Policy deepens the cracks_英文原版

this extraordinary drought is producing an extraordinary amount of assistance for farmers left only with dust and stubble.

it is assistance which so far has totalled $2.11 billion – including about $800 million in the past two weeks alone.

politicians like being able to give the help, and taxpayers don't flinch from their money being used in this way.

but taxpayers in metropolitan areas, who supply most of the cash going to farmers, are entitled to expect that their contributions are not taken for granted.

there are at least two instances where this hasn't happened, two cases in which the urban taxpayer has been milked mercilessly.

while it is handing out our dough by the harvester load, the government should attend to these two instances.

one is the farce of wanting to maintain the single desk monopoly for selling wheat exports held by awb; the other is the sugar tax.

we pay 3c a kilo on sugar – locally produced and imported – to help an industry which is doing nicely on the world markets. the sweet-tooth tax was imposed in 2003 to partially fund a shake-out of the sugar industry by paying growers to close their farms.

there was a notion that world oversupply of sugar was reducing prices and threatening the future of the small australian farms.

since then, the international sugar price has risen from $230 a tonne three years ago to near-record prices of around $450 a tonne.

from that it would seem the industry restructuring worked, and our sacrifice has all been for the good.

however, just 385 sugar growers out of 5000 have taken the money to quit the industry.

in all, this program – including the special levy and money from consolidated revenue – has been underspent by $140 million, which is like taxing people for a road and then not building it.

the sugar tax is expected to raise $104 million, but don't expect any refund.

a paper prepared by heather ridout of the australian industry group and dick wells of the australian food and grocery council makes clear who have been the bunnies in this exercise. the losers have been the ordinary, household consumers of australia, and local firms.

as well as paying more for the sugar in our kitchen cupboards and in the food we buy, we have seen local food makers underpriced by overseas manufacturers who don't have to pay the sugar tax.

ridout and wells calculate that the tax has added from $100,000 to $300,000 a year to the costs of local food and beverage makers – in some instances up to $1 million.