Agmates has been writing for months about the disastrous impact on Australian farmers of the proposed Emissions Trading Scheme in its current form.
We have been critical of Australia’s peak farming lobby group the National Farmers Federation (NFF) almost total public silence on the issue.
Finally flushed out by the concerns of the Agmates community coupled with the rising chorus of dissent from Agricultural economists the NFF has broken its silence on the issue.
As reported In todays Age Newspaper the NFF is calling on the Rudd government to issue the farming community with free permits. “Make ETS Permit Free for Farmers, says NFF”
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The National Farmers’ Federation said free permits for agriculture would be justified as action by farmers had cut greenhouse emissions from agriculture, forestry and fishing by 41.7% between 1990 and 2005.
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The NFF call comes from it’s submission released 12 days ago [10th of September] in response to the Governments publication of its Green Paper in July of this year.
The NFF says that free permits would cushion the impact of increased farm input costs that farmers and rural economist have warmed will force 1,000’s of farmers off the land.
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“This process [free permits for Agriculture] has been adopted in Europe and New Zealand,” the NFF said.”Agriculture’s capacity to pass on costs is notoriously poor, meaning that many farmers will be forced to absorb the vast majority of the cost of these permits,” the NFF said.
“It would be perverse if agriculture was more adversely treated in the Australian CPRS than in any other ETS in the world,” the federation said.
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The issues we have raised in articles like “ABARE Chiefs warn Ag Doomed under ETS” [18th Sept] are also starting to receive national press coverage. Our most prestigious National Newspaper The Australian today has run this article “Emission Scheme “will mug farmers“.
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Brian Fisher [pictured] , executive director of Concept Economics and former head of the Australian Bureau of Agriculture and Resource Economics ….
Although farming is exempted from the ETS until at least 2015, Dr Fisher says that many small farmers will be mugged in the meantime by increases in the costs of inputs such as electricity and fertiliser.
His warning reinforces recent modelling by the Business Council of Australia and the Australian Farm Institute that predicts many businesses will be made unprofitable by the scheme.”
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We have to ask why has the NFF needed to wait for the likes of Agmates,[5/7/08] ABARE, Concept Economics, [18/9/08], Business Council of Australia, Australian Farm Institute,[15/9/08] Queensland Farmers Federation,[15/9/08] to come out publically and state what should have been obvious to Australia’s peak farming body…….
Indeed after the release of The Green Paper on the 8th of July we called for the NFF to ’step up to the plate’ on behalf of Australian farmers.
“National Farmers Federation Must Save Australian Agriculture”.
Finally 10 weeks later the NFF is rather timidly poking their head out of its shell, to add its voice to the protests on behalf of Australian Farmers. Hardly a driving force.
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Have Your Say!
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Got a tip off, article or have you seen a video or item you’d like to be seen by the Agmates Community? If so please email it to us at news@agmates.com
Related Posts
- ABARE Chiefs Warn Australian Agriculture is Doomed Under Emissions Trading Scheme
- Farmers Must Know Massive Cost Impost of The Emissions Trading Scheme
- Green Farming Pioneer Terry McCosker Calls For Soil Carbon to be Included in ETS - NOW
- Food Shortages in Australia Due to Anti-Farmer Free Trade & Environment Policies
- National Farmers Federation Must Save Australian Agriculture.
While this is a positive step by the NFF I think the issue is much more complex than this.
1) I would hate to think the the government believes the NFF actually represents the majority of farmers.
2) The NFF can’t act or agree with anything the government proposes in relation to ETS on behalf of farmers; because they just don’t have majority support of farmers.
3) Giving free permits to farmers will not recompense those farmers who have virtually lost the ability to manage their properties because of native veg. laws, prohibition of water use etc etc ; that has been enabled by the Federal EPBC Act, and the State NRM Acts and Veg. Acts running off the back of the EPBC Act.
4) If we have to have an ETS scheme for agriculture it needs to reflect past and future. Sweeping the credit for the carbon storage farmers have already achieved under the carpet or in return for free permits is grossly unfair to those who have already in effect enabled Australia to meet its Kyoto target without a cent in recompense.
5) If we are to pushed into an ETS the only fair protection for agriculture is:-
a) Agricutural exports to countries not bound by an ETS must be ETS exempt.
b) Food and agricultural imports into Australia from a non ETS country must have equivalent tariffs imposed.
Good greif John, the NFF will not want this as it is very anti Free market.
Rowell,
Yes I see your point, however the terms “free market” is quite meaningless now.
An ETS in Australia, without an ETS in India, China and America is not “free market”.
Just the same as no (low) tariffs in Australia vs tariffs and subsidies in other countries is not free market.
Australia is a sovereign nation and should be able to make economic decisions on a stand alone basis for the benefit of Australians.
I just don’t see this happening at all in recent years.
I’d say Australia is very akin to a lemming; following someone else over a precipice as it were.
I’d say Australia is very akin to a lemming; following someone else over a precipice as it were. - THAT IS FOR SURE
“Get out of Jail” free card
Yes Von,
It’s easy to see how the financial markets will grab ETS with both hands.
Everything else financial is falling in a hole. It’s time to find another method of making profits from the hosts.
The biggest problem is that there are no longer sufficient hosts to support the blood suckers.
When the host dies we all know what happens to the parasite. The problem is it’s too late for both when this happens.
Yes it sounds horrible - host and parasite but that is what is plain to see is happening in the western world.
Now I hear on ABC news this morning UK PM Gordon Brown is calling for a single global financial regulator because of world wide financial problems .
We have had massive privatization and de-regulation across all sectors in western capitalism so much so that we now have fascism.
Are all these globalists in the world doing this one world government stuff to secure the Israel/US/UK empire ? - THEY ARE INSANE