Greetings from Bannister dairy, in the currently very cold southwest.
I’m speaking outside the 2 bedroom home, no electricity, running water or bathroom, of the pioneers of the south west dairy industry, the Daubney family.
Absolute pioneers, no home to greet them, just thick forests, blocking out the sun. But back then at least they didn’t have to submit environmental plans , and await years for environmental approvals, just work day after day, long hours with their manual handsaw to cut the trees, make the fence posts, clear some land for their cows, make their furniture and finally, make this 2 bedroom home for their 11 young children and themselves. True net zero lives, tough as hell.
No shops around, not even any take away shops to pick up a hamburger when the mother was having another baby, so for more than 10 years, all they ate was the bread and butter they made every day, and, occasional wildlife they killed.
No electric machines to help make the butter, firstly they had to every day milk the cows by hand early in the mornings, despite the freezing cold in winters, then separate the milk and cream.
A lengthy daily manual task, so that they had some cream to make into butter. Another lengthy manual task, no electricity to help.
The pioneers were firmly rooted in making a better living for their family. A better future for the next generations. The Daubney family still works the farm today, indeed proudly working and achieving multi awards for their produce, including for nations best creams and milks including chocolate delight flavoured milk.
Practical people, people who had to use common sense, 20 20 vision, with no room to be blurred by ideology, as they worked hard and survived.
Fast forward to our fantastic farmers today.
Heartbreaking. Isn’t it.
Many of Our farmers and their families and farms are already suffering from net zero ideology. As we speed up climategate , there’ll be worse to come. Australia still being in The Paris accord will saddle them with net zero restrictions, paperwork and huge expense, they already have more than enough to worry about, with devastating droughts, floods, fires, jail and fines if clear land to make their family, staff and investment safe, rising taxes, poor health facilities in country areas , plus toxic solar panels, mainly foreign owned, and the fire risk of the transmission lines and wind towers, and more. They don’t need to have the added expense of complying to net zero emission reductions, some of the farm equipment they need to use, doesn’t even exist in electric form. How can such a path assure Australians that we will be able to enjoy top quality Australian agriculture in the future?
Let’s recognise with clear 20 20 vision, that Farming is an essential industry, farm produce, minus possibly, tobacco, alcohol and sugar, is essential to all Australians.
I know why I’m investing in the bush summit and Adam and I are investing our time too, it’s to help people better understand the struggles of our farmers, opening minds to the extra difficulties, bad government policies and increasing government tape, the worst of these being associated with the Paris accord adding very serious harm to our farmers. As well as increasing taxes. Loans to farmers already struggling with high debt, is not the right answer, dealing firstly with these government caused problems is. The farmers you saw on the video clips they were only highlighting the impact wrongly called renewables were having on their farms and lives, the impact will greatly increase when they have to also deal with net zero themselves. It’s not even assured that the renewables electricity harming their farms and lives will even reach the farmers, so they’d face the net zero ramifications of their fossil fuelled electricity and essential machinery, without that offset. Farmers have it hard enough as it is, they are stuggling, farmers are already leaving the agriculture industry, if you add net zero cost and tape burdens, buying equipment that doesn’t exist, unreliable , inadequate more expensive electricity, inflating costs overall, how can our farmers survive?
I hope the farmers shown today and their plight will touch the minds and even hearts of all the media bush summit provides, and that its journos call on our government to excuse this essential industry from the Paris accord as a priority, and let our struggling farmers know, the bush summit hasn’t forgotten those in the bush, does have real regard for their interests and will stand up for them.
Thank you.
