STATEMENTS BY SENATORS

Senator COX (Western Australia) (13:00): I rise today to speak about agritourism in Australia, and it's an important opportunity to tell a better story about our regions, our farmers, our food and our communities. Agritourism sounds like a policy word, but indeed it's an idea that is very, very human. It's about families stopping at the farm gate and buying fruit straight from the grower.

It's about kids picking berries and learning that food doesn't begin its life wrapped in plastic. It's a cellar door, farmers' market, farm stay, station stay or a food trail through one of our beautiful regional towns. At its heart, agritourism is about connection.

It connects visitors with the lands, consumers with producers, and city families with regional communities. It gives farmers and local businesses another way to share what they do with pride, and that matters, because our farmers do some pretty amazing and extraordinary work. They manage drought, floods, fires, changing markets, rising import costs and workforce pressures, but, too often, people who buy Australian produce never get to meet the people who are behind it.

Agritourism opens the gate. It allows people to see the work, the skill and the care behind Australian food and fibre. It is not about replacing farming; it's about strengthening farm businesses in tough seasons.

Tourism Research Australia recently found that, in 2024, trips involving agritourism activities accounted for 18.5 million trips, nearly 100 million nights and $20.3 billion in spending across Australia. Three in four visited regional Australia, and this means that visitors are staying, eating, shopping and spending money in towns, and that makes a huge difference.

I was reminded of this recently when I travelled with the Joint Standing Committee on Trade and Investment Growth for its rural and regional growth inquiry around Mount Gambier and the Coonawarra. We visited Patrick of Coonawarra, and what stood out was not only the quality of the wine but the way in which the cellar door became the front door to the region. Visitors came to taste the wine, but they also learned about the climate, the soil, the growers and a broader story about their community.

In the Adelaide Hills, we visited Jurlique and Berenberg Farm. These are very different businesses, but they all show the same point, and that is that regional products carry a story of place. Whether it's food, wine, skincare, herbs, berries or preserves, people want to know where things come from.

When businesses share that story directly with visitors, the benefits flow beyond one farm gate. Western Australia, my hometown, has so much to offer. From the south-west to the Great Southern to the wheat belt, the Gascoyne, the Pilbara and the Kimberley, across our great state, agricultural and pastoral life, Aboriginal culture, food production and nature based tourism all have enormous potential.

Margaret River shows this is exactly what that can look like. It's also known around the world for its wine, but its strength is the whole experience—the cellar doors, the breweries, the paddock-to-plate meals, the beaches, the forests, the galleries and the local producers working together. A visitor might come for one thing, but they stay because the region gives them so many more reasons to explore.

That's one of the lessons of agritourism—that no single business can carry out the whole visitor experience alone. A farmer, a winery, a cafe, a First Nations cultural tourism operator, a accommodation provider and a regional event can all be part of the same story. We should also recognise the importance of First Nations tourism.

First Nations food experiences, cultural tours and on-country tourism help visitors to understand the deep history, the knowledge and the meaning of the land. This must be First Nations led. When done properly, it supports jobs, strengthens cultural pride and allows culture to be shared on First Nations' terms.

The Albanese Labor government has recognised these opportunities through practical support for regional producers, including the Wine Tourism and Cellar Door Grants Program. In 2024, more than 200 wine and cider businesses shared in $10 million of funding, including 34 from Western Australia. The government has extended this program for another three years and with $300 million in new funding.

Agritourism is not about turning every farm into a tourist experience. Some farmers want to do that, and some don't. But, for those who do, we should make it easier to build safe, sustainable and authentic experiences, because when agritourism works everybody gains.

Farmers diversify, visitors learn and regional towns get more foot traffic.