Wednesday, 19 February 2025

Environment and Planning Committee

Inquiry into Securing the Victorian Food Supply

Mathew HILAKARI (Point Cook) (10:17): I might even speak on a committee report. The committee report that I have chosen to speak on is the Environment and Planning Committee’s Securing the Victorian Food Supply. I will not go into the processes of FOI, because that was not covered by the report, nor were the processes of FOI covered in the report on the budget. But anyway, I will continue.

This report was delivered in November 2024. My chamber neighbour and chair of the committee the member for Wendouree highly recommended this report and I highly recommend it to others in this place. What was the point of the report? It was to consider the context of urban sprawl and the impact of population growth on our farming industries. The chair’s foreword begins by saying that:

Securing the Victorian food supply is an existential issue for our state …

Nothing could be truer. Ensuring ongoing food supply for Victoria from Victoria is an existential question for us. The community that I represent in Werribee South is an extraordinary growing area in this state. From just 0.02 per cent of the landmass of Victoria we produce 10 per cent of Victoria’s vegetables, so the broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce, fennel and artichokes that we may enjoy in our lunch today have most likely come from Werribee South, just 30 kilometres down the road.

Sarah Connolly interjected.

Mathew HILAKARI: The member for Laverton is such a big supporter of our farming communities and our broader south-west.

Why do we know that farmers do essential work? Because just on the way in this morning on the radio we heard about the supply of bananas across the state. Many customers entering supermarkets and greengrocers over the next few days and weeks will find that there is a shortage of bananas or an increase in cost because of the floods up in Queensland. The diversity of our farms, our farm workers and our growing regions is important, particularly in our peri-urban areas, which are under threat as identified in this report. This report does identify that productive farmland is on the fringe of Melbourne, like the community that I represent.

There are challenges to being in peri-urban areas, including the dumping of rubbish and trespassing. I witness this almost every day in the community that I represent, and I encourage Wyndham City Council to take a more proactive role in making sure that our farmland is protected from dumping.

The report says:

The ongoing loss of farmland around urban centres where most Victorians live also has implications for the resilience of our food supply.

I am proud to say that the green wedge that covers the area of Werribee South is firmly in place. I have eyeballed the minister alongside farmers to confirm that this is the case. I say to those land developers who are land banking or seeking to make a profit from turning farmland into housing: do not bother. Do not bother with this government – unlike the previous government, where Matthew Guy opened up precinct structure plans adjoining this land for more housing alongside our precious farmland. We do not intend to do so; we intend to protect our farmers. Farmers have a friend in the Labor Party –peri-urban farmers have friends in the Labor Party who will protect their ongoing and viable businesses. I do note, Deputy Speaker, that I will refer to members by their electorate – the member for Bulleen – and I apologise for my disrespect to the member on that part of the process.

Why is it important? The supply chains of peri-urban farms are much more convenient and much more approachable for our communities and protect the supply chains, unlike some major supermarkets who seek their food from faraway lands.

The focus of this inquiry must be commended. It included a recommendation for a minister for food and a Victorian food system strategy. As they say, it is:

 … needed to reorient agricultural governance and policy on securing the state’s food supply.

I am limited in the time that I have left, but I do want members to read this report, including the recommendations around protecting farmland on the fringes of Geelong, Bendigo and Ballarat and considering green wedges for those parts of Victoria, those growing, wonderful communities. There was no minority report to this report, because it was such an excellent report, as recommended by my chamber neighbour. I thank the member for Wendouree, chair; the member for Morwell as deputy chair; and the members for Bass, Monbulk, Ripon, Croydon and Warrandyte for their efforts. I look forward to speaking on this report again.