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Katie Woolf spoke with NT Farmers CEO Paul Burke · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Hello, Katie Wolf and three point sixty online at Mix
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  Speaker 1: one O four nine dot com. We know that hundreds
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  Speaker 1: of farmers as well as agribusiness owners and industry leaders
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  Speaker 1: are here in Darwin at the moment and it's all
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  Speaker 1: part of the Northern Australia Food Futures Conference. Joining us
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  Speaker 1: on the line to tell us a bit more about it.
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  Speaker 1: NT Farmers CEO Paul Burke, Good morning to you, Paul good.
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  Speaker 2: A, Katie Gooday listeners, Paul, tell.
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  Speaker 1: Us a bit more about this conference.
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  Speaker 2: So two Futures. It was the brainchild of a gentleman
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  Speaker 2: called Ian Baker about six years ago. It's a bi
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  Speaker 2: annual event and it's grown now to be the largest
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  Speaker 2: agricultural event in North Australia. So it's quite exciting. We've
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  Speaker 2: got over three hundred and fifty people coming from into
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  Speaker 2: state and over or five hundred delegates and about forty exhibitors,
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  Speaker 2: so we're certainly trying to fill up.
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  Speaker 1: Darwin, I reckon, So doing your bit for tourism, that's
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  Speaker 1: for sure. Tell us Paul, what kind of things are
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  Speaker 1: they discussing on so that you know that we talk
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  Speaker 1: about our food futures. Surely over the last year, the
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  Speaker 1: whole you know, the whole outlook, I guess has changed
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  Speaker 1: and some of the concerns and different things that are
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  Speaker 1: happening have probably changed quite substantially due to COVID.
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  Speaker 2: So we were still quite buoying about the industry. We
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  Speaker 2: think we've got a really strong pathway forward. So a
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  Speaker 2: lot of what we'll be talking about is how we
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  Speaker 2: balance agricultural development with the environment. It's critical we protect
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  Speaker 2: our environment in the territory. It's one of the big
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  Speaker 2: draw cards of why people come to the territory. So
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  Speaker 2: making sure that agriculture and the environment can coexist across
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  Speaker 2: the landscape, that's the really big key message for us.
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  Speaker 1: And you know, we know that Northern Australia is such
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  Speaker 1: a massive parth of really when we talk about some
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  Speaker 1: of our exports and the foods that we ship out
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  Speaker 1: to other locations, I mean, how integral is the Northern
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  Speaker 1: Territory in this space.
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  Speaker 2: It's becoming more integral. Now we've got a logistic hub
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  Speaker 2: base here at the airport. We're able to take freight
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  Speaker 2: straight out where previously we would be sending it to
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  Speaker 2: Queensland or in some cases Melbourne in order to get
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  Speaker 2: it out of Australia. So now we're direct out out
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  Speaker 2: of Darwin, so it's a very attractive option. It's a
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  Speaker 2: pretty short trip into Asia and we'll always said we
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  Speaker 2: with the gateway to Asia and we're finally becoming a reality.
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  Speaker 1: I mean, how has the startup of that facility change
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  Speaker 1: the way that we're doing things. Has it meant that
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  Speaker 1: we are getting a lot more out to other countries
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  Speaker 1: at this point?
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  Speaker 2: It certainly will do. It's been complex with COVID so
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  Speaker 2: we haven't been able to visit customers in country. So
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  Speaker 2: to build up a rapport with a customer you need
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  Speaker 2: some face to face interaction, so that has been complicated.
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  Speaker 2: But we will have melons going out very shortly. We're
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  Speaker 2: certainly looking forward to a lot of mangoes heading to
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  Speaker 2: Asia to make people smile.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, oh, we'll all be happy. And it's when the
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  Speaker 1: main goes are out. Hey, what else is on the
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  Speaker 1: agenda at the conference? And how long does it go for?
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  Speaker 2: So it goes right through until Thursday. We've got a
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  Speaker 2: National Farmers Federation event here as well, which is the
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  Speaker 2: first time National Farmer Federation had bought their entrage to
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  Speaker 2: daw and so we're going to be talking about how
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  Speaker 2: we get to one hundred billion dollar industry across Australia
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  Speaker 2: by twenty thirty and that's pretty exciting. That's an increase
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  Speaker 2: of about forty percent in agricultural production.
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  Speaker 1: Well, where does this conference usually happen? Is it always
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  Speaker 1: here in the territorial? Does it happen in different locations
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  Speaker 1: around Northern Australia.
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  Speaker 2: So the main conference is always in Darwin, but we
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  Speaker 2: run events called Food Futures road shows, so we run
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  Speaker 2: those right across the top of Australia. So the next
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  Speaker 2: one of those will be in Broom in September, and
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  Speaker 2: then we're off to Mariba a little bit later in
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  Speaker 2: the year, so we get around.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, our good stuff and good to be you know,
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  Speaker 1: in different parts of Australia. Lot Mariba, you know, it'd
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  Speaker 1: be great for them to have to have people there
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  Speaker 1: talking about this type of thing.
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  Speaker 2: It's great just to have farmers talking to farmers and
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  Speaker 2: farmers talking to regulators. It's a really really positive step forward.
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  Speaker 1: And mate in terms of you know, the number of
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  Speaker 1: people attending this conference. We were talking earlier to Tim
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  Speaker 1: Watsond from major events, we know that it was a
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  Speaker 1: massive weekend with Base in the Grass. But I guess
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  Speaker 1: when we talk about bringing people here to the territory
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  Speaker 1: for events, whether it's big events like Base or conferences
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  Speaker 1: like the one that you're at today, it does have
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  Speaker 1: a really positive impact on our economy and indeed on
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  Speaker 1: our tourism sector, doesn't it.
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  Speaker 2: It certainly does. I mean, just imagine you're running a
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  Speaker 2: farm in Ali Kraung and your closest coffee is a
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  Speaker 2: six hundred kilometer round trip just to come to dar
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  Speaker 2: and let your hair down, and amongst your peers certainly
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  Speaker 2: like to spend spend a dollar and have a the
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  Speaker 2: air and get out and experience what the top end
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  Speaker 2: dos all offer.
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  Speaker 1: Well, Paul, it's always good to catch up with you
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  Speaker 1: all the best stood the conference over the next few
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  Speaker 1: days and no doubt we'll talk again very soon.
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  Speaker 2: Thanks Codie, and have a great week you too.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you. NTI Farmers CEO there, Paul Burke, and yeah,
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  Speaker 1: great stuff. I mean, as we said, hundreds of farmers
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  Speaker 1: as well as those agri business owners and industry leaders
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  Speaker 1: all here in Darwin for the Northern Australia Food Futures Conference,
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  Speaker 1: and it means that they've got you know they've got
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  Speaker 1: fifty speakers there today, for example, all focused on that
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  Speaker 1: theme of balancing agri development and the environment in Northern Australia.
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  Speaker 1: Is such an important thing for them to be discussing,
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  Speaker 1: but also great for us to have this volume of
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  Speaker 1: visitors here at the moment. We know that there's always
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  Speaker 1: an influx of people during the dry season, but we
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  Speaker 1: can only hope that we get a really good dry
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  Speaker 1: season when it comes to visitors and when it comes
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  Speaker 1: to tourism, and really Goodness knows that our tourism operators
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  Speaker 1: and indeed our local businesses need after what was such
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  Speaker 1: a difficult year last year,