“Zero economic sense”: Farmers furious with producer levy in government’s $1 billion biosecurity plan

Australia’s leading farming groups are furious at the Albanese government for pushing ahead with biosecurity funding plans that would impose a new levy on primary producers.

Announced in the 2023-2024 federal budget, the Biosecurity Protection Levy is part of a broader plan to change how Australia’s biosecurity measures are funded from July 1, 2024.

Biosecurity refers to the identification, prevention, and eradication of pests and other threats to Australian wildlife, plant life, crops, and livestock.

Those measures are currently funded by levies tacked on taxpayers, who pass through Australia’s customs system and benefit from national biosecurity, and importers, whose imported goods are subject to stringent safety checks.