No more misrepresentation, Mr Truss

Posted by Jim on January 1, 2011

Since becoming actively involved in the Greens, I have been astonished at the persistent untruths concocted in the offices of Conservative parliamentarians and their supporters about Greens’ policies and published, often uncritically and with no attempt at balance, in the nation’s media. The Nationals finished 2010 true to form in attempting to perpetuate a mythical divide between farmers and The Greens, reported in the rural publication, Stock and Land.

In this post, I expose the National Party’s disregard for the truth by looking at our actual policy and the party’s position on farming in statements made by Green Party leaders over the last 12 months.

National Party Misinformation from Stock and Land:
Federal Nationals Leader Warren Truss said he was concerned the Greens were demonising farmers unfairly and failing to adequately recognise the work primary producers already do to care for and maintain the environment. “I don’t think the Greens are honest players in the whole exercise [the Murray-Darling Basin report],” he said. “No matter what amount of water was returned to the environment that would not be enough for the Greens.
Stock and Land, 31 December 2010.

Greens Party Facts: Sustainable Agriculture Policy:

Principles
The Australian Greens believe that:
1.the long-term sustainability of agriculture is essential for Australia’s society, economy and environment.
2.sustainable agriculture is fundamental to supporting rural communities, which are a vital part of Australian society.
3.rural Australia faces complex agricultural, environmental and social challenges; many farmers and pastoralists are actively seeking sustainable practices, but struggle to contend with increasing financial pressures.
4.the combined problems of salinity, water quality, soil degradation and habitat fragmentation require an integrated approach at the farm enterprise, catchment and landscape scales.
5.ongoing research, development and extension are essential to both improve the sustainability of Australian agriculture and to maintain its competitiveness.
6.we must plan and manage for the likely impacts of climate change, increasing climatic variability and oil scarcity on Australia’s agricultural industries
Australian Greens Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy: Sustainable Agriculture.

[Full policy below]

Greens Party Facts: Leaders’ statements on farming and agriculture

Far from “demonising” Australian farmers, Greens leaders recognise and acknowledge farmers’ role in a healthy rounded economy and in preserving the productivity of the land in a sustainable manner.

1. “A report commissioned by the Tasmanian Farmers and Graziers Association before the state election there showed that the Greens’ policies reflected their own principles more often than those of either Labor or the Liberals. In comments to his local newspaper, Tasmanian Greens leader Nick McKim was quick to praise the farming community following the report’s findings. ‘Farmers have a close association with the land that they work and understand the need for sustainability better than most; in that way I have always thought they have a natural affinity in common with the Greens.’”
   The Canberra Times, 19 April 2010.
2. “The battle for the Liverpool Plains though is more than a land-use dispute – the water that runs below the plain ultimately drains into the Murray-Darling Basin. As a result the farmers have joined forces with the Greens to demand the Federal Government stops any mining that would destroy water flowing into the endangered river system. ‘The lack of logic in the government allowing BHP Billiton to move in on the Murray-Darling Basin like this screams at you,’ Greens Leader Bob Brown said.”
   ABC News , 20 July 2010
3. Visiting the Darling Downs today Australian Greens Leader Bob Brown said the Greens would stand up for farming communities against multinational mining companies. Senator Brown met with Glenn Beutel, the last resident of the town of Acland (former pop. 250) after the buy up of all other properties by coal mining companies. “The town due to totally disappear into a massive open cut mine for coal exports,” said Senator Brown. “The Greens are regional Australians’ voice in Parliament for the protection of our farming land, for stopping climate change and for getting a better share for the community from the mining boom,” said Senator Brown.
   Australian Greens Media Release, The Australian Greens, Brown visits last resident of doomed farming town, 10 August 2010.
4. Speaking in Orange today Australian Greens Leader Bob Brown called for a national register of foreign purchases of land or water in rural Australia. “In the coming century food and fibre production will be a huge issue as the world population soars to 10 billion people or more,” said Senator Brown. “It is important Australians know who owns the productive farmlands and water rights of our country. Currently there is no register except in Queensland nor any vetting of foreign ownership by the Foreign Investment Review Board except for purchases in excess of $231 million. Ownership can lead to control of markets for food and therefore food prices so it’s important we know who owns what,” Senator Brown said.
   Australian Greens Media Release, Greens call for national rural land and water register, 28 July 2010.
5. Greens leader Bob Brown, in Toowoomba today, is calling on Environment Minister Garrett to place a moratorium on coal seam gas mining and exploration until adequate environmental protections are in place. “The rich farming land and vital water of the Surat Basin is worth around $2 billion, and should not be put at risk by the rapid, and hazardous, expansion of the coal seam (CSG) mining industry,” Senator Brown said. Senator Brown said that he would move to amend federal laws to make go ahead of coal seam gas projects subject to federal assessment and approval under the Environment Protection Biodiversity Conservation Act. Senator Brown and Queensland Greens Senate Candidate Larissa Waters, who is an environmental lawyer, are meeting with concerned farmers on the Darling Downs today. “Coal seam gas mining should not proceed at the expense of food production, water security, endangered species or the climate,” said Ms. Waters. “These CSG projects involve significant land clearing, destroying thousands of hectares of vegetation, including the habitat of koalas and a number of endangered species, such as the Bridled Nail-Tail Wallaby, the Grey Falcon and the Brigalow Woodland Snail. “This traditional food-producing region must not be put at risk in the rush by outside interests for mining profits.”…. Senator Brown said that the National Party had lost its way and become much more a Mining Party than the stand out defender of farming and rural interests it used to be. “But the Greens see the looming global food crisis and the need to give productive farmland the priority it deserves,” he said.
   Australian Greens Media Release, Greens call for moratorium & new laws to protect farms and water from coal seam gas mining, 6 July 2010.
6. “The rich farming land and vital water of the Surat Basin is worth around $2 billion, and should not be put at risk by the rapid, and hazardous, expansion of the coal seam (CSG) mining industry,” Senator Brown said.
   Australian Greens Media Release, Greens call for moratorium & new laws to protect farms and water from coal seam gas mining, 6 July 2010.
7. In a desert nation like Australia, it is madness to sell off the farm and its water or to undervalue the skills of our food growers and researchers. Our children will never forgive us if we become tenant farmers in our own country. But what recourse do farmers have when they are not valued and cannot make a living and need to sell to exit the farm with dignity? Government policies like free trade agreements which take no account of environmental laws or wage differences make it impossible for farmers to compete with foreign-grown products no matter how efficient Australian farmers are.
   Sen Christine Milne, Greensblog, Food security plan essential for the national interest, 28 July 2010.

Clearly the allegations in Stock and Land by Nationals figures and the Member for Wide Bay will deceive some reading that paper, which has not bothered to check National Party assertions. Others will recognise the article for what it is: blatant propaganda. Unfortunately, this happens too often in the rural and regional press.

This repeated misinformation about the Greens’ policy is the shabby strategy of a party whose base is falling away. Support for the Nationals has fallen in recent elections. In the 2010 Federal election, while 5.4% the electorate turned against Labor in the House of Representatives, there was no significant increase in the primary vote across the country for the Nationals [+0.16%] while the Greens increased their vote by almost 4%. In Queensland the LNP increased their vote by less than 1 percent [+0.6%]. The Greens obtained well over three times more than the Nationals’ vote across the country [Source: Australian Electoral Commission].

The National Party should look to its own performance in representing rural and regional Australia. It betrayed the farmers by supporting the Howard Government’s free trade agreement with the United States, selling out the beef industry and the cane farmers in the process. It has a weak policy on protecting prime agricultural regions, and Warren Truss, the Member for Wide Bay, has failed to stand side by side with the farmers against mining. He has been silent about coalmining in the Mary River Valley. Mr Truss followed the breeze in opposing Traveston, but he says nothing about the damage to the Mary River, its tributaries and aquifers that will follow open-cut mining and coal seam gas in the Mary River Valley should an irresponsible Queensland Government allow it to go ahead.

In over 140 media releases in 2010 he made not one statement about mining and agriculture. He tackles the issue in none of his major speeches, but he made plenty of statements defending the miners against new taxes. If only he’d spent that energy on protecting agriculture from the expansion of huge coalmines. The issue didn’t even rate a mention in his campaign launch speech.

The fact of the matter is that the Nationals’ smokescreen tactic of misrepresenting Greens’ policy is an attempt to hide their inability to juggle competing mining and agricultural interests in representing rural and regional Australia.

The Greens’ Real Policy on Water

Principles

The Australian Greens believe that:

1. access to clean and adequate water is fundamental to life.
2. Australia is the driest inhabited continent in the world, and our freshwater resources are coming under increasing pressure as a result of climate change and growing human demand.
3. the health of our catchments, rivers, wetlands, groundwater systems and estuaries underpins the health of our environment and our communities, and the prosperity of our agriculture and industry.
4. we have a responsibility to protect Australia’s rivers and freshwater environments as part of our natural heritage and future prosperity.
5. as a scarce and fluctuating resource, Australia’s major water supplies must be publicly owned and must be managed through a system of regulated water allocation.
6. water efficiency and recycling measures must be considered before expensive, environmentally damaging and greenhouse gas intensive alternative water management strategies.
7. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people must have the opportunity to participate in water catchment planning and management where appropriate.
8. there should be no new large-scale dams on Australian rivers.

Goals

The Australian Greens want:

1. legislation and regulatory systems which protect our catchments, rivers, wetlands, estuaries and groundwater systems.
2. healthy drinking water that consistently meets or exceeds World Health Organisation (WHO) and National Drinking Water standards.
3. public ownership and control of all major water supply, distribution, drainage and disposal systems.
4. sustainable water use planning to be required for all new developments and agricultural use.
5. national research and planning addressing the impacts of climate change on our catchments, rivers, wetlands, estuaries and groundwater systems.
6. all national water reform legislation, planning and agreements to strategically address the impacts of climate change on Australia’s water resources.
7. sufficient water allocations for environmental flows.

Measures

The Australian Greens will:

1. ensure that all major water infrastructure systems are in public ownership.
2. establish funding agreements with the states and territories based on per capita targets for reduction in water consumption and increases in recycling and reuse.
3. encourage the states and territories to adopt Water Sensitive Urban Design principles and methods for both new and existing development and infrastructure.
4. work with the states and territories to:

• review the impact of climate change on catchments, rivers, wetlands, groundwater systems and estuaries and ensure that all future planning adequately addresses climate change;
• implement a Comprehensive, Adequate and Representative (CAR) system of reserves for Australia’s unique and high conservation value freshwater ecosystems, and fully protect rivers that still have natural flow regimes;
• implement integrated catchment management planning and establish environmental flow targets for all catchments on a national basis;
• buy back water entitlements in severely degraded and over-allocated systems;
• permit extraction from groundwater systems that do not exceed recharge rates, as determined by a comprehensive hydrogeological assessment; and
• support the introduction of water recycling measures.

1. support a national review of the social, economic and ecological impacts of Australian water allocations and water trading systems.
2. ensure that any water trading systems are based on scientific studies of the hydrological systems involved (both surface water and groundwater), and that water trading boundaries and allocations are ecologically appropriate.
3. support whole of basin planning and management of the equitable use of the water resources of Murray Darling Basin that implements a cap on sustainable extraction, manages the health and resilience of the river and its ecosystems, and supports sustainable food production and rural enterprises for the long-term viability and wellbeing of basin communities.
4. legislate to ensure the provision of environmental water flows in all catchments to sustain and restore our natural environmental heritage.
5. implement water saving efficiency measures for irrigated agriculture, and ensure pricing reflects the true cost of water use.
6. consult with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in integrated catchment planning and management, and support the recognition of Indigenous water rights and the allocation of water for cultural flows
7. require a complete environmental impact assessment, prior to commencement, for schemes involving re-insertion of waste-water into an aquifer.
8. assist the states and territories to address processes that threaten Australia’s freshwater systems such as land clearance, mining, erosion, sedimentation and pollution, by protecting and restoring native vegetation, and addressing point and diffuse sources of pollution and sediment runoff.
9. ensure that Australian drinking water supplies consistently meet or exceed WHO and National Drinking Water standards, and that catchment water quality is regularly monitored and publicly reported.
10. ensure that there are comprehensive minimum water efficiency standards for new buildings and industries as well as new domestic and commercial appliances.

The Greens’ Real Policy on Agriculture

Principles

The Australian Greens believe that:

1. the long-term sustainability of agriculture is essential for Australia’s society, economy and environment.
2. sustainable agriculture is fundamental to supporting rural communities, which are a vital part of Australian society.
3. rural Australia faces complex agricultural, environmental and social challenges; many farmers and pastoralists are actively seeking sustainable practices, but struggle to contend with increasing financial pressures.
4. the combined problems of salinity, water quality, soil degradation and habitat fragmentation require an integrated approach at the farm enterprise, catchment and landscape scales.
5. ongoing research, development and extension are essential to both improve the sustainability of Australian agriculture and to maintain its competitiveness.
6. we must plan and manage for the likely impacts of climate change, increasing climatic variability and oil scarcity on Australia’s agricultural industries.

Goals

The Australian Greens want:

1. sustainable land management.
2. improved water efficiency, water quality and conservation within agricultural systems.
3. to work with the farming community to address the critical issue of soil degradation and loss of soil health facing Australian agricultural industries.
4. an end to broad-scale native vegetation clearing and, where possible, restoration of native vegetation and biodiversity.
5. the identification of damaged landscapes and those at risk, and the implementation of remediation strategies for these areas.
6. increased support for research into sustainable agricultural innovations and industries.
7. an increase in new sustainable industries, including biofuel and bioenergy production, provided that they do not endanger food security.
8. improved protection for pastoral and leasehold lands, waterways, roadsides, travelling stock routes and other key public assets.
9. better biosecurity through effective management of invasive species, pests and diseases.
10. prime agricultural land protected from urban developments and other encroachments, and support for community-based food production systems.
11. regional communities to be prepared for the impacts of oil scarcity, climate change and increased climate variability.
12. the promotion of Australian produce to the Australian community.
13. the protection and enhancement of crop diversity and resilience.

Measures

The Australian Greens will:

1. foster cooperative partnerships between governments, agribusiness, landholders and managers, and communities, to implement sustainable agricultural systems, methods and industries, and to undertake landscape restoration.
2. revise and improve existing strategies for natural resource management at both farm and catchment levels.
3. work for community consultation and participation in policy and decision-making in agricultural landscape management, with legislation, where appropriate.
4. address climatic variability and climate change through risk management strategies that minimise the adverse impacts of weather extremes, and encourage the adaptation of agricultural processes to climate change.
5. extend incentive schemes to landholders implementing sustainable farming systems.
6. review exceptional circumstances criteria which permit the continuation of degrading practices.
7. strengthen national research and development coordination and funding for new industries that deliver environmental and community benefits.
8. structure tax incentives to encourage private sector investment in sustainable new agricultural industries.
9. regulate for sustainable use of irrigation water and groundwater, including transparent pricing to promote efficient water use.
10. ensure agricultural land zoning reflects land use capability and protects prime agricultural land.
11. support initiatives that increase local product quality and nutrition, local value-adding and local distribution, and promote Australian produce to the Australian community.
12. support further research into alternatives to, and fund the transition from, the use of non-renewable energy, and agrochemicals such as pesticides and artificial fertilisers.
13. ensure better access for primary producers to services, expertise and technologies that improve the sustainability of their enterprises.
14. support food trading and processing practices that reduce transport, packaging and waste.
15. resource international and intranational biosecurity, pest, weed and disease control measures, to protect Australia’s biodiversity, its agriculture, and people.
16. fund research into social and economic factors associated with changes in land use, transport and energy costs, and climate risk.
17. provide long-term funding for successful programs of sustainable landscape use.
18. promote ecologically sustainable approaches to land use to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and sequester carbon in soil, and offer incentives for implementation.
19. seek and support fair trade and biosecurity in international trade agreements.
20. address soil degradation and soil health as key funding priorities for natural resource management programs.
21. promote organic agriculture.

Jim McDonald, Greens Spokesperson for Wide Bay, 1 January 2011