31 March 2025
Cattle Australia (CA) has put the major parties on notice that the support of Australia’s grass-fed cattle producers at the upcoming Federal election hinges on six key issues.
CA is the national peak body for the grass-fed beef industry, providing a unified voice advocating on behalf of Australia’s 52,000 grass-fed cattle levy payers.
CA Chief Executive, Dr Chris Parker said its policy positions were designed to ensure the long-term sustainability of cattle producers, their communities and the environment.
“The future of our industry and our communities hinges on policy change in the areas of trade carbon markets, environmental management and protecting our consumers’ rights,” Dr Parker said.
“The red meat supply chain employs more than 430,000 people domestically, meaning it is vital for rural and metropolitan voters alike to get behind good policy that supports the beef industry in nourishing communities, both here and overseas, and the contribution it makes to the wellbeing of the regional areas of Australia.”
As the industry’s peak body, CA is responsible for developing and driving contemporary policy; guiding research, development, and adoption (RD&A) and marketing investment for the sector; and advocating on all matters important to the Australian beef industry.
CA is calling on the major parties to:
- enact truth in labelling laws that protect consumers from plant and cell-grown protein sources being described as meat and invest to educate consumers on the nutritional value of beef
- include the biogenic methane cycle in national carbon accounting systems, re-evaluate the legislation of mandatory climate-related financial disclosures, scope the reporting of indirect emissions, and invest $150 million in research on the role ruminants play to improve environmental outcomes
- guarantee the future of the live cattle export trade to secure the livelihoods of Australian producers and their communities, and improve food security in the region through the reinstatement of the Indonesia Australia Red Meat and Cattle Partnership
- deliver an accurate and up-to-date national dataset based on satellite mapping to demonstrate to consumers and trading partners the nature-positive role of agriculture to land use and biodiversity, and advocate at international stage to accept equivalency of the Australian vegetation laws
- acknowledge Buffel Grass as a vital contributor to the economic viability and sustainable profitability of regional and rural Australia
- match the Coalition commitment to a sustainable funding model to support effective biosecurity, traceability and industry system, including user-pays charges on importers.
“Australian beef producers are essential to the fabric of our nation,” Dr Parker said. “They are the most carbon-efficient producers of beef in the world, and last year they exported 1.97 million tonnes of beef to feed people all around the world.
“We call on all political parties to recognise their critical role and back these policy priorities to ensure they can continue to contribute positively to the economy, environment and food security.”
ENDS
MEDIA ENQUIRIES:
Stacey Wordsworth
stacey.wordsworth@bluehillagency.com.au
0438 394 371
Michael Thomson
michael.thomson@bluehillagency.com.au
0408 819 666