People from the bush have a reputation as being straight talkers. We learn a lot when we listen to what they have to say. And they had plenty to say at this year’s National Bush Summit, The Daily Telegraph’s 8th Bush Summit, held in Dubbo where it all began in the midst of the crippling 2019 drought.
To his great credit, the Prime Minister attended the first Summit in 2019 as opposition leader and has been at every one since, ensuring he hears first-hand about the issues facing regions that contribute 40% of Australia’s economic wellbeing.
He, along with Opposition Leader Angus Taylor, Nationals leader Matt Canavan, One Nation’s Pauline Hanson, Premiers Chris Minns and Peter Malinauskas and of course the ubiquitous Barnaby Joyce, heard plenty again this year.
The asphyxiating effect of regulation was probably the big talking point. Speaker after speaker pleaded: “Regulation is killing us, tying us in red and green knots and driving our businesses and communities into the ground”.
Government meddling is definitely not welcome in regional Australia. The Australian government has been the biggest buyer of irrigation water in the Murray Darling Basin for the past decade. But once the government buys out farmers’ water, at inflated prices, that water disappears from the system.
Farmers describe water buybacks as madness. More than 70% of the water in basin rivers is now reserved for the environment; farmers and basin towns get about 28%. Enough is enough say irrigators and food processors.
And the community agrees as well. According to SEC Newgate research around two-thirds of all Australians including those in the cities, think water should be prioritised for food and fibre production – so why are our leaders not listening?
Regional businesses also have a different take on the migration debate.
Farmers and food processing businesses are heavily reliant on overseas workers who come here on working holiday visas or the Pacific Area Labour Mobility scheme. A strong message from the Summit was that if you take away our seasonal workers and process workers, crops won’t get harvested and food won’t get processed.
Energy policy is a divisive issue in the bush. For the people who are being asked to accommodate massive wind towers on their farms or live next to an industrial scale transmission line, it’s a highly emotive issue. These communities feel they are carrying an unfair burden in the shift to renewable energy.
There were calls to take a pause on the frantic pace of the rollout of wind farms, solar farms and transmission lines, consult properly with the communities and make sure the benefits of the renewable gold rush are shared.
As well, government was urged to slow down the introduction of penalties in the National Vehicle Emissions Scheme (NVES) to ensure those in the bush are not left behind at least until robust electric vehicle technology and rural charging infrastructure catches up to what’s available in the city.
The one topic everyone can agree on is that feral animals are a major threat to regional Australia.
An infestation of fire ants will destroy any barefoot barbecue or picnic. And feral pig numbers are now estimated to be twice the human population of Australia. What is needed is a national well-funded assault on invasive species and a partnership with regional communities around Australia on control programs that will work in the long term.
And finally, we got to hear how important the cruise industry is to the regional economy through the Paddock to Port Alliance and how further regulation impacting the cruise sector threatens that economic activity.
So, there is again a laundry list of outcomes people in the bush are seeking. Thanks to News Corp’s ongoing advocacy and the communique from the Summit, we hope to make sure the voice of the country is heard to keep these issues at the forefront.
