2ST Southern Highlands - Southern Highlands Agritourism Roundtable
E&OE TRANSCRIPT
RADIO NEWS BULLETIN
2ST SOUTHERN HIGHLANDS
TUESDAY, 29 SEPTEMBER 2026
SUBJECTS: SOUTHERN HIGHLANDS ARGITOURISM ROUNDTABLE
[START]
GRAEME DAY, HOST: It's a very good morning to you. Today, there's a get-together as far as the agricultural industry is concerned, and the Southern Highlands Agribusiness and Visitor Economy Roundtable is being held with leaders from the region's agriculture, wine tourism, agribusiness, equine sectors and regenerative farming. Two people that will be there are Carol Berry, who is the Federal Member for Whitlam, and also Julie Collins MP, Federal Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry in the Southern Highlands. Carol Berry is on the line right now. It's a very good morning to you. How are you today?
CAROL BERRY MP: Very well. How are you?
HOST: Not too bad. Not too bad. So a very, very busy day because you've got a couple of local farms you're going to be visiting before you sit down and talk tin tacks.
BERRY: That's right. So we are going to visit both Moonacres Farm and Robertson Potatoes this morning. And then we're going to be visiting one of our local wineries and we're hosting a round table where we've got over 30 attendees.
So really looking forward to spending the day with the Minister.
HOST: And the Minister, I'm sure, will be very interested to see what people have got to say and what the major things are as far as generating the agricultural industry in a positive direction. What are some of the things that you're picking up when you talk to people about what's going on locally?
BERRY: So increasingly, there's a desire to connect the movement around regenerative agriculture with tourism and the visitor economy here in the Southern Highlands. So one of the areas that we're going to focus on at the roundtable is how we can continue to build those connections and continue to tell that story about the Southern Highlands.
The visitor economy in the Southern Highlands contributes over $500 million to our local economy. And our agriculture sector, likewise, contributes about $50 million. So increasingly how we dovetail those industries and those sectors together to continue to build our regional economy is the story that I want to tell today.
HOST: It's going to be a very interesting discussion because we've got this situation as far as the people that are actually on the land, like potato farmers and what have you. They're facing incredible costs as far as diesel is concerned and what they've got to face. Has that been brought out to you as far as what the government can do as far as fuel is concerned?
BERRY: Yeah. So I'm expecting that we will hear that feedback today. We know, for example, we've also got some wine growers, some winemakers who are going to be speaking to the Minister today as well. And we know that that industry is facing major global challenges in terms of declining wine consumption globally and the impact that that's having on our sector here in Australia.
Piled on top of that is increasing transport costs and all of the costs associated with production costs and agricultural production. We also know that our local producers are experiencing challenges in relation to climate change as well. There's a number of issues which I expect to be drawn out in the discussions that we're having with the Minister today.
HOST: I imagine the fuel thing would be the major thing. Is there any sign the government's going to relent, particularly on diesel? I had a situation yesterday which I'll share with you. I was at a service station and one of the resource recovery trucks from the Wingecarribee filled up with diesel. Now, I'd imagine he filled his tank. The cost at the bowser pump was $640 to fill that truck. Now, I know it was a resource recovery truck, totally different to anyone using a ute or something on a farm, but those costs would mount up, and it's getting to the point where it's got to start pushing the cost of agricultural products up, hasn't it?
BERRY: Yes, I mean, I think those flow-on impacts on consumers and others that rely on the agriculture sector, this is a very real challenge and one which I know that Minister Collins is really interested in, very concerned with. So they're one of the issues which I imagine will be drawn out in the discussions today.
HOST: The other thing is too, and I've had people actually in the industry locally, both on the coast and the Highlands. I know the government likes to be involved in this and gives grants out, both state and federally. And I know that you've been to a number of events, and this is another round table. But people are asking me the question, and I'll put it to you. Do you think there's too much talk and not enough actual on-the-ground action with these tourism events and getting on with the job?
BERRY: I would disagree with that. I think, particularly when it comes to the future of the visitor economy here in the Highlands, the power of collaboration and the type of experience that we know that visitors want to have. For example, only about 2 per cent of the visitors that we have in the Southern Highlands at the moment are international visitors, for example, and we want to build that part of our sector.
So we know that this is a massive opportunity for the Highlands. There was about $39 billion spent in relation to international visitors across Australia last year, for example. So how do we actually attract some of that spend towards the Southern Highlands?
So having discussions like we're having today is part of how we drive collaboration, how we all are singing from the same song sheet, how we're getting in front of key government ministers in order to tell our story. In a competitive environment, I think there's good value for these kinds of discussions.
HOST: It's great that you're listening and putting strategies in place, and well done to those that are in the sector, and well done for you bringing the Minister down to hear that today. Its going to be a very busy day for you nd its going to be interesting what outcome, come out of that roundtable today. Thanks so much for your time.
BERRY: Absolute pleasure, thank you!
[END]
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