The Senate's latest inquiry will examine how Australia can produce enough food for itself and maintain its major export capacity in the face of global warming. This inquiry will be chaired by Senator Bill Heffernan, Liberal Senator for NSW. This is the first time that the Senate has examined the issue of food security for Australia.
The terms of reference will focus on Australia's food production, in particular, the question of how to produce food that is affordable to consumers, viable for production by farmers and with a sustainable impact on the environment and any other related matters. This important issue has been a great concern to him since entering the Senate in 1996.
Senator Heffernan said "the Committee will look at the impact of climate change both globally and nationally, the effect of carbon trading, market distortions by, and including, commodity traders and speculators, consolidated retailers, supply and demand, global cartels and their impact on fuel, fertiliser and chemical prices and supply, tax distortions and the impact of their incentives in the market, eg. Managed Investment Schemes (MIS), supply chain efficiencies and availability of agricultural land and water and other related matters."
Senator Heffernan said "the prediction of the findings from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change states in 50 years times, 50% of the world's population is going to be short of water, one billion people will be unable to feed themselves and 30% of the productive land of Asia will go out production due to climate change and more importantly 1.6 billion people could be displaced on this planet."
Submissions are invited and should be lodged at agriculture.sen@aph.gov.au or with the Committee Secretary, Senate Select Committee on Agricultural and Related Industries, Department of the Senate, PO Box 6100, Parliament House, Canberra ACT 2600. If you wish to make a confidential submission please contact the Committee Secretary on (02) 6277 3510. The Committee expected to report to the Senate by 27 November 2009. For further information about the inquiry visit www.aph.gov.au/Senate/committee/agric_ctte/tor.htm
