FARMERS have been left angry following the Federal Government’s failure to address the controversial backpacker tax in last night’s budget
Speaking from Canberra, National Farmers Federation president Brent Finlay said the Turnbull government must urgently act on the destructive backpacker tax to restore certainty and confidence to thousands of farm businesses and rural communities as well as industries such as tourism that rely on the backpacker workforce.
“There were literally thousands of farming families, agricultural businesses and tourism operators who were desperately hoping the backpacker tax, in its current form, would be abandoned in tonight’s budget,” Mr Finlay said.
“We have received more than 31,000 signatures on a petition opposing this measure. We have banded together, both as an industry and across sectors, to show that the negative impacts will be wide-reaching and felt by thousands of Australian families. We have given clear examples of what this pain will involve.
“It is now time for the Government to respond to the risk imposed on the sector by a measure that will chase working holiday makers away from Australia and, in the process, decimate the agricultural workforce.”
Mr Finlay said never before had agriculture been so strongly positioned to grow the Australian economy and contribute to the prosperity of the entire nation.
“We look forward to hearing policies from both the government and opposition that will help us take hold of these opportunities and deliver economic and social returns for the nation,” Mr Finlay said.