Nationals abandon farmers with lip service to net-zero
MEDIA RELEASE
23 June 2021
Climate change ideology continues to divide the Australian Government and put the lifestyle and livelihoods of farmers at risk.
One Nation leader Senator Pauline Hanson said farmers needed a firm commitment from the Nationals on the prospect of net zero emissions by 2050 that protected their lifestyles and businesses.
“Barnaby Joyce might say the Nationals view this through ‘different eyes’ but with his deputy saying ‘never say never’, farmers are understandably very concerned the Nationals are abandoning farmers to shore up their power in the Coalition,” Senator Hanson said.
“As long as the Coalition, Labor and the Greens continue to pay lip service and waste billions of dollars to placate climate change zealots, Australia will continue to be held hostage by unaccountable climate change ideology.
“This puts our farmers’ lifestyles and livelihoods at risk, along with Australia’s long term food security. The prospect of farmers being paid by taxpayers not to farm in order to meet some arbitrary emissions target decades in the future is appalling, and smacks of the anti-competitive farming subsidies employed by the European Union and the United States to disadvantage more efficient Australian producers.
“One Nation is firmly committed against net zero emissions by 2050. We want farmers doing what they do best – producing the food and fibre which has cemented Australia’s reputation as a leader in agriculture, looking after the land like only they know how, and bringing much needed export dollars into our economy and into rural communities. We need to get out of their way, not tie their hands behind their backs and undermine our future food security.
“The Nationals have failed farmers on water reform in the Murray-Darling Basin. They failed the dairy industry in its crisis. Farmers are looking for effective, decisive leadership and they’re not getting it from the Nationals. Farmers are looking for a firm commitment to protect their lifestyles and livelihoods and they’re not getting it from the Nationals.
“Memories are short. In 2019, Queensland voters sent a clear message by rejecting climate change ideology in favour of jobs and energy security; without this support, the Coalition would not be in government today. The Nationals will ignore this rejection at their peril.”
ENDS
