Politicians representing some of the richest food-producing territory in the country are calling for the government to adopt a bold tax reform proposed by Foodbank Australia.
While some Australians go hungry, enough food to fill the MCG nine times over is thrown away by farmers and growers each year.
Australia's top hunger relief charity says incentives for growers will encourage them to divert potential waste to those who can give it to the one-in-three households experiencing some lack of food.
Foodbank concedes the incentive will not completely cover the increased cost for growers to transport excess produce but argues a tax break to reduce the burden will give more kind-hearted businesses a reason to help tackle food insecurity.
While transportation challenges for getting food to hungry families would seem less acute in the regions, Indi MP Helen Haines said her constituents are some of the hardest hit by food poverty.
"Emergency food relief has become something that happens outside of key emergencies," Ms Haines said.
"I would be very surprised if any farmer I knew thought that that was a bad idea."
Hunger issues are particularly acute among renters and households containing someone with a disability, indicating the government's cost-of-living relief measures are not doing enough to ease food security pressures.
The proposal to give farmers financial incentives for donations is nothing new, with Liberal senator Dean Smith introducing a private member's bill with crossbench support to create the scheme in 2024.
But the crossbenchers supporting their former colleague want more cost-of-living relief, saying by easing the burden of other costs more money can be spent on decent meals.
"When we raised the rate for JobSeeker, we saw food insecurity improve. The government could do that right now," Ms Haines said.
– by Tom Wark
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