Meet Nationals Senator Fiona Nash [pictured] , one of a handful of National Party Politicians who will stand up for her constituents, regardless of the consequences.
Yesterday the Liberal Party once again demonstrates it’s anti-farmer and anti-rural Australia policies.
Not only did the Liberals support Labors ‘carbon sink’ policy that gives wealthy Australians Tax breaks for growing trees on prime Agricultural land but in a despicable act Liberals leader Malcolm Turnbull sacked Fiona Nash from his front bench for crossing the floor to vote for her constituents best interests.
The Nationals’ split on tax breaks for planting new forests or so called “carbon sinks” has cost a Senator her position as a shadow parliamentary secretary.
The Nationals senators are joining the Greens to vote against the tax deduction, arguing the measure will see trees grown on prime agricultural land, cut food production and destroy rural communities.
Below are the only Parliamentarians who stood up for rural and regional Australia yesterday. Honestly, we in rural & regional Australia would be better off voting National (in the Senate) , Greens, Family First or Independent. At least they care about us.
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Leader of The Nationals in the Senate
QLD Nationals Senator Barnaby Joyce.
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Qld Nationals Senator Ron Boswell
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Deputy Leader of The Nationals in The Senate
NSW Nationals Senator Fiona Nash
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NSW Nationals Senator John Williams
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Now here is the Liberal Party Shame file.
How can any of the Liberal Party Members even pretend to represent the best interest of their rural 7®ional constituents, when they voted with Labor on this issue.
In particular these Senators should be ashamed of themselves. In fact next time you see one of these pretend ‘country Liberal’ Senators in the street you might want to ask them why they don’t have the fortitude to stand up for rural & regional Australia like Senator Nash and the others have done.
- Liberal Country Party Senator for the Northern Territory and Deputy leader of the Nationals Nigel Scullion, Who Abstained from the vote.
- Liberal Senator for NSW Bill Heffernan who voted with Labor. ( Owns farming Country)
- Liberal Senator for WA Judith Adams who voted with Labor. ( Partner in a family farm)
- Liberal Senator for Vic Julian McGauran who voted with Labor - ( National Party defector & brother to Peter McGauran)
- Liberal Senator for WA Alan Ferguson who voted with Labor - (Owned and managed a farm until 1985)
- Liberal senator for Vic Judith Troeth who voted with Labor - (Partner in a family farm)
All of the Greens voted against the Bill. Perhaps we should start giving our votes to the Greens, Independents and Family First in the next Federal Lower House election.
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Leader of The Australian Greens
Tasmanian Senator Bob Brown
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Tasmanian Greens Senator Christine Milne.
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Australian Greens Party Whip
Western Australian Senator Rachel Siewart
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South Australian Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young
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Western Australia Greens Senator Scott Ludlam.
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Independent Senator.
Independent Senator for South Australia Nick Xenophon
See Nicks article on the issue here.
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Family First Senator for Victoria Steve Fielding
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Have Your say!
WHAT DO YOU EXPECT , VOTE WITH THE PARTY OR BE SACKED . IT IS TIME THAT THE PEOPLE OF AUSTRALIA REALISED THAT INDERPENDENTS ARE THE WAY TO GO .
Thursday 4th December, 2008.
Senator Fiona Nash
Suite SG 108
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600
Dear Senator Nash,
Just a brief note to mention how disappointed I was, to hear of your dismissal from Shadow Cabinet.
Disappointed, with the Leader, who increasingly seems to have no ticker on the issues which concern Australians the most. On matters like Global Warming, and the new IR laws, he seems to think sitting on the fence is the way to go. It’s bad enough to have a new Gough as Prime Minister. To have a new Malcolm, as Opposition Leader, is the icing on a very tasteless cake.
Nonetheless, your opposition to the Global Warming scam does you great credit. Why your colleagues can’t grasp that the public mood on this issue has turned 180 degrees is beyond me. Congratulations on your honesty and bravery, and wishing you and yours all the best for a happy Christmas,
Thanks Steve and all.
Just clarifying - as adviser to Greens Senator Christine Milne - that it was a Greens motion that the Nationals crossed the floor to support and we are very grateful to them for doing so.
For people’s info, there is a detailed timeline of what happened in this affair at the bottom of Monday’s media release here.
That explains how it ’slipped through’ by being put into 2 Bills at the same time, one of which had been marked ‘non-controversial’. It is still to be satisfactorily explained how that happened.
Just in closing noting that we Greens are delighted to have an increasingly close working relationship with the Nationals.
Those bills can be slippery little suckers it seems.
Steve,
So you are telling me that lower house ministers are voting thru legislation they have not read and even considered the ramification of!!
Surely that isn’t right. I can’t think of an acceptable word in our “democratic” vocabulary that correctly describes this!!
G’day john,
That’s exactly as it was explained to me. - incredible but true. The expression was it ’slipped through’.
It would only have been the Nationals that missed it as the Liberals supported it.
G’day all,
Senator Fiona Nash has called and Senator ron Boswell emailed to clarify the situation and i’ve amended the article to reflect this.
As has been explained to me the original legislation was slipped through the lower house in another Bill un-noticed. It was voted for by all in the lower house.
To quote Senator Boswells email:
“..that this is a Disallowance Motion which means that the Government put forward a regulation and the Parliament has the ability to vote it down if they do not agree with it.
The Disallowance Motion was on the environmental regulations attached to the legislation that introduced the Carbon Sink Tax Deduction.
The Greens moved the Disallowance in the Senate to vote down the Labor Government regulation. The Nationals and Independents supported the Disallowance Motion to vote down the regulation.
Unfortunately though, the Liberal Party voted with the Labor Party on the issue and so the Disallowance was defeated, therefore allowing the regulation to go through and be put in place as the
government wanted it.”
So there you have it - In the Senate the Nationals (excluding Nigel Scullion, The greens, Independent Nick Xenophon and Family First Senator Steve Fielding believe this is a terrible bit of legislation that will impact badly on rural & regional Australia - particularly farmers.
The Liberals including those named and shamed in the article could not give a toss. Just remember that come the next Senate election.
Thanks to Senators Nash & Boswell (via Michael Duff) for clarifying this for the Agmates Community.
G’day Senators Fiona Nash & Ron Boswell,
Are you telling the Agmates community that the National MP’s and the Liberal MP’s in the Lower house voted against the legislation.
If that is the case I will gladly amend the article to reflect that. It was my understanding that the Nationals voted with the Liberals and Labor in the Lower house and it was you and your fellow National Senators in the Upper House along with the Greens and the Independent and Family First who crossed the floor against it.
It would be great if you could clarify this for the community.
Cheers - Agmates Founder - Steve Truman
I fully support the comments of Senator Nash. The National Party Senators voted to disallow a Rudd Labor Government regulation, that if successful, would have stopped a tax deduction for the establishment costs of Carbon Sinks. Food security is an important issue for the future of Australia and the Nationals stood up for food producing industries by supporting the disallowance. I sincerely hope that the record is corrected to show the true situation.
Regards
Senator Ron Boswell
In relation to your blog, “Malcolm Turnbull Sacking Fiona Nash Is a Despicable Act,” please allow me to correct the record, as the “National Party Shame File” is wrong.
No Nationals voted with Labor on the carbon sink issue. This was a disallowance motion which only came up in the Senate not the House of Representatives. Country Liberal Party Senator Nigel Scullion did not vote with Labor either. He abstained.
Yours sincerely
Senator Fiona Nash
Hear hear Margaret you hit the nail squarely on the head.
It is a pity a few more politicians did not show the same strength of their convictions and more people might find some credibility in our elected representatives.
I applaud Senator Nash for having the guts to put her job on the line for her beliefs and for putting the people of country NSW before her salary and position.
Well done Fiona Nash
Well Done Fiona,
It is high time that the warped undemocratic system, where members are required to vote on party lines, is destroyed.
We need more politicians ready to stand behind and support their constituents, not the party lines.
“but in a despicable act Liberals leader Malcolm Turnbull sacked Fiona Nash from his front bench for crossing the floor”
Gosh that’s nice - I didn’t realize that - never did think Turnbull had any sympathy for farmers or the Nationals - Terrible!!!