Archive for the ‘Agmates People’ Category

Apr

9

Roger Crook

Roger Crook

Photo of Me

I have been told…

I have been told to be successful in promoting my novels, it’s important for me to tell you something about myself, where I came from, some background to my life, that sort of thing. I’m not very good at writing about myself…

So here goes:

My first memory of life is war. I was born in 1938, so I was about two years old when the bombs rained down on our home on Merseyside in England. With my brother I crawled into a bomb shelter, which was little more than a dining table made of steel. We lay there and listened to the anti aircraft guns, literally at the end of our street, firing shells of steel into the night sky as the fragile German planes flew overhead and dropped their bombs on us. The ground shook and the windows blew in. They were trying to kill us.

In those early days of the war, vast areas of Britain were razed and many thousands of civilians were killed.

Years later, when the tide had turned against Germany, day and night raids by Allied bombers sought and found revenge. Their bombs killed thousands of helpless civilians and in the process flattened and all but eliminated German towns and cities. The Nazi enemy was bloodily beaten into submission and the war ended.

I was seven years old when the war ended. Just eleven years later, as a member of an elite Scottish Regiment and just eighteen years of age, I was posted to Berlin, the one-time capital of Germany. The Berlin of photographs I had seen in war magazines. The Berlin of the films clips showing Hitler and his generals taking the salute from their massive, goose-stepping army at the Brandenburg Tor.

My great-grandmother was German. My great-grandfather was a Scotsman and a Professor of Mathematics at some German university from which they fled before the Franco – German War (1870 – 71).

Berlin in the nineteen fifties was a long way behind the Iron Curtain; I was a British soldier of occupation in the Father Land of my ancestors.

Berlin was a city divided into four sectors. British, American, French and Russian or East German. From our barracks we could see the Spandau Prison, where those Nazis who escaped execution at Nuremberg, were incarcerated. For those of us who survived the War, the inmates of Spandau were household names.

My Regiment did a month long guard at Spandau Jail. I saw first-hand the Nazi German leaders about whom I had read and been taught to hate during the war. By then they were just pathetic looking old men. No swastikas. No shiny boots and breeches. No open cars. No Heil Hitler! Just old men shuffling around.

It was the Berlin before the Wall. Before Checkpoint Charlie. Instead of the Wall there was a white line painted on the ground. Sometimes, and always at night, the Russians, would paint out the line and re-paint it meters inside the ‘West’. The next night, usually supervised by the British Military Police, it was moved back. It was a silly game at the height of the Cold War. It took our minds off hydrogen and atom bombs.

We did a Remembrance Day parade in Berlin with our Regimental Colours furled. Some Germans watched. Some of them wore poppies. Some cried. Some spat on the ground in front of us.

My novel Hearts of Stone is about a different kind of war. It’s about terrorism. The perpetration of terror. Those that perpetrate terror, as we all know too well, are called terrorists. Who is a terrorist and who is a freedom fighter? What is the difference between the two? I don’t know.

When I was in the army we were fighting terrorists in Cyprus, Kenya, Malaya (as it was then), Yemen and of course in Ireland and the UK. Most of the British Army at that time were conscripts.

My paternal grandmother was Irish and a Protestant. My paternal grandfather was a Scot but born in Liverpool in England. I don’t think my father ever went to Ireland but he could recite the history of Ireland from before King Billy. My father was also a Mason.

My father was a lovely man, a well-educated man, and the loving father of four boys. He was also an Irish Protestant bigot – but he didn’t know it – that he was a bigot that is. He was simply living the knowledge, values, attitudes and beliefs that he had learned on his Irish mother’s knee that she in turn had learned from her mother and so on down the ages in Ireland. That is how it still is, even today, in Ireland.

Some of my relatives were no doubt, and maybe still are, involved in the Troubles between the north and the south of Ireland. The terrorist war between the British North and the Republican South hasn’t really finished; they say it has. In truth, they hope it has.

Just a few months ago, as if to confound the optimists, the Real IRA or some other mad group claimed responsibility for shooting dead, two British soldiers in Northern Ireland.

If you think the Irish troubles are over in 2010, think again. Come with me to Belfast at Easter, when the Apprentice Boys march—and watch.

We came to Australia.

My wife and I, with our first daughter, came to Australia in 1967 to work as a farm hand on a wheat and sheep farm in Coorow. I had been to Ag College in England on a Returned Serviceman’s Scholarship. I grew up on a farm in North Wales.

From Coorow to Mingenew as Head Stockman to 15,000 Collinsville merinos. Our second daughter was born while we were at Mingenew.

From Mingenew to the Kimberley to manage a 1.3 million acre cattle station. Then back to Geraldton to manage 20,000 acres of wheat and sheep. Then to ICI Rural, to finish up seven years later, as national sales and marketing manager of that company, based in Melbourne.

Then, back to Perth to become the marketing director of a major Public Relations firm.

We bought our farm in 1989. We were debt free. In the early years I ran an international agribusiness consultancy and the farm. With wife, Lynne, of course!

We now have three grandchildren. A boy seventeen and twin girls who are ten years old.

We lost our farm in 2007; we were heavily in debt.

I joined the AGMates (All Good Mates) online Community in May 2009. Steve Truman was running a story onBanks Behaving Badly’. I can’t remember how I stumbled across the site but there it was, an invitation to tell the world on the Internet, how we had lost our farm. How, just a couple of years previously, we had been sold up by our bank. It was a story I had never told before. It was a story that my wife and I had kept to ourselves.

In June 2009 I wrote our own ‘Banks Behaving Badly’ story which was published here on the AGMates News blog. It’s not a pretty story—it is an abject lesson for others. We lost our farm by doing nothing wrong. We made one mistake—we trusted someone, someone whom we thought was loyal and a friend. Our story will also tell why I despise most lawyers and why our legal system, is rubbish.

You must be asking by now, ‘What has all of this got to do with the price of fish, Roger?’

The answer is that I wrote two books during that time. Strange as it may seem, writing fiction was my escape from severe depression caused by the trauma of fighting to keep our life’s work, our farm.

Writing fiction was my cave— somewhere where I was safe from the world for just a while.

My depression was bad. I was given every anti-depressant known to medical science. They didn’t work—I got worse.

I had more than twelve, I lost count, Electro Convulsive Therapy (ECT) sessions. (For those who don’t know what ECT is, go and get a DVD of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest—yes, they still do it! Or just Google it.) I had ECT three times a week. I was sixty-five years of age, over the recommended age I learned later. They told me ECT would make me better. It didn’t—it made me worse—I went to some bad places—got to know the Black Dog like a friend.

I stopped the ECT. Then I met a doctor who took me off all the pills and, would you believe, talked to me. I slowly got better. He saved my life. I started writing. (Go to www.Ganieda.com.au and meet the man!)

Then, when I was nearly better, I was diagnosed with cancer.

What started as one book became two. Hearts of Stone is available now on this site. The sequel, Flight to Australia, will be available in February 2010, again, on this site.

There is no trace of my illness in my writing, so I am told. It is not a story about mental illness or cancer. I was living in the real world, so I wrote fiction.

Roger Crook


Click here to Purchase books online

IMG-Book-100

My first book Hearts of Stone is a love story that starts before WWII.

It is also a story about terrorism and religious fanaticism. Not Moslems in the twenty first century but the Christian Irish in the twentieth century. Whether Terrorist or Freedom Fighter, the ‘cause’ is as old as Ireland itself.

Brendan McGonigal exiled from Ireland as a student for his political views becomes a wealthy cattle dealer in North Wales and falls in love with Phyllis a medical student and daughter of a Welsh hill farmer. Their love further binds the ancient culture of two great Celtic nations.

Thirty years on David McGonigal, the only son of Phyllis and Brendan, serves with the SAS in Northern Ireland and later with the Home Office Counter Terrorism Unit. He leaves the army and tries to forget his former life—then one placid Saturday night in Wales, hooligans threaten the landlord of his local pub. David goes to his aid and finds that there is another sinister and dangerous agenda. The pace is frantic to stop the killing, this time in the name of God, from starting all over again.

Flight to Australia is the sequel to “Hearts of Stone”. It brings David McGonigal and his wife Barbara to Western Australia to join his uncle Paul McGonigal and away from the threats on his life from his old enemy, the IRA

Flight to Australia is the story of David and Barbara’s first month in exile. On their first day there is a bomb threat. David fears the IRA have broken their deal—but it’s Paul that’s the target. He doesn’t know who they are—or why they want him dead—but they keep on trying.

Then David’s old boss from Counter Terrorism in the UK turns up in Perth, now leading a shadowy team from the British Foreign Office. David realises that the only thing he can be sure of in Perth—is that the sun will shine tomorrow.

END

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Dec

8

Australia’s Copenhagen Commitment Shaken By Hunger Striking ‘Victim of Global Warming”

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

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

END

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Dec

8

Australian families lives destroyed by Global Warming Gov’t Policy

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.

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Nov

6

Rural Press V’s The Agmates Community

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 AgmatesClick 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

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Oct

30

Alan Jones 2GB Invertviews – Monckton & Lindzen

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.
Alan-Jones-Richard-Lindzen-
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Alan-Jones-Lord-Monckton-52

Please email this article to everybody on your contact list.

END

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Oct

24

National Farmers Federation – The Voice Of Agricultures Elite

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

History-1-Quotation

(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

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

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

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

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

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

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Oct

23

The NFF and SFO’s are one and the Same

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

CrombieDavid 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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BourkeCharles 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.

*****

BrayBill 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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KeatingNick 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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BroadAndrew Broad President Victorian Farmers’ Federation

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AlfAlf Cristaudo Chairman Canegrowers

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CotterJohn Cotter President AgForce Queensland

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ArmstrongCharles 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

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Members’ Council

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;
  • elects Committee chairs;
  • receives the budgets and financial reports;
  • determines policy on issues or positions that are outside of the guidance previously agreed; and
  • generally undertakes all functions and powers normally exercised by members or shareholders under the Corporations Act.
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Oct

22

Banks Closing in on Australian Farmers

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.

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Oct

20

The National Farmers Federation Revealed

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.

****

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

Agmates editor – Steve Truman

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Oct

12

BBC News Flash for Kevin Rudd & Penny Wong

Over the last decade like the Australian ABC the UK BBC has been chief amongst media spreading the global warming hysteria. Finally after a decade of global cooling even the mighty BBC has relented.

From BBC online:

What happened to global warming?

“This headline may come as a bit of a surprise, so too might that fact that the warmest year recorded globally was not in 2008 or 2007, but in 1998.

But it is true.

For the last 11 years we have not observed any increase in global temperatures.

And our climate models did not forecast it, even though man-made carbon dioxide, the gas thought to be responsible for warming our planet, has continued to rise.

So what on Earth is going on?

Writes the BBC’s Climate correspondent Paul Hudson.

Don’t you just love the surprised innocence in Paul’s tone, completely blindsided by this news he is. Now Paul is not your average BBC news journo, he is THE BBC Climate Correspondent breaking this amazing news to the world.

After going through a range of options as to what is really driving the climate, the Sun, World ocean temperatures, Paul comes to the stunning conclusion:

“One thing is for sure. It seems the debate about what is causing global warming is far from over. Indeed some would say it is hotting up.”

How long before Australia’s own National Broadcaster the ABC starts to report the facts instead of the hype?

Indeed how long before our own Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and Climate Change Minister (the minister for the natural) Penny Wong, admit the truth to the Australian people,

“the science on climate change is anything but settled”.

END

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