The reviewers slammed the overregulation of the industry and outlined a number of key recommendations to improve efficiency across the supply chain.

Commissioner Paul Lindwall said it confirmed farmers were straining under a heavy burden of regulation.

"Farmers face complex regulations at every stage of the supply chain - from land acquisition to marketing. These are imposed by multiple agencies across three levels of government," Lindwall said. 

"The resulting duplication, inconsistency and redundancy this creates in areas such as heavy vehicle and road use regulation should be addressed promptly." 

The report told the agribusiness sector nothing we didn’t already know. The important thing, though, is that this time it is the country’s leading independent economic agency belling the cat.

The National Farmers Federation (NFF) has welcomed the draft report, and backed calls for continued consultation to better support farmers to understand their obligations. 

They say that draft report correctly identifies that reducing the regulatory burden and improving efficiency across all sectors is absolutely critical.

Agriculture is particularly vulnerable due to its high dependence on international markets. 

It is important to understand that farmers aren't against regulation.

In fact, certain regulations have positioned the industry very strongly - for example, our strong biosecurity regime has reduced our overall risk of pest and disease. 

However, things are getting right out of hand when expectations are so high that farmers spend inordinate amounts of unpaid time being data collectors for government.

This at a time when they can’t make a living off the land they own, maintain and pay rates on because of more and more regulatory requirements.

Farmers deliver a reliable, consistent and sustainable supply of high-quality food and fibre products for millions of domestic and international customers.

And yet, they are being hampered in efforts to seize these opportunities through a tangle of complex regulations that increase costs to industry and governments, and limit their competitiveness.

We used to hear a lot about the triple bottom line – balancing economic, social and environmental concerns.

It is not something we see or hear about very often these days from governments.

It is about time that some balance is brought back into the impact officialdom has on farmers’ day-to-day lives.

It’s about time governments stopped talking about doing something about red tape and bureaucratic inefficiencies – and actually did something other than produce reports.