Australia: Parliament clears way for potato industry deregulation
Western Australia’s Parliament has passed legislation abolishing the controversial Potato Marketing Corporation (PMC), making full deregulation of the state’s potato industry possible, reports abc.net.au.
The move will bring to an end seven decades of regulation under which the PMC controlled who can grow potatoes, what sort and how many they can grow, and at what price they are sold.
Parliament’s Legislative Council passed the Government’s potato deregulation legislation on Tuesday 6 September, and it was not opposed by any party.
The process will be completed on December 31 when the PMC ceases to exist.
While the industry was deregulated on July 1, Parliament still needed to agree to the abolition of the PMC.
Deregulation follows criticism of the previous setup from both sides of politics, who labelled the system outdated, and a public campaign from high-profile grower Tony Galati to scrap the PMC.
The Government has set aside $14 million to assist the industry with deregulation, with $12 million to flow directly to growers and another $2 million allocated to development.
Click here to read more at abc.net.au.
Fuente: http://www.freshplaza.com/article/163047/AU-Parliament-clears-way-for-potato-industry-deregulation
