18 July 2011 in Media
The average dairy farmer is expected to be up to $7,000 worse off under the Gillard Government’s carbon tax, new figures show.
The Australian Dairy Industry Council has calculated that even with compensation, the cost of running an average dairy farm would increase by between $5,000 and $7,000 per year.
While Julia Gillard says the carbon tax excludes farmers, the reality is they will be severely impacted.
It is expected that dairy farmers will be one of the hardest hit by this new tax as they rely heavily on electricity for their milking operations.
On top of this, farmers also face rising costs from increased input prices, such as fertiliser and chemicals.
And that is all before the massive increase in transport costs which will come in after the next election.
Given the trade exposed nature of the industry, dairy farmers will not be able to just pass costs through to the consumer. As they are competing against companies from other countries who do not have a carbon tax, they will have no choice but to absorb the cost increases themselves.
This extra cost is another blow to an industry which is still trying to recover from years of drought.