WA vegetable growers have welcomed the appointment of Jackie Jarvis as the Minister for Agriculture and Food, Forestry and Small Business, as well as Simone McGurk as Minister for Training, Water and Youth.
Dan Kuzmicich, President of the peak industry body, vegetablesWA, said he looked forward to working with ministers Jarvis and McGurk and thanked Minister MacTiernan for her efforts as Minister for Regional Development, Agriculture and Food, and Hydrogen.
“On behalf of the horticulture industry, I would like to thank Minister MacTiernan for her incredible efforts as the Minister for Agriculture and Food from 2017-2022,” Mr Kuzmicich said
“We look forward to speaking with ministers Jarvis and McGurk to convey insights into the industry’s challenges, and to work with them to create new opportunities for growers and successfully promote the industry.”
vegetablesWA will seek to meet the ministers early in the new year to update industry perspectives on the sector’s challenges and opportunities.
vegetablesWA CEO Stephen Brown said the industry body had worked closely with Minister Jarvis in the past, and it was pleasing the State Government had appointed a person with passion and commercial experience to the portfolio.
“The Minister’s experience in the area of agricultural workforce development will equip her well to work with industry to tackle one of horticulture’s greatest challenges,” Mr Brown said.
“We are keen to engage with Minister McGurk on water issues, particularly the recently announced Gnangara Groundwater Allocation Plan. The plan imposes a 10 per cent reduction on vegetable and other food growers in the region while giving nurseries and tree farms an exemption, which doesn’t seem fair or sensible considering the likely impact on the State’s food security.”
“vegetablesWA is opposed to any cuts to water allocations and will be seeking to work with Minister McGurk to provide growers with enough water to continue to provide the people of Western Australia with the affordable produce they need.”
vegetablesWA is looking forward to working constructively with the new ministers to address issues affecting the industry and to ensure the WA public has access to affordable and safe local produce.