The New South Wales (NSW) government recently announced their intention to eliminate 165 jobs from their Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD). This action comes in the context of a four percent cut to staffing. That decision has shocked farmers and agricultural advocates. They worry these cuts will put the state at great risk as these biosecurity threats continue to raise and increase.
Steve Orr, secretary of DPIRD, made the announcement and stated the layoffs would affect primarily those positions that had transitioned to permanency. Crucially, these roles were only supported by temporary funding. This step is part of a broader effort to streamline mission operations across the department. Though a big step forward, it has been strongly criticized by industry stakeholders.
Impact on Key Roles
The affected positions will be exclusively back office, administrative positions. Moreover, they will have an impact on duplicate management roles located in different divisions throughout the department. Most strikingly, the axe will fall on all 13 positions at the Wollongbar environmental lab. This facility is key to stage ag research and development. It’s no wonder dog and agriculture lovers alike consider it a vital step for keeping the state productive and preparing for future biosecurity threats.
Rebecca Reardon, Vice President of NSW Farmers Association was equally damning in her response to the decision, labelling it “short-sighted”. She underscored the urgent questions that lie before the ag sector, from climate change to increasing costs of production to threats in biosecurity.
“We’ve got so many challenges in agriculture — around climate change, input costs, biosecurity threats, pressure to decrease emissions, productivity issues — that to cut back on research when we’re aiming to be a $30 billion output industry just seems very short-sighted on the government’s part.” – Rebecca Reardon
Cattle farmer David Duff from Toorooka supported this idea. He articulated his concerns about the rapidly escalating biosecurity issues that producers must contend with. He reiterated the importance of research in combatting these threats.
“If you haven’t got the staff on the ground to be able to implement biosecurity measures when we have outbreaks of whatever it is, the consequences to primary industry production are massive, and then to the country.” – David Duff
Concerns Over Biosecurity Measures
Plans to close jobs at the Wollongbar lab have been especially controversial, sparking furious backlash from local MPs. Greens MP Sue Higginson, a committed rice farmer herself, spoke to the importance of long-term research. It’s one of the major ways it helps farmers build resilience against climate change and confront other challenges.
“We can’t afford any job losses in our region right now, particularly ones that are doing this kind of deeper scientific research about how to build our resilience, how to understand our changing climate and how we adapt.” – Sue Higginson
Higginson said that from her experience in Australia and around the globe, she can attest to the vital research and development work being done at the Wollongbar lab. Cuts to these positions would pose a serious blow to addressing food security and climate-smart sustainable agriculture goals in the state.
In a statement, a spokesperson for DPIRD acknowledged the financial difficulties currently facing the commercial lab. They highlighted that the lab has been running an annual operating deficit for the last four years. Tens of thousands of those ones will be saved. Displaced staff will have access to secondment opportunities within DPIRD, as well as elsewhere in the NSW public sector.
“This commercial lab has an annual operating loss for the last four years.” – DPIRD spokesperson
The government’s spokesperson reiterated that none of the lab’s jobs would relocate to Wagga Wagga. Looking ahead, they promised that all active agreements will be upheld.
Future Outlook for Agriculture in NSW
Many of those in the ag sector are calling for more r&d investment. This push for federal progress comes at the same time as these proposed federal job cuts. Cutting staff could particularly cripple our short-term research capacity. It would have the added effect of increasing the industry’s susceptibility to future biosecurity incursions.
Reardon made the case that reduced staff could result in significant savings. Those savings might be short-lived as a biosecurity breach would cost that much and more. She emphasized that keeping a strong workforce down on the ground is key to practicing sound biosecurity measures.
“Any savings they make by cutting staff and those on the ground, well they’ll be blown out of the water if we have one of these incursions.” – Rebecca Reardon
The NSW government has repeatedly and vigorously defended its plan. They remain committed to maintaining existing physical offices and are in the process of helping impacted employees through redeployment opportunities. Stakeholders across the spectrum of agriculture remain vocally skeptical. They fear for the long-term impacts of these cuts on the state’s ability to protect its essential agricultural lands.
