleproud.
Mobile phone blackspots and foreign investment were also issues cattle producers raised with the Minister.
He said the challenge at the moment was limitations in terms of the telcos coming on a further investment journey with the government.
“They are not interested in expanding the mobile phone blackspot program - many CEOs have told me that,” he said.
“We can build infrastructure but someone has to be prepared to stay there and run it for us.
“The Federal Government won’t be getting into the game of running a telecommunications company.”