Agmates

Agmates Editor Steve Truman writes:

Over the next 40 years Australia will convert a staggering 84 million acres of productive food producing agricultural land into tree plantations to fight climate change. That’s over 6,000 acres a day, seven days a week, 52 weeks a year, every year for the next 40 years.

That’s the result of the ‘carbon sink’ legislation that the Labor government with the backing of the Liberal party passed into legislation in the Federal Parliament this week.

In the face of Global Food shortages this policy is at best stupidity, at worse it’s a crime against humanity.

If Malcolm Turnbull’s Liberal party had not supported Labor this legislation would not have passed as it was opposed by the Nationals, The Australian Greens, Family First Senator Steve Fielding and Independent Senator Nick Xenophon.

Rural & Regional Australia holds Malcolm Turnbull personally responsible for this appalling outcome. He had the numbers to stop it, but chose not to. We won’t forget that come the next election. Liberal or Labor have consistently demonstrated that they care nothing for the people who live outside of the Australian capital cities.

TURNING tens of millions of hectares of prime agricultural land into carbon sink forests to fight climate change would dramatically increase food costs, destroy rural communities and take substantial amounts of water out of Australian river systems.

The ‘carbon sink’ legislation just demonstrates that both the major political party’s, Labor and Liberal only govern Australia for those that live in the Capital cities.It is only the minor parties, The Nationals, The Greens, Family First and the independent Nick Xenophon who stand up for rural and regional Australians.

Head of the Australian Farm Institute Mick Keogh [pictured] said:

By altering land use patterns and locking up millions of hectares in carbon sinks, rural Australia is being made the “sacrificial lamb” for Kevin Rudd’s emissions trading system.

“The resulting reduction in farm output would have a significant impact on food prices, as well as major socio-economic impacts. This is the dark underside of the glossy and optimistic conclusions about the potential costs of an ETS.”

The National Party Senate leader Barnaby Joyce [pictured below] who defied Liberal Leader Malcolm Turnbull to lead his Senate team across the floor to vote against the legislation said:

The law was “completely mad – akin to an art movie. You don’t know whether to be shocked or to laugh. It is outrageous when the major threat to rural communities is not the international economy but domestic tax policy”.

The Australian Greens also voted against the Bill. Tasmanian Senator Christine Milne [pictured] said:

the Prime Minister must explain to the people of regional Australia “why he is determined to drive them off the land and further undermine the viability of their communities with another tax rort for plantations dressed up as climate change policy”.

Gippsland Farmer Robert Belcher, chairman of Sustainable Agricultural Communities Australia [pictured below] said :

“As soon as you take a farm, you take a family, you take kids out of school, money out of the local community,” he said.

“We have had to work really hard to get the average punter to realize he’s been duded.”

Size of Agricultural land to be turned into carbon sink forests (source: ABARE)

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Have Your say!

Incredible and unprecedented scenes in the Senate last night. No fewer than 27 Liberal Senators revolted against a last minute backflip by their leader Malcolm Turnbull that was a blatant sellout of rural & regional Australia.

The Federal Government’s billion dollar infrastructure package has passed the Senate but only after an Opposition back flip and extraordinary scenes that saw the Coalition split.

The National Party is outraged by Malcolm Turnbull’s decision to support the bill because the new legislation axes a Howard Government $2-billion rural and regional telecommunications fund.

Well it’s clear that some members of the Liberal Party felt the same way. They crossed the floor to vote with the Nationals and many more abstained.

You will recall yesterday that Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce wrote to us saying:

An attempt by the Rudd Labor Government to rob rural and regional communities of future telecommunications funding has been stopped in the Senate by Coalition senators, Independent Senator Nick Xenophon and Family First Senator Steve Fielding.

That was the way it stood at lunch time until Coalition leader Malcolm Turnbull pulled the rug out from under rural & regional Australia. This mornings Tony Eastley ABC AM program reported:

Just before lunch yesterday the Coalition, combining with the minor parties and independents, began amending the infrastructure funds bills in a way, it said, that made the process more accountable.

Then at 10 last night the bill was returned to the House of Representatives where the Government knocked out the amendments. The Coalition opposed that move.

In between that vote and the bill returning to the Senate just before midnight there was a last minute decision to let the legislation pass.

The Nationals are furious at Turnbull’s treacherous betrayal, from The Australian Online.

The Nationals were furious over the backflip.

Before crossing the floor, Nationals Senator Fiona Nash said the Coalition should have insisted on the change.

“Those people out in regional Australian need our support, they trust us,” she said.

“We won’t be walking away from the people of rural Australia.”

Nationals senator Ron Boswell said he would not betray regional Australia’s trust.

“I’ll walk across the floor before I walk away from that trust,” Senator Boswell said.

Senator Boswell has written to us explaining the situation. You can see that here.

Here is the incredible part, which shows that there are plenty of Liberal members with a conscience, even if they don’t have the courage of their convictions. Here is how the Liberals handled the vote in the Senate.

32 Liberal Senators

2 voted with the Nationals

5 voted with Labor

25 either abstained or did not vote

The two liberal Senators who have won the admiration and respect of rural & regional Australia for having the integrity and courage to cross the floor with the Nationals were:

Liberal Senator for WA Alan Eggleston

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Liberal Senator for South Australia Alan Ferguson

It is particularly pleasing to see Senator Ferguson standing up for rural & regional Australia with his farming background after Agmates name him in our Shame file earlier in the week. He has redeemed himself.

Here is how the ABC AM program reported what happened at the vote.

Then it came time to vote to allow the Coalition’s communications fund to be subsumed into the Labor funds and that’s when the situation became extraordinary.

Liberals melted away out of the Chamber. Some came in as the division bells rang only to walk out again. One Liberal senator did a lap of the Chamber before running to get out as the doors closed.

I am still trying to find out who the 5 Liberals that voted with the government were. I’ll update this when I do.

Now here is the Liberal Party Shame file.

(more…)

Leader of the Nationals in the Senate Barnaby Joyce [pictured] writes from Canberra today:

An attempt by the Rudd Labor Government to rob rural and regional communities of future telecommunications funding has been stopped in the Senate by Coalition senators, Independent Senator Nick Xenophon and Family First Senator Steve Fielding.

The Government’s Nation Building Funds Bill 2008 was successfully amended to prevent the transfer of the Communications Fund to the Building Australia Fund.

We welcome the retention of the fund but the fight will continue for better communications in regional and remote Australia.

This fund was so arduously bargained for in 2005 during the Telstra debate The acrimony, insult and pain that The Nationals had to go through to get the money has not been lost.

The fund has been preserved and we would especially like to thank our Coalition Senate colleagues and Senator Nick Xenophon and Senator Steve Fielding for their support on this issue.

(more…)

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&regional 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!

Independent Senator Nick Xenophon [pictured] writes:

The Government and Liberal Senators voted together to defeat a Greens motion by Senator Christine Milne to ban the tax breaks.

This policy is an act of folly. It is bad for farmers, it is bad for the water market, and it is bad for the environment.

The tax breaks give Managed Investments Schemes an unfair advantage over ordinary farmers.

These tax breaks distort the market. The Investment Schemes end up cashed up and this drives up the price of land and water and it threatens the security of our food production.

The scheme also makes a mockery of the government’s Water Bill. Many of these carbon sinks will actually stop water reaching the rivers.

The tax breaks as divisive and unfair.

Under this system you can have two farms side by side. The one run by the Investment Fund gets a tax break that allows them to write off the entire cost of their tree plantings, their buildings, their machinery, and their vehicles in the first year of operation. The ordinary farmer next door doesn’t get the same tax break and has to write his costs off over decades.

Tax dollars are being used to give big business an advantage over ordinary farmers.

I pay tribute to Nationals Senator Barnaby Joyce and his three party colleagues, Senators Nash, Boswell and Williams for crossing the floor on this issue. The four Nationals voted with Senator Xenophon, the Greens and Senator Fielding.

Barnaby is on the money, and this clearly is a waste of taxpayers’ money.

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Have Your say!

The Rudd government is in the process of introducing net filters that will give them total control over what Australians can access on the internet. This is not about fighting child po***graphy, you can already do that yourself by downloading the free net-nanny software.

This is about censoring anything that the government deems to be “unwanted material”. If you trust this government or the next one to be the sole arbitrator of what you can and can’t access on the internet, then do nothing. If you are thinking that than just remember the Haneef case, children overboard, AWB wheat scandal etc, etc, etc.

If the Rudd Government gets this legislation through, it will give them complete control over the internet. Australia will be a net-nanny state that has no peer in the free democratic world. Our peers will be in China, Iran, Turkey & North Korea.

If you don’t trust this government and any future governments to have the same control over Australian internet that the Chinese and Iranians governments have then here is what you can do about it right now.

The absolute best thing you can do is write (not email, they rarely read it) to Minister Conroy, PM Rudd and your Local Federal Member and Independent Senators.

From the EFA’s web site:

A personalized letter to the Minister sends a powerful message: We don’t like the policy, and we care. Letters can be sent to the Ministerial office:

Senator Stephen Conroy
Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy
Level 4, 4 Treasury Place
Melbourne
Vic 3002
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And the Prime Minister

The Hon Kevin Rudd
Prime Minister
PO Box 476,
Morningside
Qld 4170

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You can find your local federal members contact details here. An alphabetical list of Federal MP’s.

The 2 Senators that hold the balance of power are particularly important to write to.

Independent Senator
Steve Fielding
255 Blackburn Road
Mount Waverley
Vic 3149
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Independent Senator
Nick Xenophon
212 Grenfell Street
Adelaide
SA 5000
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If you’d like to write to another Senator you can find their contact details here.

If you’re not sure what to say, you might wish to use the following as a template. You can just cut and paste this onto a word document or go to the bottom and click on the names of the people you’d like to mail to.

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Dear Minister,

As an Australian and an internet user, I have serious concerns about the mandatory Internet filtering initiative.

Given the importance your Government has attached to modernising Australia’s broadband network, pursuing a policy that can only slow down and increase the costs of home internet access seems misguided at best.

Australian households are diverse, and most do not have young children, so mandating a one-size-fits-all clean feed approach will not serve the public well. I don’t think it is the Government’s role to decide what’s appropriate for me or my children, and neither do most Australians.

Given the amount of Internet content available, the Government will never be able to classify it all and filters will always result in an unacceptable level of over-blocking.

I feel that the time and money could be spent in better ways both to protect children and improve Australia’s digital infrastructure. Australian parents need better education about the risks their children face online.

Trying to rid the Internet of adult content is futile, and can only distract from that mission.

I and the Agmates community urge you to stop this legislation. Please see our concerns on the Agmates web site http://www.agmates.com/blog … and type internet filtering into the search box at the bottom of the right hand column.

Sincerely,

(Your First & Last Name)

City / Town & State

I have posted off a letter to the 12 MP’s and Senators below. Each name is linked to the word document that I’ve mailed.

If you like just click on each one, change your contact details from mine at the bottom, and then print it off. Write up an envelop with the address, pop on a stamp and your done.

Just use or change one of them for your local member.

Senator Stephen Conroy

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd

Leader of the Opposition Malcolm Turnbull

Leader of the Nationals Warren Truss

Senate Nationals Leader Barnaby Joyce

Leader of Opposition in the Senate Nick Minchin

Leader of the Australian Greens Bob Brown

Independent Senator Steve Fielding

Independent Senator Nick Xenophon

Independent MP Tony Windsor

Independent MP Bob Katter

Independent MP Rob Oakeshott

The government must not be allowed to tamper with Australians right to ‘freedom of speech’ - not now, not ever.

So if your care about maintaining your personal freedom send your letters and THEN email this to everybody you know and ask them to do the same. Here is a number of links that will help you explain whats happening.

1. Internet Filtering Is dangerous because Australians Have NO Constitutional Right To Freedom of Speech

2. Journalist Glenn Milne – Too Many Holes In Rudd Governments Internet Filter

3. Government Tries To Gag Internet Filtering Critic

4. Internet Filtering Explained – 2 Videos

Good, now if you have sent your letters see if you can get just one other person to do it.

Just copy and paste the URL address that is at the top of your browser bar at the minute into an email and send it to everybody in your contact list with a message of what it is about and encourage them to send letters and send this onto there friends.

Have your say! Please let us know by way of comment when you have sent you letters, the feedback will encourage others.

Rural and regional Australia is once gain a winner as Prime Minister KEVIN Rudd moves boldly to bolster economic activity and insulate Australia against the worst effects of the Global credit crisis.

On the back of announcing last weeks $10.4 biilion cash stimulus of which 2.9 million rural and regional Australians will pocket $4 billion the PM last night announce $600 million will be fast tracked into spending on small local infastucture projects.

The Commonwealth will pump $600 million into local councils to deliver small projects that are set to go in a bid to boost rural & regional economies and shield local communities from job losses that may happen as the impacts of the Global credit crisis hit.

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“Australian Local Government Association president Paul Bell [pictured] said local governments could get started on the backlog of public works projects almost immediately.

“We have got the plans, we have got the designs, we know the priorities,” Mr Bell said.

“In many cases, this is spending we have had to continually defer, so this money could hit the ground very, very quickly.

Body: “It would boost local economies and replace and maintain the kind of infrastructure that really provides the glue for these communities.”

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The new funding program will be targeted at public infrastructure, such as sports grounds, libraries, transport systems, community halls, bridges and local roads. None of the money be available to private business as it was under the Howard governments much criticized Regional partneship scheme.

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In 2006, the Australian Local Government Association commissioned a report from PricewaterhouseCoopers that found there was a $14.5 billion backlog in necessary spending on local government infrastructure.

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The Howard government for the large part left rural and regional Australia to ‘die on the vine’.

So for moving boldly to begin to address the neglect of infrastructure in local communities the PM wins his second Agmates “Onya” in last 7 days.

A big Thumbs up from the Agmates community.

“Onya” Kevin.

I must say the PM’s bold actions over the last two weeks have me feeling better about my decision to vote Labor at the last election.

Thats not to say I’m smart – I mean I’m ashamed to admit it but I did vote for Hansen in the Senate. All that achieved was helping her get a $200,000 tax payer funded cheque.

As I was to discover after the election, she’d been too distracted by a relationship to do any serious campaigning – but happily took the cheque because mugs like me were duped into believing she was busting to get into the Senate and work for rural & regional Australians.

As it worked out we have ended up with two Independent Senators, Fielding and Xenophon who are doing a tremendous job looking after the interests of rural & regional Australians.

As far as Hansen is concerned – Never again.

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Have Your say!

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Independent Senator for South Australia Nick Xenophon writes:

I am calling for urgent action from the new Petrol Commissioner after it was revealed retail petrol prices have fallen less than 14 cents a litre, even though world oil prices have dropped by $50 a barrel – the equivalent of 57 cents a litre.

These oil companies use spikes in world oil prices to justify putting retail prices up. But when world oil prices fall, the oil companies keep their retail prices sky high.

According to media reports today, if retail prices had fallen in line with world oil prices, Australian motorists would be paying less than a dollar a litre. Currently the price is around $1.50 a litre.

Australian motorists have a right to be angry about this. The Petrol Commissioner, Joe Dimasi [pictured] , and the ACCC need to take these companies to task as a matter of urgency. We must have greater transparency.

I have requested an urgent meeting with the Petrol Commissioner to discuss this issue and to push for an overhaul of the wholesale marketing of petrol in Australia.

We need to end the cosy relationship between the oil companies at the wholesale level. That’s where the real savings for consumers are.

Petrol companies should not be allowed to pump motorists for outrageous profits at a time when millions of Australians are facing the hardest economic conditions of their lives.

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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

The Senate inquiry into the Murray Darling is due to report later this week and Independent Senator Nick Xenophon and Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young [ pictured] have laid it on the line to Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and Labor.

You have to love the new balance of power that the Senate has. Last week we saw Family First Senator Steve Fielding winning the practical and much needed exemption for farmers from the “Luxury car tax”. This week we’ll see enormous pressure on the government to in the words of Senator Hanson-Young “pull the states into line”.

The Greens Senator from South Australia said the federal Government had to step in and remove Victoria’s 4 per cent annual limit on the amount of water that can be traded from its irrigation districts.

Echoing those sentiments, Senator Xenophon, also from South Australia, told The Australian: “

“The Rudd Government has lacked the political backbone, to use that Paul Keating phrase.

The Rudd Government, when it comes to taking on Premier Brumby, has been a shiver looking for a spine.“

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The main reason that the Crisis is happening is because of years of bloody minded political State parochialism.

The “we are fine, so stuff you Jack” attitude of Victorian Premier John Brumby [ pictured] in relation to the Murray again sparked a verbal war between the states on Friday when he declared Victoria was doing all the “heavy lifting” when it came to saving the Murray River.

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Senator Xenophon summed it up when he said,

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“When Mr Brumby tries to lecture us about responsible water policy it’s a bit like Osama bin Laden calling for world peace.

The Government doesn’t have the numbers in the Senate and I think that they need to heed the need for using their powers,”

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So at last we might see the Senate force a federal government to take control of the Murray Darling System. As long as management of the basin is divided between the Governments of four States – (Victoria, New South wales, Queensland and South Australia) it will be what it always be as it has been – a disaster.

The sooner we get rid of state governments altogether, will be for the better in my book.

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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