{"id":5795,"date":"2020-04-02T07:26:33","date_gmt":"2020-04-02T07:26:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/?p=5795"},"modified":"2020-04-02T07:26:33","modified_gmt":"2020-04-02T07:26:33","slug":"securing-freight-access-for-australian-agricultural-and-fisheries-exporters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/2020\/04\/02\/securing-freight-access-for-australian-agricultural-and-fisheries-exporters\/","title":{"rendered":"Securing Freight Access for Australian Agricultural and Fisheries Exporters"},"content":{"rendered":"

A new $110 million initiative will back Australia\u2019s agricultural and fisheries sector by helping them export their high-quality produce into key overseas markets, with return flights bringing back vital medical supplies, medicines and equipment.
\nIn addition, around $10 million in Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA) levies will also be waived for all Commonwealth fishers, ensuring they do not have to pay Commonwealth levies for the remainder of 2020.
\nDeputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack said the International Freight Assistance Mechanism would help secure freight flights into Australia\u2019s key export markets.
\n\u201cThis will help restore key freight routes for our farmers until commercial capacity can be restored again,\u201d Mr McCormack said.
\n\u201cWe are doing everything possible to help our high-value agricultural and fisheries exporters get their produce on airplanes and into overseas markets.
\n\u201cEverything we are doing as a Government in response to this pandemic is focused on saving lives and saving livelihoods and we know our agriculture industry is key to this.\u201d
\nFederal Trade Minister Simon Birmingham said the COVID-19 pandemic had led to major air freight shortages and had disrupted supply chains around the world.
\n\u201cThis temporary action will help Australian producers to protect the jobs of those who rely upon Australia\u2019s export of safe, quality food into the world,\u201d Minister Birmingham said.
\n\u201cGetting our export sector back on its feet is crucial to reduce job losses through the crisis and a critical part of the ultimate economic recovery.
\n\u201cBy getting flights off the ground, full of Australian produce, we\u2019re supporting our farmers and fishers who have been hit hard by this crisis.\u201d
\nFederal Agriculture Minister David Littleproud said this initiative would focus on high-demand agricultural and fisheries exports who have been hit hard by the COVID-19 crisis.
\n\u201cWe\u2019re backing our farmers by making sure they can get more of their high-quality product into overseas markets,\u201d Minister Littleproud said.
\n\u201cThe more agricultural exports we can secure, the more regional jobs we can protect.\u201d
\nAssistant Minister for Forestry and Fisheries Jonathon Duniam said the freight assistance and levy relief was a lifeline for Australian fishers.
\n\u201cThe fishing industry was one of the first hit when access to China was cut off in January, bringing many in the industry to their knees,\u201d Assistant Minister Duniam said.
\n\u201cUnlocking key international markets will get thousands of fishers, divers, deckhands and processors back on the job, and the levy relief will help to keep fishers financially afloat.
\n\u201cOur seafood industry has been built on the back of some of the toughest and most resilient Australians, and this assistance will ensure that the sector can build a bridge to recovery.\u201d
\nThe International Freight Assistance Mechanism will initially focus on the key markets of China, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore and the UAE, with four key departure hubs: Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Perth.
\nIt will be overseen by Mr Michael Byrne, who has been appointed as the International Freight Coordinator General. Mr Byrne has significant international logistics experience as Managing Director of Australia\u2019s two largest logistics companies Toll Holdings and Linfox plus as a non-executive director of Australia Post.
\nMr Byrne will work with Austrade to help establish arrangements with exporters, airlines, freight forwarders and industry bodies plus oversee the mechanism\u2019s operations including advising the Government of destinations, freight selection and prioritisation.
\nThe initiative is part of the Government\u2019s $1 billion Relief and Recovery Fund to support regions, communities and industry sectors that have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19.
\nFurther details are available in the International Freight Assistance Mechanism Fact Sheet\u00a0PDF: 646 KB<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A new $110 million initiative will back Australia\u2019s agricultural and fisheries sector by helping them export their high-quality produce into key overseas markets, with return flights bringing back vital medical supplies, medicines and equipment. In addition, around $10 million in Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA) levies will also be waived for all Commonwealth fishers, ensuring … Continue reading “Securing Freight Access for Australian Agricultural and Fisheries Exporters”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5795","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-aussie"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5795","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5795"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5795\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5795"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5795"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5795"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}