Incoming Labor agricultural and rural policies

But the party has outlined a number of its rural and agricultural policies.

Here's what you need to know.

Labor has committed to delivering all water commitments, including both the 605 gigalitre and 450 gigalitre figures. It has not ruled out using water buybacks if the targets are not reached by the mid-2024 deadline, although Labor insists compulsory water entitlement acquisitions is not part of its policy.

NSW and Victoria have indicated several of their water saving projects will not be completed by the deadline. Labor says it will hold all states to their commitments and promised to determine the cause of the project delays. The party has indicated it is not open to extending the 2024 deadline.

The party plans to increase compliance and monitoring by ensuring the Inspector General of Water Compliance has the resources, penalties and powers to crack down on those breaking the rules.

Labor vowed to increase transparency by implementing relevant ACCC water market recommendations and make the Murray Darling Basin Authority's modelling and data publicly available where possible. It also wants to create a unique common identified to enable water trades to be traced and t

A "no meter, no pump policy" will be rolled out across the entire basin and $29m will be used to immediately improve metering and measuring, including improvements in measuring water collected through floodplain and overland flow harvesting.

Labor has also committed $12m to updating the science underpinning the plan and promised to deliver the $40m of cultural water promised to First Nations people.

Labor will establish its own version of the Coalition's agriculture visa, targeting the Pacific instead of South East Asia. The four-year ag visa would be established under the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility and would allow movement between farms.

Labor promised the government - not farmers - would cover the up-front cost of bringing over Pacific workers. It's understood a Labor government would pay all but $300 of the airfares to bring over a Pacific worker.

The reforms would also make it easier for Pacific workers to fill labour shortages by allowing participants of the Pacific Labour Scheme to bring in family members to live and work in Australia, then engage them to stay by promoting permanent residency on a new Pacific Engagement Visa.

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Although the government will not pursue the Coalition's version of the ag visa, it has promised to honour the deal struck with Vietnam, which was the only country to sign up to the visa.

The agriculture Industry is sceptical Labor's ag visa will be able to deliver the low-to-high skilled jobs the sector was desperately in need of.

Labor will also establish Jobs and Skills Australia as a national partnership to drive VET education and strengthen workforce, and create 465,000 new fee-free TAFE places in areas with labour shortages.

Labor will phase out live sheep exports, but has refused to put a timeline on winding the industry down.

The party has promised to consult with the industry and the Western Australia on what needs to happen given the industry has been in decline for the past 20 years.

Labor said it would not change the live export of cattle and would "continue to support this important industry".

Labor has promised to deliver long-term sustainable funding for the nation's biosecurity system as foot and mouth disease and lumpy skin threaten to breach the northern borders.

For several years, the agriculture industry has been calling for a long-term funding model for biosecurity. Labor has yet to reveal the details of how its policy would be implemented. The Coalition has scrapped its plan for a levy on importers and is now developing a cost-recovery model.

Labor committed to doubling the number of Indigenous Rangers and boost funding for Indigenous Protected Areas, to assist with the early detection of exotic animal disease in those areas. It's feared that diseases such as FMD and African swine flu could spread across the country if allowed to run rampant in Australia's large feral animal population.

The policy also included adopting livestock traceability reforms, an additional 20 biosecurity detector dogs and 10 dog handlers.

Labor will improve biosecurity capabilities including addressing the potential impact of lumpy skin disease, supporting the adoption of livestock traceability reforms and reducing the impact of pests and weeds.

Labor's climate action policy is to reduce Australia's emissions by 43 percent by 2030 - which the party says will become Australia's target under the Paris Agreement and put the nation on track for net zero by 2050.

As part of this policy Labor has already announced $8 million to encourage the development of the Australian seaweed farming industry. This research is important with the use of asparagopsis in feed when it comes to reducing methane emissions from livestock.

The policy has no cap on agricultural emissions and a strong focus on carbon sequestration in soil. Labor also promised to review and strengthen the Emission Reduction Fund guidelines, to ensure the integrity of all carbon projects and their credits.

The incoming government has vowed to improve protections for farmers against unfair contract terms with meaningful protection, safeguarding small business, contractors and smaller scale suppliers from exploitation.

Labor would make unfair contract terms illegal, giving businesses with fewer than 100 staff or a turnover of less than $10 million genuine protection against dodgy contracts. Once dodgy contracts are illegal, the competition watchdog will be able to issue civil penalties to those who use them.

This policy will include small farms and agricultural contractors and suppliers, which meet the above definition. Labor says it will legislate the reform, which the farm sector and small businesses have been calling for.

Labor will revamp the $4.7-billion Emergency Response Fund, renaming it the Disaster Ready Fund. Every year, $200m from the fund will be used on disaster mitigation projects to help reduce the impact of disasters when they happen.

To support meat and plant industries, Labor will improve existing regulations that deliver accurate and clear food labelling for products so that consumers have informed choice.

Labor will also commit to working with the seafood and hospitality sectors to implement mandatory country of origin labelling to support the Australian seafood industry.

Labor will provide $6 million for Beef Week 2024 - Australia's largest beef expo, along with $6 million towards other regional trade events including Casino Beef Week, LambEx, horticultural conferences and agritech industry events.

Labor will also support the convening of a second Dairy Symposium.

Labor has committed $16.7 million towards establishing an Agri Tech Hub in Richmond NSW.

The hub will include a high-tech industry partnered greenhouse array, supported by industry engaged research clusters in food technology, land use management and consumer demand. It will focus on creating jobs, attracting industry, and developing a sustainable approach to future peri-urban farming in our increasingly complex and changing cities, and on a global scale.

To help diversify the sector, open up new possibilities for trade and create more jobs and economic activity in the regions, Labor will reserve $500 million of its National Reconstruction Fund specifically for agriculture, forestry, fisheries, food and fibre.

Labor's National Reconstruction Fund is also available to support regional businesses such as in food manufacturing as they meet the challenges of entering new markets, the adoption of new technologies or processes and adapting to a low carbon world.

It will also support investment in value-adding production, expand the domestic and export market and strengthen our national supply chain resilience.

The party will invest $250 million towards expanding the Local Roads and Community Infrastructure program to support projects and upgrade roads in every part of Australia - particularly in outer-urban and regional areas.

We will also help 10,000 Australian families a year in regional areas to buy their first home.

Labor will triple the number of regional places in the First Home Loan Deposit scheme to 10,000 that Australians living in regional areas received last year under the current First Home Loan Deposit Scheme.