What can the agriculture commissioner achieve that the NSW minister cannot?

OPINION: At a time when top tier spending should be cut back, the NSW Labor government is intent on spending more and what for what purpose?

The government recently announced the creation of an Independent Agriculture Commissioner to oversee agricultural matters including productivity, land use conflict and food security. But is this not the role of the NSW Minister for Agriculture, Tara Moriarty?

According to the Parliament of NSW, Ministers are responsible for the effectiveness and efficiency of the agencies within their portfolio. Working with the appointed heads of these agencies, they implement government policy and ensure agencies meet their goals and purposes within their allocated budgets.

Similarly, the Commissioner will “promote a coordinated and collaborative approach to supporting the agriculture industry”.

So why do we need both? What will the commissioner achieve that the NSW Minister for Agriculture cannot, or has the power to accomplish already?

NSW Farmers is among the big backers of the commissioner – in part to provide expert advice on what it sees as “strategic agricultural land use” – specifically land being squeezed out for non-agricultural purposes such as wind towers, solar farms and new housing or industrial areas.

“Over the past 30 years, Australia has lost more than 15 per cent of its productive farmland – and so now has never been a more critical time to focus on land use pressures,” NSW Farmers president Xavier Martin said.

Agreed, this is an issue of great importance especially invaluable agricultural-growing regions like Gunnedah but this should be the work of Minister Moriarty. If she is not up to the job, to balance these competing priorities, then hand the whole portfolio over to someone is.

Don’t burden the taxpayer with yet another government salary – undoubtedly in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The AFR published a report earlier this year which described Australia’s big-spending state governments as recording some of the largest deficits in the developed world. Analysts say NSW’s debt is expected to be 295 per cent higher than pre-pandemic levels in 2028 at $250 billion.

We’re all expected to do more with less but when it comes to government spending, it seems there are more exceptions to rules, than rules followed.

For its part, NSW Farmers emphasise the neutrality of the commissioner’s role as an objective information source. But one could easily argue, the minister’s role – no matter their political or personal affiliations – should be equally impartial. They serve the entire state, not just their party donors and loyal lobbyists.

The Labor Party is not alone in its push for an agricultural commissioner – the NSW Nationals touted in 2020 how it had appointed the state’s first such position. The federal Nationals have in the past also created similar roles but perhaps with more legitimacy given Australia’s broad geography, diverse agricultural output and multi state-territory jurisdictions.

The NSW government has a smaller agricultural footprint and should be able to handle this one on its own.