The Queensland Farmers’ Federation (QFF) has welcomed the passing of the Criminal Code Amendment (Agricultural Protection) Bill 2019 by the Federal Parliament today, which criminalises the publication of material, via a carriage service, with intent to incite trespass, property damage and theft on agricultural land.
Coupled with the recent passing of the Future Drought Fund to assist farmers with drought resilience, preparedness and recovery, QFF has commended the Federal Government for prioritising agriculture in the months following the 2019 election.
QFF CEO Travis Tobin thanked the federal government for its recognition that agriculture was a key pillar of the nation’s economy and for delivering a couple of commitments that will improve the operating environment for the sector.
“Over the past couple of years, the actions of animal activists towards legitimate businesses have become more disruptive and extreme,” Mr Tobin said.
“In Queensland, there has been a disturbing change in the way animal rights groups have pursued their cause. Peaceful protesting and marches on public property have been replaced with highly organised and threatening invasions of livestock farms and processing facilities.”
“People are welcome to their opinions, but this type of action and online tools such as Aussie Farms are neither appropriate nor helpful. These tools have aided coordinated activist actions, which has seen farmers and their families put under unwarranted distress and posed unacceptable risks to their businesses.”
“We appreciate the government consulting with the agriculture sector and taking a harder stand against these actions and ensuring that the legal protections and the punishments reflect the crimes.”
QFF is also looking forward to working with the government to get the right settings and implementation processes in place for programs under the Future Drought Fund.
“Drought reform is never easy for farmers or government but with droughts predicted to be more frequent and intense in the future, governments have an important role to play in helping farm businesses become better prepared and more resilient,” Mr Tobin said.
“That means increasing the level of proactive, ongoing investment in the right areas and we give full credit to the federal government for recognising that a new drought funding model was needed to ensure farmers can continue feeding, clothing and growing amenity for the world.”