Federal Member for Parkes Mark Coulton claims Prime Minster Anthony Albanese refused to attend the National Farmer Rally outside Parliament House earlier this week, ignoring farmers who travelled from the New England to plead with the Labor Government to stop its anti-farming agenda.
Mr Coulton said the Prime Minister had once again demonstrated complete contempt towards farmers and rural, regional and remote Australia.
“For the Prime Minister to ignore our farmers, many who have spent days on end driving to Canberra, shows that Labor doesn’t care about our agriculture industry,” Mr Coulton said.
“Our Prime Minister isn’t interested in helping or even listening to those who produce our nation’s food and fibre.
“Agriculture Minister Julie Collins didn’t attend the rally either, which is incredibly disappointing given she has only just been appointed as Agriculture Minister.
“The Labor Government continues to decimate the industry and the anger and frustration being felt by farmers is sadly understandable. All our farmers want is a fair go and to continue feeding and clothing the country.”
Mr Coulton said the National Farmer Rally organisers were calling for sensible changes including scrapping the truckie tax, scrapping new taxes for biosecurity and superannuation, scrapping water buybacks in the Murray-Darling Basin and protecting the Great Artesian Basin, scrapping unnecessary red tape from emissions reporting, known as Scope 3, and scrapping reckless renewables which will rip up prime agricultural land, protecting the 88-day backpacker visa, as well as overturning the decision to ban live sheep exports by sea.
Deputy Leader of The Nationals and Shadow Water Minister, Senator Perin Davey said she stands by the farmers protesting about the Albanese Government’s anti-agriculture agenda.
“Whether it is banning live sheep exports, making business report on scope three emissions – which will flow down to farm businesses, the biosecurity farmer tax or water buybacks; this Labor Government does not care about one of our most productive sectors.
“Cuts to regional infrastructure, covering prime agricultural land in renewables and transmission lines and focussing on inner city issues is increasingly making our regional communities, including the community I live in, feel isolated.
Davey is calling on the Government halt further water buybacks until it can clarify the true costs.
Senator Davey said recently released results of the previous buyback show the Government has in some cases paid 200% over the going market rate for water products while the cost to the local communities is ignored.
NSW Farmers Conservation and Resource Management Committee Chair and Tenterfield farmer Bronwyn Petrie said the environmental credentials of the agricultural sector were not being accurately portrayed by special interest groups and activist agendas, who continued to peddle fake news to influence politicians, which is behind the anti-farming policies of the Albanese government.
“Ill-informed activist agendas have gone too far and threaten to prevent farmers from protecting the environment as they produce the food and fibre that feeds the nation, as well as our export markets,” Mrs Petrie said.
“Claims that land clearing is out of control in agriculture are simply wrong and counterproductive to what should be a unified effort to care for our environment,” Mrs Petrie said.
“There is clear evidence that partnering with farmers improves conservation outcomes – such as the fact that forest cover in NSW has increased every year since 2007 – but this being is ignored by those who simply want to sell a message.”
“These requests are common sense solutions and without changes, Labor will make farming unviable,” Mr Coulton said.
“The National Farmer Rally is the biggest in a generation – it has been more than 40 years since farmers have had to march on Parliament House because a federal government has made them feel so aggrieved.
“The Nationals proudly support those attending the rally. We will always stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our farmers and will continue to fight for farming and the future of regional, rural and remote Australia.”
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