From The Hon. Scott Barrett MLC, NSW Nationals Member of the Legislative Council
When you think of a farmer, some familiar images come to mind. The stockman driving a mob of cattle, fruit being picked in a misty orchard or a tractor rolling over a golden crop. But increasingly, and much to their frustration, I’m speaking to farmers who spend a significant portion of their time in front a computer, fighting for the status quo.
More and more time is being spent not on the farm, but buried in scoping reports, writing submissions and reading reports on major infrastructure projects threatening their communities and farming operations. Hours at information sessions and consultation meetings, on the phone, and writing emails to politicians, departments and multinational corporations who they have very little influence over.
Farmers are being forced into offices, away from the work they do damn well, simply to fight for their existence. They're fighting new rules, regulations and unwanted developments that threaten their farms, their livelihoods and their future. These aren't battles they went looking for. They've been thrust upon them by the decisions of others, often people with little understanding of the practical impacts on regional communities.
AdvertisementOne of the clearest examples is the relentless rollout of renewable energy infrastructure. While we're told everyone supports these projects, across regional NSW farmers and local communities are burning countless hours dealing with the consequences. Instead of farming, they're being forced to become experts in environmental impact statements, state significant development processes and bureaucratic language.
To make it worse, far too often their concerns are acknowledged with little more than a box ticked to say consultation occurred and without any real changes being made to the original plan.
People love to celebrate farmers and to say clichés like "thank a farmer”. That's great, but instead of platitudes, how about we stop making things harder for farmers and farming communities and stop cutting them off at the knees. Show some respect. Let farmers produce the food and fibre we all rely on, which they do better than anyone in the world, rather than railroading them during this relentless roll-out of renewables.
