G’day Agmates,

In case you have managed to get over here – the Community site is on another server and has just gone down – It’s 4.15pm and they are working on getting it back up. It will be at least 2 hours.

Cheers Steve

Australian farmer Peter Spencer is in the 16th day of a hunger strike. He is sitting on a 2 metre platform high up on a 300 foot pole on his farm.

Australia’s King of Talk back radio Alan Jones interview Peter by mobile phone this morning. Click the image to go to the 2GB site and listen to this riveting interview.

Click image to listen to interview in full

Extracts from the interview:

Alan Jones: This man Peter Spencer is in the 14th day of a hunger strike to bring attention to his plight. He say’s – quote – the Government can compensate the carbon polluters – but not the victims of climate change like me.

Alan Jones: Perter Good morning.

Peter Spencer - Good morning

AJ – You’re up the pole with a mobile phone.

PS – I want to make a comment. This is not about Peter Spencer. This is about the 87.5 million tonnes (of CO2) which is the entire commitment that Rudd (Australian prime Minister Kevin Rudd) is going Copenhagen which is all the abatement they have to meet the Kyoto international treaty. The entire amount was met by these farms locked up across Australia. He’s go no other abatement to go with.

AJ – So the other way (to cut emissions) is to prevent you clearing your land so that trees retain the carbon?

AJ – The first thing is the Federal Government said that you can’t clear your land and that’s certainly true in Queensland and everywhere else, because by keeping the trees and making your land unviable for agriculture and everything else – then you are going to lock up the carbon.

Now am I right in saying there is something like 109 million hectares of Australian families private property under these sorts of management laws.

PS – Alan you have it spot on.

AJ – Lets go to the next step. And so by taking that land the Government has reduced our carbon emissions by 22%, which has enabled Australia to met it’s Kyoto Treaty obligations.

PS – That’s correct. It dropped from 130% to 108% and the Australian farmers paid the entire tab.

AJ – So basically the effected farming families have paid for all the cost of mitigating carbon dioxide emissions and thtas the only reason why Prime Minister Rudd can go to Copenhagen saying Australia has met its Kyoto targets.

AJ – So by reducing broad scale land clearing, there, Queensland and everywhere else since 1990, farmers have effectively offset what you call substantial increases in greenhouse gas emissions from other sectors, namely energy.

So without all of this Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions would be 30% above 1990 levels rather than where they are today and the farmers have been responsible for virtually the entire share of the nations greenhouse gas emissions reductions

PS- Exactly

AJ – So those efforts worth Billions of dollars have not been financially rewarded by the government.

PS – Their farms have been devastated. All of this has to be corrected.

AJ – So the levels of emissions reduced effectively by farmers is equal to eliminating the total annual emissions of NZ or Ireland.

AJ - Australia has been able to meet its international treaty obligations, pretending its a civilized and progressive and reformist state., but in the process has stole the citizens property, breaking even I supposed our most basic human rights.

Peter King: Yes and of course it has not been done in an obvious way and i think that’s why very few people other than yourself and others will recognize this problem. it all derives from article 3 in the Kyoto Protocol – a special dispensation to Australia.

AJ – Lets go back to Peter (Spencer). What exactly are you wanting. I know Peter King your lawyer is going to take this matter to the high court, but what are you wanting?

PS – First of all it’s day 16 of my hunger strike. We have been trying to get to court now – we’ve been in the high court a number of times trying to get heard and what they constantly do – they move to strike us out – so we can never present our evidence. Poor peter (King) has been trying now for almost 2 years, trying to get the case presented and hear the evidence – all the court does is look to see if we should be struck out or not.

AJ – So have you not eaten in for 16 days?

PS – No

AJ – Unbelievable. You say to Kevin Rudd in your letter, you say, Peter has written to Kevin Rudd – a long letter in part it says

As you prepare for Copenhagen think of us the Australians who paid the entire carbon tab while you rewarded the polluters, the power generators and the coal industries and lied to the people about our role. Please do not lie in Copenhagen. Tell the world how you achieved your targets and the fact that you stole your achievement. I beg you to show the world this submission and the attachments and see if they applaud you as the white knight of global warming. I’ll be placing it on the web and in the hands of the global media.

AJ – Now Peter, I must before i go, implore you. To say look, let the rest of us fight this battle for you through the media, through the public, through public opinion, we don’t want you to be sacrificed in the battle. Please think about coming down from that 300 foot pole that you are up. Give yourself a good feed, get the energy together so that you can continue to mount this case and I’m sure now the nation at large will be aware of the problem.I think you should take the advise of Peter (King), come down from the pole and we’ll start again.

PS - Alan can I just say something to you?

AJ – Yes

PS – Thank you very much. I’m not coming down, I’m not coming down until he (PM Kevin Rudd) to the terms that I gave him. He can dig a hole and bury me if he wants to. These Australian farmers have to be fixed.

Click here to visit and join Peter Spencers Hunger Strike Support group on the agmates Community network

END

Deception, lies and deceit in hand with the denial of Australian citizens Constitutional Rights and basic Human Rights by the Australian Commonwealth Government and all levels of Government has lead to New South Wales farmer Peter Spencer, taking his plea to the streets.

Peter has tried every avenue to have his concerns addressed by Government and the Judiciary. Peter has made over 200 appearances in Court at all levels and has been denied a Trial every time.One would wander how this could happen in Australia.

Last Sunday the 22nd of November 2009 Peter started a indefinite Hunger Strike until the terms in his submissions are met.

Peter is requesting that himself and all the farmers who’s property has been stolen by the Commonwealth Government, being 109 million Ha (19% of Australia’s farm land) of farm land locked up to meet its UNFCCC Kyoto Protocol commitments are compensated for on Just Terms, as our Constitutional Right when Government takes Property. That property being 87.5 mt of Carbon and sterilizing 109 million Ha of agricultural land.

Peter is requesting a Royal Commission with terms of reference encompassing all Regulatory Takings from Australian farmers and the devastating slaughter of livestock by wild dogs from National Parks.

Yesterday the 1st of December Peter moved his hunger strike from his farm house to a wind monitoring mast on his property Saarahnlee were he will stay until his requests are agreed to by PM Kevin Rudd.

Peter Spencer up on his 2 metre platform where he is staging his hunger strike high up on "The Tower of Hope"

Local police arrived at the wind mast yesterday on a tip off from the Commonwealth Government, that is the only response from PM Kevin Rudd’s office.

It is a sad day when a Australian citizen has to go to this extreme to hopefully have his and other effected farmers Constitutional Rights reinstated.

Alastair McRobert
Phn 0429361318

For more information see the Agmates Social Network causes site – Peter Spencer Hunger Strike

Please join the group to show your support.

Thanks to Agmates member Sue for bringing this to our attention. It is a curious Rural Press article and I love the way they describe OUR Agmates Community as a “niche online chat forum“

“Angry comments that were confined to a niche online chat forum less than 10 days ago have now spilled onto the mainstream website, farmonline.com.au, owned by Rural Press.”

You make up your mind who is niche and who is mainstream.

Last Sunday we ran the post: Joyce Fronts Turnbull – I’ll Split The Coalition which attracted 109 comments from 33 members – plus one comment from our Agmate member Barnaby Joyce.

The same time – farm online ran virtually the same article (which was just a reposting of and article out of the The Sydney Morning Herald – farm online and the SMH are both owned by Fairfax) – Titled Coalition split by end of the year with a big photo of Barnaby. The farm online article had 16 comments from 14 people (2 of whom are Agmates members).

Lets look at the two stories and the break up of people and comments.

Agmates – 33 members – 109 comments.
Farm Online – 14 people – 16 comments.

State by Sate – Agamtes – Farm Online
QLD …………………..18……………… 2
NSW ……………………7……………… 8
VIC …………………….7………………. 1
SA ………………………1………………..2
WA ……………………..1……………….1

Total people…………..33……………14 (* 2 of these were Agmates members)
Total Comments……109……………16

Plus every member who commented on Agmates got a personal message of thanks from our fellow member Barnaby (by way of comment). See comment here

The farm online site is the one web site for The Queensland Country Life (QCL), The Land (NSW), The Stock & Land (VIC), The Stock Journal (SA) and the Farm Weekly (WA). They put next to the commenter which state publication they came through.

Obviously Rural press is not proud of the conduct of its online forum. They insinuate that the bile and vehenm that is on their forum came from Agmates – Click here to see the Rural Press forum in question.

“Angry comments that were confined to a niche online chat forum less than 10 days ago have now spilled onto the mainstream website, farmonline.com.au, owned by Rural Press.”

This comment is a joke. Have a look for yourself at the Comments on Agmates Community forum they are referring to. See here.  Every commentator has their real name visible and a photo.

Then go and have a look at the bile and invective that spews out from the faceless nameless crew on the rural press forum. See here

Make up your own mind which one is the trashy niche chat room.

Is it our privately owned – voice of the real people Agmates community or is it the multinational corporate owned media giant Rural Press ?

Word of advice for Rural press. When you try and discredit the Agmates community you are actually trying to discredit hundreds of people who used to be your loyal readers, because Agmates is the sum total of our members. You demean our community , by virtue you demean our members.

Who knows, like me in protest many of those members might just decide not to spend the $3.40 a week on your newspapers anymore. Then try explaining that to your advertisers as your circulation falls.

Oh wait, isn’t that a problem they are having at the minute … hhmmm I wonder why?

Thats not very smart Mr Rural Press.

END

Have Your say.

Alan Jones of radio 2GB Sydney has conducted two very good interviews this week. The first was with Lord Christopher Monckton on Monday and the second was with Professor Richard Lindzen.

Click on the player to listen to the interview.

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Please email this article to everybody on your contact list.

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When the  National Farmers Federation was formed in 1979 it was the first time in the history of Australian Agriculture that Australia had a single peak farm lobby group.

Its useful to look at a brief history of farm organizations in Australia.

From the Book Surviving Global Change – Agriculture Interest Groups in Comparative Perspective by Professor Darren Halpin.

Chapter 7

“Digging Deep to keep their Clout” Agriculture Interest Groups In Australia

(Page 141)

The 1970’s were a period when the Whitlam and Fraser governments were embarking on their policies of trade liberalization. To achieve these aims both governments set about dismantling of almost 6 decades agriculture exceptional ism associated with state supported Agriculture.

The biggest challenge for government in achieving their radical reforms was the militant farmer resistance to their reform policies from the various state farm organizations and commodity groups.

The brilliant solution the Fraser government found to its conundrum was the formation of the National farmers Federation.

Page 141

The formation of the National Farmers Federation’s was the key to successive governments being able to drive trade Liberalization as fast and as far as they have. The day the NFF was formed Australian Agriculture and ordinary farmers were hijacked by the Agricultural elite.

Page 149

The National Farmers Federation was never established to reflected the voice of the average farmer – it was from the beginning established by and for the Agriculture elites of Australia, masquerading as the voice of all Australian farmers, when in reality it is the mouth piece of the agrarian elite.

Not only has it never listened to or lobbied for the majority wishes of its members but has actively worked to crush any grass roots farmers dissension.

Page 150

That pain has not never been born by the agrarian elite – it has been born by tens of thousands of family farmers across Australia that have been forced off the land in the last 30 years that the NFF has driven the free trade agenda. They have been merciless.

Page 150

Thats correct, not only don’t the NFF listen to its members it actually urges governments not to listen to them either.

To maintain their dominance the NFF have co opted governments to support their message and marginalized and isolated any individual farmer who have tried to speak out. These strategies have worked so well over the past 30 years that farmers being forced off the land because they cannot compete in the economic environment created by the agricultural elites of the NFF are looked upon by the industry as having failed.

“Get big or get out” has been the mantra they have created. What it should be is “Get as big as us or you’ll be forced out.”

Page 150

The NFF from the beginning has never listen to its members. It is an elite organization set up to represent the interests of the agricultural elites of this country to the great detriment of family farmers and rural communities across this nation.

END

Further expanding on my post The National Farmers Federation Revealed :

The office bearers of the NFF and the Commodity Councils are the delegates appointed by the the State Farming Organizations from the State Farming Organizations. ….. the office bearers are SFO delegates and the NFF is fully funded by the SFO’s.

So as a farmer if you are talking about the NFF you are actually talking about the SFO’s who “club” together as a “federation” to deal with issues that cross a single state border.

NFF Borad members – From the NFF web site:

The NFF Board comprises the NFF President and NFF Vice-President, along with five Directors, all elected by the Members’ Council. Two independent Directors may be appointed by the Board, as required

David Crombie President June 2006 to Current

2001 – Current Deputy Chairman Listed Property development Group FKP

2007 – Current – Director of the Australian Government Board of Export Finance Insurance Corporation

Current – Commissioner of Australian Government  Centre for International Agriculture Research

Current – President of the Queensland Rugby Union.

2000 – current Director GRM International (Packers Consolidated Group)

1998 – 2005 Chairman of Meat & Livestock Australia

1995 – 2000 Board member of Grainco

1994 – 2000 Managing Director of GRM (Consolidated Group)

Mr Crombie operates family properties, breeding and finishing cattle, as well as growing crops in southern Queensland.

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Charles Burke Vice-President June 2004 to Current

Current – Vice-President and Treasurer of AgForce Queensland

Current – Chairs the AgForce Rural Business Committee.

Mr Burke manages a family cattle property ‘Stanley House’, situated on Lake Somerset in the Brisbane Valley, South East Queensland.

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Bill Bray Director

2004 – 2008 President of the Cattle Council of Australia

Involved with the Victorian Farmers Federation for the past 25 years.

Mr Bray runs a mixed beef and sheep property in the Gippsland region

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Nick Keatinge Director

Nick has been involved with the NSW Farmers Association for 30 years.

Last year he was awarded the NSW Farmers’Association Medal of Honour for his long standing commitment to the ideals of the Association.

Nick, is a beef, lamb and wool producer on the South West Slopes of NSW.

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Andrew Broad President Victorian Farmers’ Federation

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Alf Cristaudo Chairman Canegrowers

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John Cotter President AgForce Queensland

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Charles Armstrong President NSW Farmers Association

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Members’ Council -

from the NFF’s web site

The Members’ Council is the supreme consultative forum for the National Farmers’ Federation (NFF).

Made up of all 16 state farming organisation and commodity council members, as well as Associate Members, of the NFF, members are appointed by their respective organisations.

The Members’ Council elects the Directors and officeholders (President and Vice-President) from nominations received from members, and determines:

* the key priorities for the NFF’s Strategic Plan;

* determines policy on issues or positions that are outside of the guidance previously agreed

Members council Represenatives

David Crombie – President, National Farmers’ Federation

Charles Burke – Vice-President, National Farmers’ Federation

Nick Keatinge – Director, National Farmers’ Federation

Bill Bray – Director, National Farmers’ Federation

John Cotter – President, AgForce Queensland

Wes Judd – President, Australian Dairy Farmers

Mark King – President, Australian Dried Fruits Association

Ian McIvor – Chair, Australian Livestock Exporters’ Council

Alf Cristaudo – Chair, Canegrowers

Greg Brown – President, Cattle Council of Australia

John McKillop – Representative, Corporate Agricultural Group

Joanne Grainger – Chair, Cotton Australia

Roy Chisholm – President, Northern Territory Cattlemen’s Association

Charles Armstrong – President, NSW Farmers’ Association

Les Gordon – President, Ricegrowers’ Association of Australia

Kate Joseph – President, Sheepmeat Council of Australia

David Gatenby – President, Tasmanian Farmers and Graziers Association

Andrew Broad – President, Victorian Farmers Federation

Mike Norton – President, Western Australian Farmers Federation

Don Hamblin – President, WoolProducers

Many farmers believe the NFF to be a separate organization of which their State Farming Organization ( SFO’s) is a member. Indeed this is a misconception that the NFF and SFO’s and the Commodity Councils foster amongst farmers.

To be accurate it should be call the National Farming Organizations Federation or NFOF.

END

Have Your Say.

This is an urgent alert to every Australian farmer who has farm debt. The source of this information is our Agmates member St Botolph, who for professional reasons writes for Agmates on the guarantee of anonymity. The information  has been checked, verified and posted by Agmates Editor Steve Truman.

Right now across Australia as a result of poor commodity prices, poor seasons and a tightening credit market 1,000’s of farmers are in deep financial stress and are feeling isolated and overwhelmed as a result of their farm debt. This information is intended to help all of them and those that do not even realize they have a problem – yet. Now for St Botolph’s post.

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Farm Finance ALERT

The farming industry in Australia has reached breaking point, lenders in our farming communities have ignored the long term commitments and loyalty that farmers have given them over many years.

It is amazing to think that when farmers are cashed up how much additional money is thrown at them by lenders seeking to make huge profits from additional lending.

With farmers still in the midst of the biggest drought ever, lenders and investors are calling in farm debt to invest the money elsewhere.

The conduct of recovery of farm debt by a number of rural lenders in an increasing number of recent cases is  at best immoral and at worst illegal. Using intimidation by way of threats and demands these lenders have railroaded some farmers into complying with their “on the spot” demands without farmers first seeking appropriate legal advice or the time needed to refinance.

Farming families are being divided and in some cases separated leading to divorce action because of the pressures and demands of some lenders.

The hatchet men from these lenders have no morals and will go to any lengths to recover  farm debt  by selling farm assets at any costs no matter what the result through the appointment of receivers managers or mortgagee in possession sales. As a result of such action, huge shortfalls in asset realization are being recorded. Then to put the boots in even further Lenders are proceeding to bankrupt farmers.

This is happening right now across the country as I write.

IT MUST STOP NOW

Practical Advise to all farmers

Take one day off, sit down with your family take a serious look at your true financial position as it stands today. Do not be fooled by misleading bottom lines, but focus on your farm debt.

Review who your lender is and how long you have been with them.

Think about your last meeting with your lending manager, do you recall any changes? Ask yourself the following questions -

1. Have we been restricted from any further borrowings?

2. Have we been asked to sell plant or land to reduce our farm debt level?

3. Have we received any letter reducing our overdraft limit?

4. Have there been any request for further security ?

5. Have we been asked to provide additional cash flows ?

If you answered YES to any one of those questions  you must and I stress, must look at your term loan agreement.  These are unprecedented times  and a YES answer is a sign of immanent trouble.

In most cases your term loan will be 5,10, or 15 years. A term loan is your mortgage agreement.

Most overdrafts are reviewed each year.

Right NOW there are lenders using annual overdraft reviews as a trigger to call in ALL loans.

The interest rate on your term should be less than your overdraft but in some cases may be the same.

If your farm debt loans are ready to expire – be very careful. You must approach your lender at least 6 months before and discuss your over all roll over options. Do not take for granted that it will just roll over.

Do not ignore letters that call for farm debt reduction or reviews of your loans. If you have received such a request you should act NOW.

Seek professional advise from you account, lawyers or rural consultant who understand Rural Lending. Do this early. Do not wait until the receiver turns up at your farm to evict you before you reach out for a professional to assist you with farm debt mediation. By that time it is usually to late for anyone to help you.

If you think your safe be WARNED act NOW before you lose the lot.

END

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Disclaimer.

This information is provided free of charge as a service to our Agmates members. Agmates in no way financially benefits from providing this information. You should not make any financial decisions based on anything written or implied in this article and it should not be taken as financial advice of any kind. It is general information, published as an opinion on behalf of the writer and should not be relied upon.

If you are in financial trouble Agmates strongly and only recommends that you seek help immediately from a qualified and independent professional.

If you wish to contact the author St Botolph you can do so by phoning the Agmates Editor Steve Truman 0428 966819 in the first instance. Your privacy and total confidentiality is guaranteed.

Have Your Say!

Today there has been great anger express among Australian farmers directed at the Australian Peak Farming lobby group, the National Farmers Federation (NFF) over its stand on the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme.

To ensure that this anger is channeled in the right direction it is important to think clearly about who and what the National Farmers Federation really is.

Firstly the NFF is perceived by government and media as the undisputed voice of Australian farmers.

Many farmers believe the NFF to be a separate organization of which their State Farming Organization ( SFO’s) is a member. Indeed this is a misconception that the NFF and SFO’s and the Commodity Councils foster amongst farmers.

When the NFF was formed in 1979 it replaced a plethora of state and commodity based farmer groups with a single “federated” organization based in Canberra. As the term “federation” denotes it does not have individual members but rather has member organizations. The NFF member organizations are the State farming organizations and the Commodity Councils. Here is a list of the member organizations that make up what is called the NFF.

In effect the NFF has around 55,000 members through its State member organizations (to know accurately you have to know the exact membership of each SFO.) The Commodity Councils (CC’s) have no members only the SFO’s.

The NFF is in fact a “family” made up of the executive, the councils, the committees, the commodity councils and the SFO’s.

However the State Farming Organizations are the foundation of the NFF “family”. Without the State Farming organizations the NFF does not exist.

The NFF’s funding comes from the SFO’s who pay a contribution a fee in order to be state members of the “Federation”. The SFO’s also pay the “federation” a subscription fee for seats on the relevant Commodity Councils.

As stated before the SFO’s are the only members of the “federation” who have direct farmer members. The SFO’s fund the whole NFF “family” via voluntary subscriptions from farmers.

So when you refer to the NFF you are actually referring to an organizational grouping, the foundation of which is the State Farming Organizations.

The office bearers of the NFF and the Commodity Councils are the delegates appointed by the the State Farming Organizations – from the State Farming Organizations.

The State Farming Organizations therefore wield considerable influence and power over the “federation”, the office bearers are SFO delegates and the NFF is fully funded by the SFO’s.

So as a farmer if you are talking about the NFF you are actually talking about the SFO’s who “club” together as a “federation” to deal with issues that cross a single state border.

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This is the first article in a series – the Next will be the Role of the State Farm Bodies.

Agmates editor – Steve Truman

This Sunday, 18 October, thousands of Australians will participate in a world-record breaking international premiere of Not Evil Just Wrong: The True Cost of Global Warming Hysteria.

Not Evil Just Wrong, a feature length documentary, shreds the outlandish claims made by Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth and shows how extreme environmentalism damages the lives of the most vulnerable. The film explores the science of global warming and compares the current “crisis” of global warming to other supposed crises that mankind has faced in recent memory.

The international premiere falls just one day before the Liberal partyroom meets to determine its position on the Kevin Rudd’s Emissions Trading Scheme. The film is expected to feature heavily in the debate. Hundreds of private and public screenings have been organised by community groups and concerned citizens in every state and territory in Australia. A full list of public screenings in Australia may be found Here

“This film premieres right when Australia needs it most,” states Ann McElhinney, codirector of the film. “Prime Minister Kevin Rudd wants to impose a crippling tax on every Australian household. This film will reveal to Australians for the first time the true cost of this radical environmentalism and generate a real debate.”

The draconian measures that must be undertaken not only in Australia, but around the world, in order to have a measurable impact on CO2 emissions will have harmful impacts on all humanity, and will disproportionately affect those who can least afford it. In the same way as the banning of DDT based on discredited science led to the deaths of millions from malaria, so too will climate change hysteria lead to suffering for the world’s poor.

“This is the film Hollywood doesn’t want you to see,” says McElhinney. “It is not a mainstream Hollywood documentary. It features real people, and the real impact on their lives. We are going to distribute it the same way we shot the film – premiering it all across the world on DVD on individual TV sets in the homes of real people and to community groups.”

END

Have Your Say