FARMERS descended on the nation’s capital last Tuesday to voice their frustrations over environmental laws and their effects on farmers and landholders.
More than 2000 farmers from across NSW including some Highlanders did get their point across with the announcement of a Senate inquiry into land-clearing and environmental laws.
The rally came off the back of Cooma farmer Peter Spencer’s 52-day hunger strike, who made headlines around Australia in his fight for compensation over land clearing laws that he said rendered his property unviable.
Robertson farmers Jack and Lynette Skipper and Bob Cooper attended the gathering.
Mr Cooper said he went to the protest as a matter of principal.
“I don’t totally agree with what Peter Spencer did starving himself like that,” he said.
“At the same time I admired what he did. Being a man of considerable principal, while I am not directly affected at this point in time, I just felt that numbers and support were necessary to push Spencer’s cause.”
Mr Cooper has a 2500-acre farm up north near Kempsey that he breeds Angus cattle on and a 100-acre property at Robertson.
It is the property near Kempsey in particular that he thinks would be affected by land clearing and environmental laws.
Mr Cooper said he has around 300 acres, which was on a perpetual lease, and the state government has been encouraging people to convert to freehold.
“This has been going on for about three or four years and everything was with the state government at the moment for transfer.
“I suspect that the state government would do a transfer and they then can say, yeah, you could have the freehold but here are the conditions.
“So it might not be a total vegetation problem but I almost guarantee it would be partially with heavy restrictions.
“That is surmising on the outcome but that is how I figure it would be.
“This is only speculating I would say they would allow you to run stock on the place, but not touch any timber.
“We look after our dirt but if we need material for fencing you go and fell a couple of trees - but you don’t clear it wholesale. I can’t see the government saying you couldn’t touch anything.
“There are two problems if you get restrictions on a place but you could still use it.
“By that I mean if you can’t clear it you can’t improve your capacity to earn more money off it.
“That is one sort of impediment. The second was with Peter Spencer they had virtually said ‘you can’t touch it per se’ so it winds up as an absolute waste of space from which he pays rates.”
NSW Farmers’ Association president Charles Armstrong said the rally showed there were serious concerns that needed to be examined.
“The NSW Farmers’ Association has been working for years to get Government to understand how badly these laws effect production for farmers, and we are very pleased the Senate will look at these issues,” he said.
“We are extremely worried that farmers continually face an erosion of their property rights through governmental legislation that often doesn’t recognise this impact.
“The Productivity Commission estimates that the cost in lost production caused by bans placed on farmers developing their own land is $600 million annually.
“The policy makers must understand that farmland is the actual means of production for a farmer, not simply the site for a house, a shop or a factory.”
A committee will travel to Wagga Wagga, Shepparton, Tamworth, Rockhampton and Perth, gathering information on how the laws affect farmers and landholders.
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