Federal Agriculture Minister David Littleproud has pledged $10 million for the industry to harness energy efficient equipment and $8 million to install a dairy advocate at the competition watchdog.
In his pre-election pitch at the National Press Club on Wednesday, Mr Littleproud also offered $5 million for dairy farming to boost their collective market power through co-operative measures.
Opposition agriculture spokesman Joel Fitzgibbon is offering farmers a minimum farmgate milk price if Labor wins the election next week.
“It’s the only way to ensure our dairy farmers have a living wage,” Mr Fitzgibbon said.
“We are losing our dairy industry. They are leaving en masse. And it’s not an overstatement to say if we don’t do something about it, we won’t have a dairy industry in this country.”
Mr Littleproud described the floor price as a cruel hoax.
“The reality is if you set a floor price, it sets a price below what they’re prepared to pay and you’re talking about a perishable product,” he said.
“There will be a point where it all falls apart.”
The minister said it could also undermine international trade agreements – not only for dairy, but for other commodities too.
“This is a dangerous thing to do – you’ve got to go and tell people the truth, not tell them what they want to hear,” Mr Littleproud said.
As the debate was under way in Canberra, Opposition Leader Bill Shorten met with six Gilmore dairy farmers in a Nowra coffee shop on the NSW south coast, who told him the industry was facing a catastrophe.
Rob Miller told AAP he had been impressed with Mr Shorten’s knowledge of the industry and understanding of the problem.
The group was particularly keen to explain the 10-cent levy on milk the big supermarkets were charging customers wasn’t that helpful to farmers, because it was only on one product line.
One of the farmers said he supplied Bega Cheese and therefore saw none of the increase in milk prices.
The Labor leader committed to coming back to them within 30 days if he becomes prime minister on May 18.
Mr Shorten told the farmers he wanted to “redefine the relationship between Labor and the bush, between Labor and farmers”.
He also said he understood the big challenge of facing asymmetry in bargaining power.
“It’s like sitting on a seesaw against a 10-tonne unit.”