Minister for Sugar Industry Tomasi Tunabuna has rejected claims by the National Farmers Union (NFU) that government support for cane farmers is merely recycled policies from previous administrations, insisting assistance is tailored to meet the industry’s changing needs.
When asked about the NFU’s claim that current subsidies offered no real new support for farmers, Mr Tunabuna said the criticism was unfounded.
“No, I disagree with that because we change our support depending on situations,” he said.
“There was never a fuel subsidy in the past, now we have one, there’s no recycling there.
“We weigh our contributions with subsidy depending on the situation.” His comments come as the NFU continues to argue the Coalition Government has introduced no new initiatives for cane farmers and has simply continued measures established under previous governments.
The union has also maintained that the minimum guaranteed cane price of $85 a tonne, introduced in 2018, no longer reflects the rising cost of production and has called for it to be increased to $110 a tonne.
Mr Tunabuna has defended the government’s assistance package, saying support is reviewed and adjusted according to the industry’s needs rather than repeated from previous years.
The Government recently announced a $5million fuel subsidy for cane harvesting and transportation as part of measures aimed at easing costs during the crushing season.
