Media Release
16 June 2009

Instead of the $9 million referendum, invest in agriculture

Federated Farmers is questioning the cost and value of the latest Citizens Initiated Referendum that is forecast to cost taxpayers almost $9 million.

“There are nine million reasons to look at The Citizens Initiated Referenda Act 1993 (CIR) and each one is called a dollar,” says Don Nicolson, President of Federated Farmers.

“To be fair, I’d forgotten just how expensive CIR is to conduct and I would wager, so had many in Parliament. CIR is ‘Clayton’s democracy’, given that no one from the Prime Minister down believes it will lead to any law change.

“Following this latest referendum, I think it is time Parliament seriously looked at The Citizens Initiated Referenda Act 1993.

“$9 million is after all a sizeable amount of money. The fact that it barely raises a ripple indicates how free spending has become.

“Farmers look at the $9 million and argue that reducing some of the country’s debt or investing in agriculture is far better than an expensive catharsis.

“If $9 million were on the table this year, it could have boosted agricultural Research and Development by 11 percent or increased by 16 percent, the amount currently being spent on possum control.

“$9 million would have also boosted the Rural Broadband Fund by a whopping 20 percent.

“If we are really serious about productivity, $9 million would have almost doubled the amount currently budgeted for water storage projects under the Community Irrigation Fund.

“At a time when every dollar counts, we must look at things that do not achieve what was envisaged for it. We must now ask if CIR fits that description,” Mr Nicolson concluded.

ENDS

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