Greens introduce new 'country of origin' labelling laws to support local growers

The Australian Greens are urging the major parties support farmers and workers in the Riverland by backing a new push for country of origin labelling laws.

Senator for South Australia Penny Wright said the Greens would introduce new legislation for mandatory labelling in the Senate this week.

"Everyone wants to support our farmers and workers by buying local, but the current labelling laws are too confusing and can be misleading," said Senator Wright.

"The Riverland's farmers and food manufacturers are under serious pressure. The Greens' bill will remove the confusion by establishing clear labels for country of origin claims.

"This should be a no brainer. It's so straight forward and is something the entire nation and parliament can get behind."

Under the Greens legislation, common terms like "product of" or "grown in" will be clearly defined and confusing terms like "made from local and imported ingredients" will be prohibited.

Senator Wright urged locals to get behind the campaign and encourage their local Member of Parliament to support the laws.

"Every party says it supports a simpler system, but every time legislation comes up, they find ways to appease the big corporations.

"It's time the other parties were honest with Australian farmers and food manufacturers and chose to get behind them rather than the big corporates.