Avocados Australia represented at The National Table summit

Avocados Australia joins delegates at NFF Leaders Summit

Last week, Avocados Australia CEO Milton Bazley and Market Development Manager Hayleigh Dawson attended the National Farmers’ Federation’s 2026 Leaders’ Summit, The National Table. The summit brought together farmers, industry leaders and policymakers came to examine agriculture’s growing role in shaping national priorities.

Prime Minister the Hon Anthony Albanese MP, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry the Hon Julie Collins MP, Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury the Hon Dr Andrew Leigh MP, and other key delegates were in attendance across the event’s proceedings.

Minister Collins addressed the Summit, congratulating the sector on surpassing $100 billion in agricultural production four years ahead of schedule and announcing consultation on a domestic low carbon liquid fuels industry, alongside the Government’s $14 billion Fuel Resilience Package and continued biosecurity investment.

An opportunity to reflect on what’s next

Growing through uncertainty

The summit was structured around four key sessions. The first, growing through uncertainty, looked at productivity and the next phase of growth, exploring how agriculture can keep growing in a less predictable operating environment.

The second session examined ‘an uncertain world’ – the implications of geopolitical tension, trade disruption, strategic competition and global instability for Australian agriculture.

Shared ground

The third, shared ground, considered how agriculture, energy transition, housing and critical minerals increasingly intersect and compete for land use across regional Australia.

Trust, expectations and the industry’s place

The final session was about trust, expectations and agriculture’s place. It explored how the sector is viewed in a changing society and how it can continue to build influence, trust and relevance in national conversations.

The day concluded with celebrations at Parliament House’s Great Hall, where the Prime Minister delivered an address marking the milestone.

The Prime Minister highlighted the scale of the sector’s growth since the $100 billion target was first set in 2018, when the industry was worth $60 billion. He pointed to the following commodities contributing to an overall increase of more than $42 billion:

• horticulture up 59 per cent
• grain production up 128 per cent
• cattle up 83 per cent
• sheep up 70 per cent

The evening reception brought together industry and government to celebrate the achievement, and encouraged attendees to look ahead to the next chapter for agriculture.

This article appears as part of the 27 August 2026 issue of Guacamole, our e-Newsletter.