AT a Bush Summit in Townsville last week, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese spoke about how his government valued agriculture.
Unfortunately, his government’s actions do not match his words.
Let’s face it, Australia has probably never had a government that is more anti-agriculture.
Media reports and commentary following Mr Albanese’s speech at the summit have centred around the government’s shutdown of the live sheep export trade (which Mr Albanese apparently sees as a joke), unnecessary water buybacks in the Murray-Darling Basin and the shelved biosecurity levy.
Then there are the industrial relations changes which will make it more difficult and expensive to harvest our food.
Recent media reports have also pointed out how Australians in general value farmers, but these same farmers do not feel this is the case.
Unfortunately, this is occurring because city-based ministers, such as Environment and Water Minister Tanya Plibersek, seem to have plenty of time and high regard for fellow city-based activists but little or no time for the farmers that her Prime Minister claims are “valued”.
Ms Plibersek continues to ignore numerous requests to visit parts of the southern Murray-Darling Basin that are most impacted by her water buybacks as those with lived experience try to explain the complexities of water management and ways in which it can be effectively managed to provide sustainable farming and rural communities while protecting the environment.
With farmers and the communities on which they rely unable to have open, solution-based conversations with the responsible minister, is it any wonder they feel dejected and ignored?
As a nation we need to have a serious review of how farmers are being treated, how they feel and the reasons behind mental health issues that are being exacerbated for those who believe they are being ignored by political leaders at the same time as they work long and hard to feed families not just throughout Australia but throughout the world.
As the former Northern Territory Labor government has discovered, a failure to listen to the constituency and act on their concerns can have a devastating impact at the ballot box.
If Mr Albanese and Ms Plibersek don’t swap the rhetoric for action in rural Australia, the payback time may come when votes are cast in the first half of next year.
Shelley Scoullar
