Australia

Mon Mar 10

Labor is promising a national food security strategy – but there’s no mention of Australians who are going hungry

Written by: Liesel Spencer, Associate Professor, School of Law, Western Sydney University

Australia’s food security is on the political agenda, with Labor flagging ^[1] a new national strategy if it is re-elected for a second term.

“Feeding Australia” would build-in ways to make the agricultural sector more resilient. This industry focus is important, but it is only part of what the plan needs to achieve. Food security is about more than just food production and supply chains.

We also need the strategy to deal with chronic long-term food insecurity, which is defined by the United Nations ^[2] as a lack of consistent access to adequate, safe and nutritious food.

According to food relief charity Foodbank, too many ^[3] Australians simply don’t have enough to eat because of ongoing poverty and the cost-of-living crisis ^[4].

An abundance of food, but not enough to eat

Genuine food security ^[5] means all Australians have consistent access to healthy food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences.

This is not the same thing as our farmers producing enough to hypothetically feed the whole country. In fact, we already do that, and more, with food exports ^[6] sustaining a further 60 million people overseas.

Despite this abundance, not everyone has access to a fair share of food. Foodbank’s 2024 Hunger Report ^[7] found 48% of Australians earning less than A$30,000 a year are food insecure, up 5% from 2022. Overall, the charity estimates almost one in three Australian households are either moderately or severely food insecure.

We have to rely on survey data from charities and researchers to understand the extent of Australia’s food security problem because no government has formally measured ^[8] food insecurity in Australia since 2011. Evidence-based policy needs reliable data, so the national strategy should include a commitment to regularly measure people’s access to food.

Vulnerable Australians

Some groups of Australians are more vulnerable to food insecurity ^[9]. These include single parents, homeless and older people, and people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. University students ^[10] are also at higher risk.

The impact of the pandemic ^[11], compounded by the cost-of-living crisis, is even causing problems for some two income households with mortgages. Some in this group are experiencing food insecurity for the first time ^[12] according to Foodbank.

A 2023 federal parliamentary report on food security ^[13] made 35 recommendations. They include specific measures to improve household food security, such as:

investigating the feasibility of a school meals program
developing basic cooking skills as part of school curriculum
assisting community projects for local food systems
improving food security in remote and First Nations communities.

However the Feeding Australia strategy announcement makes no mention of these.

Remote challenges

Food insecurity is more prevalent and severe in remote regions, especially in many Indigenous communities, where high grocery prices and a lack of fresh food ^[14] make putting healthy produce on the table a daily challenge.

First Australian man in a t-shirt and cap, standing in greenery and holding tomatoes

Fresh food is prohibitively expensive in remote indigenous communities. Dan Peled/AAP ^[15]

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese recently announced a federal scheme to ensure the cost of 30 essential items ^[16] in remote stores is on par with city prices for the same items. This is part of a just-released federal ten-year strategy ^[17] to improve food security in First Nations communities.

While these measures are welcome, the Feeding Australia plan must heed the particular challenges faced by First Nations people when it comes to sustaining healthy diets.

No overarching strategy

It all comes back to a lack of coordinated approach ^[18] to feeding the nation. Australia continues to lag the rest of the world in food security policy.

The Economist’s Global Food Security Index ^[19] measures 113 countries across a range of indicators including affordability, availability and quality.

Australia scores a flat zero in the category of policy commitments to food security and access, compared with a global average of 47.1%. This rating was based on the lack of a national food security strategy and whether the government is responsible and can be held accountable for food security.

Food cuts across many government portfolios. Therefore, central responsibility for all aspects of national food security should rest with a Ministry of Food ^[20] – which was recommended by the 2023 parliamentary inquiry.

This would bring all the threads together under one responsible department to lift our performance to an international standard.

Disasters and external threats

Shock-proofing the agriculture industry is another urgent objective of the Feeding Australia plan. Consistent and reliable supplies provided by farm production and transport networks are a critical part of national food security.