Farmers have rallied in tractors, trucks, and utes at the nation’s capital in Canberra, hosted by the National Farmers Federation.
The rally brought the concerns of farmers to the heart of democracy. Over 2,000 farmers and their families attended the rally, with more posting their support from paddocks and pastures online. A convoy of trucks and tractors also traversed the Parliamentary Circle, drawing attention to seven key concerns raised by primary producers, which included live-export bans, red tape and renewable development impacts.
Cowra's own former Vice President of the NSW Farmers Chris Groves, attended the rally. Mr Groves said the event came at a high cost to farming families, who have felt cast aside by those in the capital cities.
“I’m a very firm believer in that the world is run by those that turn up. ” When I first got involved, it was back in 2002. The sheep meat industry was just starting to take off."
A key issue close to Mr Groves was the impact of removing live export and its impact on WA and NSW farmers, saying that Australia's accountability and standards meant the industry at large would lose Australia's positive influence on animal welfare.
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"We are setting the benchmark for animal welfare standards for live export, and other countries without those standards will continue to live exporting because there's such a huge demand."
"There's a huge market there, that will be filled, and it's such a shame that government decided to shut down a legitimate industry."
He added, "A healthy and happy animal is a productive animal... what does a farmer want? We want good production."
Mr Groves, who presented a motion to the recent NSW Farmers state conference on land use rights and notifications for local landholders affected by development, said politicians needed to listen to those most affected by policies made in the city for country families.
Mr Groves added a swathe of issues brought up at the rally; "You've got the proposed biosecurity levy, sitting in the halls of Parliament House somewhere. The government want it, but they can't pin down and say how they're going to do it. You've got water buybacks, you've got 88 day visas for workers - if the government is threatening to pull that - producers are not going to get their produce off the trees."
President of the National Farming Federation, David Jochinke, told the rally he had met with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese only half an hour before the event. Mr Albanese, and newly minted Agricultural Minister Julie Collins did not attend.
“It’s those who show up, have their voice heard, so we must be loud,” Mr Jochinke Said. “The message is simple: we hold the solutions to most problems in agriculture. We are some of the best farmers in the world … we need to talk to the general public, we need them to know without us the country is stuffed. So, there is a very simple thing we have to say: No farmers, no food.”
Cowra’s Chris Groves echoed similar disappointment to Mr Jochinke at the absence of Labor leaders.
"The big farmer protest was 1 July 1985, and 100,000 farmers mobilised - Bob Hawke did come out and had the guts to front them when he was going to take away a diesel fuel rebate away." said Groves, adding "There were 3000 farmers in Canberra and he didn't even come out. We did think, gee, Canberra was a lot more productive when it was a sheep station."
No matter the location or the property, NSW Farmers State President Xavier Martin said more work would be done once the rally had concluded.
“Farmers have always put food on the table for Australians and clothes on our backs, but decisions are being made in Canberra that are making it more and more impossible to do this,” Mr Martin said.
“We need good decisions out of Canberra that support the farmers who quite literally feed and clothe our nation … The water, land and workers needed to grow our food is being taken away by bad decisions, and we need to act now to keep our farmers farming before our food security is thrown into real jeopardy.”
