WA’s $15.5 billion agriculture industry is the most heavily regulated in the nation, with the incoming Aboriginal cultural heritage laws expected to create more red tape, according to a report.
Western Australia’s $15.5 billion agriculture industry is the most heavily regulated in the nation, with the incoming Aboriginal cultural heritage laws expected to create more red tape, according to a report.
Wheat, barley, canola and livestock farmers in the state face more red tape than their neighbouring jurisdictions as revealed in the Institute of Public Affairs (IPA) report titled Overregulation In Western Australia’s Agricultural Sector.
The research paper compares the number of state and federal regulatory categories farmers must comply with outlined in the government’s online Australian Business Licence and Information System.
The report found WA’s wheat and barley growers face 123 regulatory categories, canola growers 119 regulations and livestock farmers 146 regulatory categories.
WA farmers face regulatory obligations imposed by up to 33 separate federal or state government agencies or departments.
The report also said that the state’s farmers were not immune to the economic challenges that faced the nation, including inflation, labour shortages, red tape and low private investment.
IPA claimed the economic challenges were felt more acutely when industries were "overregulated".
The state’s agriculture, fisheries and forestry industry exported a record $15.5 billion worth of products in 2022, predominately driven by $5.5 billion worth of wheat exports, according to the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.
The state accounted for more than 20 per cent of the country’s total agriculture-related exports last year.
“Despite doing the heavy lifting on behalf of the nation, WA farmers are now the most heavily regulated in Australia and, although now delayed, the new Aboriginal cultural heritage laws will only make a bad situation worse,” IPA deputy executive director Daniel Wild said.
“Every day WA pastoralists and graziers work hard to keep the nation fed and to export commodities that generates our nation’s wealth, yet city-based bureaucrats continue to impose unfair, costly, and complex regulation on this critical sector.”
The report follows the state government’s announcement this morning that it has created an implementation group to help roll out new Aboriginal cultural heritage laws and committed to a “light touch” approach from their introduction on Saturday.
The group will monitor, report and address issues that may arise in the initial stages of the implementation of ACH laws.
In a statement, IPA said the amount of red tape facing WA farmers would “dramatically increase” with the implementation of the Act.
