Exporters prefer taxpayers to foot the bill

Livestock exporters are unhappy with the moves by the Federal Department of Agriculture (DAFF) to increase cost-recovery charges for mandatory export certification services by around 60-70pc from July . Apparently, the increase is needed to recover the full costs DAFF incurs from providing export certification services to industry.

Senator Back apparently asked why the entire cost of administering ESCAS should be carried by industry, when clearly whatever benefits flowed from ESCAS did not fall completely on exporters. Well, those benefits certainly do not flow to the average taxpayer Senator Back. Perhaps it is appropriate that exporters (and the other beneficiaries of the trade) now have to pay for their previously taxpayer funded subsidies. Might bring the live export trade into line with other businesses that dont enjoy these same subsidies.

VALE has previously called for an investigation by the Productivity Commission into the overall benefits (or costs) to Australia of this trade. Perhaps now would be a good time.