Latest news with #Riverina
ABC News
a day ago
- ABC News
Abattoir lawyer accused of 'blame shifting' after worker loses foot
A New South Wales Riverina abattoir has been accused of "blame shifting" despite pleading guilty to charges related to a workplace injury that resulted in a worker losing his foot. During a sentencing hearing in the NSW District Court in Sydney on Tuesday, defence counsel representing Hilltop Meats in Young, Bruce Hodgkinson, said an auger system in which the worker's foot became entangled had a lock-out system that could have prevented the 2021 incident. He told the court that lock-out system would have demobilised the machine. "That's not a complex procedure," Mr Hodgkinson said. The worker had been clearing a blockage in the meat auger conveyor in October 2021 when a colleague turned the machine back on, causing his foot to become caught inside the screw mechanism. Emergency crews worked for more than two hours to free the man in his 30s, who suffered significant injuries to both legs and later had a foot amputated. SafeWork NSW started action against the meat processing facility in 2023. Hilltop Meats pleaded guilty in March to failures which allowed the worker to be exposed to dangerous moving parts of the auger, admitted to placing the worker at risk of falling from height on the auger and being at risk of death or serious injury. It further admitted it failed to conduct a risk assessment of the task of removing blockages in the auger. Crown prosecutor Matthew Moir accused the defence of "blame shifting". "It's the duty holder who has the obligation to ensure employees are property trained, instructed in the correct method of work," he said. He accused the defence of "trying to blame others … in particular [the victim]", for failing to follow the procedures in place. The court heard the victim began work at the abattoir in 2015 and had previously been trained in the lock-out process, before he left the company in 2018. The victim returned in July 2021. The company had changed hands, however, Mr Moir noted the victim was not retrained in the lock-out procedure. The court heard that about three months after the workplace incident, the victim was called back into work and reprimanded for his actions. Judge Wendy Strathdee was concerned by the company's action. "Would the more appropriate fashion have been to speak to the rest of the workplace rather than issue a written warning and threat of termination to the man who lost his foot," she said. Mr Hodgkinson said the "difficult" decision to call in the victim had not been taken lightly but deemed it necessary. "If they're going to take enforcement action, how are they going to do it if they don't go directly to [the victim]," he said. Judge Strathdee said while she understood it was a "very difficult, delicate situation", she remained concerned the victim was reprimanded before he had returned to work. The court heard workers had developed their own practice of clearing auger blockages, which were a common occurrence, by standing above the unguarded conveyor screw several metres above a concrete floor. Agreed facts in the case showed workers told SafeWork the guards over the auger had been removed for months prior to the incident. The court heard a maintenance supervisor had told a different worker not to stand in an unguarded auger, but no further action was taken. It heard while the maintenance manager was aware of the practice, he did not tell senior management. Mr Hodgkinson said they were unaware workers were engaging in the practice until the incident occurred. Judge Strathdee adjourned proceedings and to hand down a judgement at a later date.
The Australian
2 days ago
- Business
- The Australian
Large rural property hits the market
One of Canada's largest pension funds has listed a cropping holding in the NSW Riverina with a price tag of $40m. Lawson Grains, which holds more than 123,000ha under management consisting of 11 aggregations across NSW and Western Australia, has put its 4628ha Buckingbong Aggregation on the block despite the Riverina's lack of rain. Senior rural sources said it had been very dry in the Riverina. 'Market wise it's tough, season wise it's tough. But this is a good parcel of land,' said a source, adding that most institutions were in the market for larger aggregations of more than $100m. 'The $100m market is good because institutions need good projects (and) rainfall is everything.' Lawson Grains was purchased by Canada's Alberta Investment Management Company, which has $C169bn ($189bn) under management according to its financial reports for 2024, and Australian-headquartered New Forests, which after established its agriculture business known as New Agriculture three years ago. Lawson Grains said it was divesting the property, which it acquired in two parcels during 2014 and 2015 due to 'portfolio realignment' within the region following the acquisition this year of the Bulgandra Aggregation near Rand, a township in the Riverina. Lawson Grains chief executive Angus Blair said the purchase of Bulgandra in early 2025 added more than 3000ha close to existing grain production, storage and logistics operations at Rand, which has meant a re-alignment of the portfolio in southern NSW. 'Since acquiring the Buckingbong Aggregation 10 years ago, we've continued to develop the property to drive performance and it is now presented to the market as a turnkey grain farm at scale,' Mr Blair told The Australian. The 4628ha Buckingbong Aggregation is being offered as a whole or in three parcels known as Buckingbong, encompassing 2536ha, the 1438ha Barragunda and the 654ha Calooli. The aggregation totals 4245ha of cropping area, of which 92 per cent is arable, representing a significant, large-scale holding in the Riverina. Marketing agent Nick Myer of Elders Real Estate said 'Buckingbong is a rare offering of scale in the tightly held Riverina region with extensive grain storage and an excellent soil amelioration program. We have no doubt this asset will appeal to a wide range of investor profiles for both broadacre farming and the potential for alternative revenue streams.' In the past 10 years Lawson Grains has conducted an extensive soil amelioration program, whilst operating the properties under a 12m controlled traffic farming system, incorporating stubble retention and a strategic crop rotation. Mr Myer said structural improvements had focused on access roads, water supply and grain storage, which now totals nearly 12,000 tonnes via a combination of upright silos and grain bunkers. Billing itself as one of Australia's leading corporate grain growers, Lawson Grains controls 11 aggregations across NSW and Western Australia. Since its acquisition by Alberta Investment Management and New Forests three years ago Lawson Grains has purchased NSW assets such as Bulgandra, Green Park, Noorongong, Ellim-Eek, Jemalong Station, and Hehir's Grain Storage and Transport, which was recently rebranded Lawson Logistics. Lisa Allen Associate Editor & Editor, Mansion Australia Lisa Allen is an Associate Editor of The Australian, and is Editor of The Weekend Australian's property magazine, Mansion Australia. Lisa has been a senior reporter in business and property with the paper since 2012. She was previously Queensland Bureau Chief for The Australian Financial Review and has written for the BRW Rich List. Agribusiness The Albanese government is calling it a science-based biosecurity shift; beef farmers suspect that's 'bulldust' and the greenlight for more US imports is about securing a meeting with Donald Trump. Business An activist investor has attacked Donald McGauchie over AACo's 'moribund' performance as the wagyu beef exporter failed to promise a return to paying dividends.
Daily Mail
6 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Shocking footage from rural Australia shows bulldozers tearing up vineyards
Shocking scenes are unfolding in one of Australia's top wine regions, where desperate growers are bulldozing once-valuable vineyards. In the Riverina region of NSW, grapevines are being ripped from the ground as the market is overwhelmed by a massive oversupply of wine that simply isn't selling. Known for its Mediterranean-style climate and top-quality Chardonnay, Sémillon and Shiraz, the Riverina is now at the heart of a crisis threatening Australia's $45 billion wine industry. A perfect storm of falling demand, particularly among younger Australians, and crippling Chinese tariffs which were only lifted in March 2024 has pushed the industry to breaking point, with industry leaders now calling it an 'oversupply crisis'. Jeremy Cass, CEO of Riverina Winegrape Growers (RWG), said many growers have been forced to operate at massive losses for four years, particularly those producing red varieties. 'Our industry is in a real crisis due to the oversupply caused by the Chinese tariffs that were imposed after Scott Morrison challenged China on COVID yet support from the government has been sorely lacking,' he told Daily Mail Australia. Some growers are out of pocket up to $150,000 a year, Mr Cass said, just to stay afloat, and many are now ripping up vineyards that cost up to $35,000 per hectare to plant. RWG chair Bruno Brombal said growers need to start making 'difficult but necessary decisions' now to avoid another season of devastating financial loss. 'Whether the decision is to reduce plantings, exit part of the business, or adapt in other ways, growers need to be having these conversations now before they're locked into another season of loss,' Mr Brombal said. While demand from China is showing signs of recovery, many inland growers have been left behind as consumers both overseas and at home chase trendier alternatives like seltzers, spirits, and so-called 'functional beverages.' Wine now ranks last among preferred drinks for younger Aussies, with Gen Z turning away from alcohol altogether in favour of 'sober-curious' lifestyles and health-conscious choices. Even major wineries are scrambling to adapt, experimenting with wine cocktails, liquor-wine blends, and low-alcohol options to stay relevant. 'Australian Grape and Wine has put in a prebudget submission to government two years in a row for $85 million, $30 million of which is earmarked to help some growers transfer to other crops,' he said. 'This has been ignored but we see government spend $70 million a year for 10 years so that we can get an NRL team from Papua New Guinea.' Australia is home to 2,156 wineries and more than 6,000 grape growers, supporting nearly 165,000 jobs. But with red wine fetching just 50 cents per bladder in some cases, the bottom has fallen out. Globally, wine consumption has dropped by 3.1 billion litres in five years - a shift that's rocked even the world's most established producers.
The Advertiser
6 days ago
- Politics
- The Advertiser
A couple of studs? More like a couple of absolute duds steering us the wrong way
Look, I know milk comes from cows and eggs come from hens. I've even sung "Old McDonald had a farm" to my grandchildren, on loop. And yeah, yeah, money doesn't grow on trees. You may have read that two Nationals, Barnaby Joyce, representing the federal seat of New England; and Michael McCormack, representing the Riverina, want to abandon net zero. It's kind of embarrassing because they are just copying Donald Trump (and we know how that worked out for Temu Trump, our pet name for Peter Dutton). This week, The New York Times reported: "The Trump administration has drafted a plan to repeal a fundamental scientific finding that gives the United States government its authority to regulate greenhouse-gas emissions and fight climate change, according to two people familiar with the plan." So catastrophic decision from the US and idiotic grandstanding from the Nationals (dear heaven, the two political parties in this country with the names which bear no semblance to reality - Liberal and National). But this week's comment in response to the derangements of Joyce and McCormack by opposition energy spokesperson Dan Tehan totally perplexed me from an agricultural point of view. He described two former deputy prime ministers, now backbenchers, Barnaby Joyce and Michael McCormack, as "two steers in a paddock". I hastened to Google for agricultural assistance. A steer, by the way, is a boycow* with his nuts knackered. According to at least one livestock expert I spoke to, it's normal for two steers to be in a paddock. Absolutely normal. What would they do to each other? Absolutely nothing. They have no balls. Wow. Similar. John House, associate professor and unit head, livestock veterinary teaching and research unit at the University of Sydney confirms you can put a bunch of steers in a paddock, no problemo. "They just get along, chew grass and chill," he says. Don't think old mate Dan Tehan's made an error. These two aren't bulls at a gate but a couple of has-beens hoping they can be a bit more. Right now, that is so unlikely. Did these two miss the results of the last election? Obvs. After I asked John House all of the farming questions, I asked him about the whole net zero thing. He said bluntly: "I used to vote Liberal but I stopped because of their attitudes to climate change." Same with the rest of the country. They changed their votes too. Says House: "Who has got the most to lose? Primary producers - they are at the coal face. They are the ones getting hit by the floods and the droughts." This appears to be the consensus except among a tiny group of ancient members of the conservative parties in Australia. I ask one conservative politician what he thinks about these two. To sum up: Australia has actual things to worry about, such as floods and fires and algal blooms devouring our waterways. And Barnaby Joyce wants to grandstand about net zero. Completely bonkers? I ask. Very, comes the swift reply. And the Nationals in general? "It is a very small membership, not representative of rural and regional Australia. Their base is completely unrepresentative, more like the Sky After Dark crazy brigade. "Among the three octogenarian men** who are branch members, Joyce would be some kind of hero. The party is not representative of the communities they serve let alone the country." Very harsh. And if Barnaby Joyce (quick reminder: publicly unfaithful to his wife, didn't know if he was the dad to his love child, suggesting HPV vaccines would lead to promiscuity, public drunkenness) were to walk down the main street of any of our major cities, I reckon folks would be more likely to point and laugh than actually approach him for help. Which is what I reckon politicians should be about. Helping us. Helping the country. But how do people in the country feel about climate change? And when I say people in the country, I mean the people who grow our food. Funny you should ask. Even conservatives pointed me to Farmers for Climate Action (FCA), a farmer-led organisation with over 8000 members. It works to manage risks and "find opportunities to adapt to, and mitigate, climate change". Love that for them. And for us. READ MORE JENNA PRICE: CEO Natalie Collard says FCA conducts a regular survey of members. At last count, 55 per cent of members named climate change as the number-one threat to their farming business. At 15 per cent and in second place, we had everyone's favourite: increasing bureaucracy and red tape. Farmers for Climate Action was founded 10 years ago because farmers felt the government wasn't taking farming concerns seriously, nor reflecting farmers' views on climate change. Collard says: "Their view was, 'We are living it, we know'." I ask her what FCA thinks about this latest Nationals move. She speaks like a politician here: "Nationals policy is a matter for the Nationals." Speaking of Nationals, at the last election Michael McCormack won his seat of Riverina convincingly and maybe rolling back net zero is the vibe he gets when he's visiting pubs and clubs in the area. Fourth in the 2025 vote was community independent Jenny Rolfe, who came from a standing start last December. She says McCormack has not been listening to the entire electorate. "He is in an echo chamber of people and failing to show leadership of engaging with the entire community," says Rolfe "If we don't take action on climate change then those of us in the regions will feel the greatest impacts of inaction." Amen to that. Don't let these blokes steer you the wrong way. Sorry. *look, we all know what a cow is, right? But I can't for the life of me find a nongendered word for a single bovine animal so boycow it is. Kind of like cowboy. **I asked about this. Sexist and ageist much? Apparently not. Look, I know milk comes from cows and eggs come from hens. I've even sung "Old McDonald had a farm" to my grandchildren, on loop. And yeah, yeah, money doesn't grow on trees. You may have read that two Nationals, Barnaby Joyce, representing the federal seat of New England; and Michael McCormack, representing the Riverina, want to abandon net zero. It's kind of embarrassing because they are just copying Donald Trump (and we know how that worked out for Temu Trump, our pet name for Peter Dutton). This week, The New York Times reported: "The Trump administration has drafted a plan to repeal a fundamental scientific finding that gives the United States government its authority to regulate greenhouse-gas emissions and fight climate change, according to two people familiar with the plan." So catastrophic decision from the US and idiotic grandstanding from the Nationals (dear heaven, the two political parties in this country with the names which bear no semblance to reality - Liberal and National). But this week's comment in response to the derangements of Joyce and McCormack by opposition energy spokesperson Dan Tehan totally perplexed me from an agricultural point of view. He described two former deputy prime ministers, now backbenchers, Barnaby Joyce and Michael McCormack, as "two steers in a paddock". I hastened to Google for agricultural assistance. A steer, by the way, is a boycow* with his nuts knackered. According to at least one livestock expert I spoke to, it's normal for two steers to be in a paddock. Absolutely normal. What would they do to each other? Absolutely nothing. They have no balls. Wow. Similar. John House, associate professor and unit head, livestock veterinary teaching and research unit at the University of Sydney confirms you can put a bunch of steers in a paddock, no problemo. "They just get along, chew grass and chill," he says. Don't think old mate Dan Tehan's made an error. These two aren't bulls at a gate but a couple of has-beens hoping they can be a bit more. Right now, that is so unlikely. Did these two miss the results of the last election? Obvs. After I asked John House all of the farming questions, I asked him about the whole net zero thing. He said bluntly: "I used to vote Liberal but I stopped because of their attitudes to climate change." Same with the rest of the country. They changed their votes too. Says House: "Who has got the most to lose? Primary producers - they are at the coal face. They are the ones getting hit by the floods and the droughts." This appears to be the consensus except among a tiny group of ancient members of the conservative parties in Australia. I ask one conservative politician what he thinks about these two. To sum up: Australia has actual things to worry about, such as floods and fires and algal blooms devouring our waterways. And Barnaby Joyce wants to grandstand about net zero. Completely bonkers? I ask. Very, comes the swift reply. And the Nationals in general? "It is a very small membership, not representative of rural and regional Australia. Their base is completely unrepresentative, more like the Sky After Dark crazy brigade. "Among the three octogenarian men** who are branch members, Joyce would be some kind of hero. The party is not representative of the communities they serve let alone the country." Very harsh. And if Barnaby Joyce (quick reminder: publicly unfaithful to his wife, didn't know if he was the dad to his love child, suggesting HPV vaccines would lead to promiscuity, public drunkenness) were to walk down the main street of any of our major cities, I reckon folks would be more likely to point and laugh than actually approach him for help. Which is what I reckon politicians should be about. Helping us. Helping the country. But how do people in the country feel about climate change? And when I say people in the country, I mean the people who grow our food. Funny you should ask. Even conservatives pointed me to Farmers for Climate Action (FCA), a farmer-led organisation with over 8000 members. It works to manage risks and "find opportunities to adapt to, and mitigate, climate change". Love that for them. And for us. READ MORE JENNA PRICE: CEO Natalie Collard says FCA conducts a regular survey of members. At last count, 55 per cent of members named climate change as the number-one threat to their farming business. At 15 per cent and in second place, we had everyone's favourite: increasing bureaucracy and red tape. Farmers for Climate Action was founded 10 years ago because farmers felt the government wasn't taking farming concerns seriously, nor reflecting farmers' views on climate change. Collard says: "Their view was, 'We are living it, we know'." I ask her what FCA thinks about this latest Nationals move. She speaks like a politician here: "Nationals policy is a matter for the Nationals." Speaking of Nationals, at the last election Michael McCormack won his seat of Riverina convincingly and maybe rolling back net zero is the vibe he gets when he's visiting pubs and clubs in the area. Fourth in the 2025 vote was community independent Jenny Rolfe, who came from a standing start last December. She says McCormack has not been listening to the entire electorate. "He is in an echo chamber of people and failing to show leadership of engaging with the entire community," says Rolfe "If we don't take action on climate change then those of us in the regions will feel the greatest impacts of inaction." Amen to that. Don't let these blokes steer you the wrong way. Sorry. *look, we all know what a cow is, right? But I can't for the life of me find a nongendered word for a single bovine animal so boycow it is. Kind of like cowboy. **I asked about this. Sexist and ageist much? Apparently not. Look, I know milk comes from cows and eggs come from hens. I've even sung "Old McDonald had a farm" to my grandchildren, on loop. And yeah, yeah, money doesn't grow on trees. You may have read that two Nationals, Barnaby Joyce, representing the federal seat of New England; and Michael McCormack, representing the Riverina, want to abandon net zero. It's kind of embarrassing because they are just copying Donald Trump (and we know how that worked out for Temu Trump, our pet name for Peter Dutton). This week, The New York Times reported: "The Trump administration has drafted a plan to repeal a fundamental scientific finding that gives the United States government its authority to regulate greenhouse-gas emissions and fight climate change, according to two people familiar with the plan." So catastrophic decision from the US and idiotic grandstanding from the Nationals (dear heaven, the two political parties in this country with the names which bear no semblance to reality - Liberal and National). But this week's comment in response to the derangements of Joyce and McCormack by opposition energy spokesperson Dan Tehan totally perplexed me from an agricultural point of view. He described two former deputy prime ministers, now backbenchers, Barnaby Joyce and Michael McCormack, as "two steers in a paddock". I hastened to Google for agricultural assistance. A steer, by the way, is a boycow* with his nuts knackered. According to at least one livestock expert I spoke to, it's normal for two steers to be in a paddock. Absolutely normal. What would they do to each other? Absolutely nothing. They have no balls. Wow. Similar. John House, associate professor and unit head, livestock veterinary teaching and research unit at the University of Sydney confirms you can put a bunch of steers in a paddock, no problemo. "They just get along, chew grass and chill," he says. Don't think old mate Dan Tehan's made an error. These two aren't bulls at a gate but a couple of has-beens hoping they can be a bit more. Right now, that is so unlikely. Did these two miss the results of the last election? Obvs. After I asked John House all of the farming questions, I asked him about the whole net zero thing. He said bluntly: "I used to vote Liberal but I stopped because of their attitudes to climate change." Same with the rest of the country. They changed their votes too. Says House: "Who has got the most to lose? Primary producers - they are at the coal face. They are the ones getting hit by the floods and the droughts." This appears to be the consensus except among a tiny group of ancient members of the conservative parties in Australia. I ask one conservative politician what he thinks about these two. To sum up: Australia has actual things to worry about, such as floods and fires and algal blooms devouring our waterways. And Barnaby Joyce wants to grandstand about net zero. Completely bonkers? I ask. Very, comes the swift reply. And the Nationals in general? "It is a very small membership, not representative of rural and regional Australia. Their base is completely unrepresentative, more like the Sky After Dark crazy brigade. "Among the three octogenarian men** who are branch members, Joyce would be some kind of hero. The party is not representative of the communities they serve let alone the country." Very harsh. And if Barnaby Joyce (quick reminder: publicly unfaithful to his wife, didn't know if he was the dad to his love child, suggesting HPV vaccines would lead to promiscuity, public drunkenness) were to walk down the main street of any of our major cities, I reckon folks would be more likely to point and laugh than actually approach him for help. Which is what I reckon politicians should be about. Helping us. Helping the country. But how do people in the country feel about climate change? And when I say people in the country, I mean the people who grow our food. Funny you should ask. Even conservatives pointed me to Farmers for Climate Action (FCA), a farmer-led organisation with over 8000 members. It works to manage risks and "find opportunities to adapt to, and mitigate, climate change". Love that for them. And for us. READ MORE JENNA PRICE: CEO Natalie Collard says FCA conducts a regular survey of members. At last count, 55 per cent of members named climate change as the number-one threat to their farming business. At 15 per cent and in second place, we had everyone's favourite: increasing bureaucracy and red tape. Farmers for Climate Action was founded 10 years ago because farmers felt the government wasn't taking farming concerns seriously, nor reflecting farmers' views on climate change. Collard says: "Their view was, 'We are living it, we know'." I ask her what FCA thinks about this latest Nationals move. She speaks like a politician here: "Nationals policy is a matter for the Nationals." Speaking of Nationals, at the last election Michael McCormack won his seat of Riverina convincingly and maybe rolling back net zero is the vibe he gets when he's visiting pubs and clubs in the area. Fourth in the 2025 vote was community independent Jenny Rolfe, who came from a standing start last December. She says McCormack has not been listening to the entire electorate. "He is in an echo chamber of people and failing to show leadership of engaging with the entire community," says Rolfe "If we don't take action on climate change then those of us in the regions will feel the greatest impacts of inaction." Amen to that. Don't let these blokes steer you the wrong way. Sorry. *look, we all know what a cow is, right? But I can't for the life of me find a nongendered word for a single bovine animal so boycow it is. Kind of like cowboy. **I asked about this. Sexist and ageist much? Apparently not. Look, I know milk comes from cows and eggs come from hens. I've even sung "Old McDonald had a farm" to my grandchildren, on loop. And yeah, yeah, money doesn't grow on trees. You may have read that two Nationals, Barnaby Joyce, representing the federal seat of New England; and Michael McCormack, representing the Riverina, want to abandon net zero. It's kind of embarrassing because they are just copying Donald Trump (and we know how that worked out for Temu Trump, our pet name for Peter Dutton). This week, The New York Times reported: "The Trump administration has drafted a plan to repeal a fundamental scientific finding that gives the United States government its authority to regulate greenhouse-gas emissions and fight climate change, according to two people familiar with the plan." So catastrophic decision from the US and idiotic grandstanding from the Nationals (dear heaven, the two political parties in this country with the names which bear no semblance to reality - Liberal and National). But this week's comment in response to the derangements of Joyce and McCormack by opposition energy spokesperson Dan Tehan totally perplexed me from an agricultural point of view. He described two former deputy prime ministers, now backbenchers, Barnaby Joyce and Michael McCormack, as "two steers in a paddock". I hastened to Google for agricultural assistance. A steer, by the way, is a boycow* with his nuts knackered. According to at least one livestock expert I spoke to, it's normal for two steers to be in a paddock. Absolutely normal. What would they do to each other? Absolutely nothing. They have no balls. Wow. Similar. John House, associate professor and unit head, livestock veterinary teaching and research unit at the University of Sydney confirms you can put a bunch of steers in a paddock, no problemo. "They just get along, chew grass and chill," he says. Don't think old mate Dan Tehan's made an error. These two aren't bulls at a gate but a couple of has-beens hoping they can be a bit more. Right now, that is so unlikely. Did these two miss the results of the last election? Obvs. After I asked John House all of the farming questions, I asked him about the whole net zero thing. He said bluntly: "I used to vote Liberal but I stopped because of their attitudes to climate change." Same with the rest of the country. They changed their votes too. Says House: "Who has got the most to lose? Primary producers - they are at the coal face. They are the ones getting hit by the floods and the droughts." This appears to be the consensus except among a tiny group of ancient members of the conservative parties in Australia. I ask one conservative politician what he thinks about these two. To sum up: Australia has actual things to worry about, such as floods and fires and algal blooms devouring our waterways. And Barnaby Joyce wants to grandstand about net zero. Completely bonkers? I ask. Very, comes the swift reply. And the Nationals in general? "It is a very small membership, not representative of rural and regional Australia. Their base is completely unrepresentative, more like the Sky After Dark crazy brigade. "Among the three octogenarian men** who are branch members, Joyce would be some kind of hero. The party is not representative of the communities they serve let alone the country." Very harsh. And if Barnaby Joyce (quick reminder: publicly unfaithful to his wife, didn't know if he was the dad to his love child, suggesting HPV vaccines would lead to promiscuity, public drunkenness) were to walk down the main street of any of our major cities, I reckon folks would be more likely to point and laugh than actually approach him for help. Which is what I reckon politicians should be about. Helping us. Helping the country. But how do people in the country feel about climate change? And when I say people in the country, I mean the people who grow our food. Funny you should ask. Even conservatives pointed me to Farmers for Climate Action (FCA), a farmer-led organisation with over 8000 members. It works to manage risks and "find opportunities to adapt to, and mitigate, climate change". Love that for them. And for us. READ MORE JENNA PRICE: CEO Natalie Collard says FCA conducts a regular survey of members. At last count, 55 per cent of members named climate change as the number-one threat to their farming business. At 15 per cent and in second place, we had everyone's favourite: increasing bureaucracy and red tape. Farmers for Climate Action was founded 10 years ago because farmers felt the government wasn't taking farming concerns seriously, nor reflecting farmers' views on climate change. Collard says: "Their view was, 'We are living it, we know'." I ask her what FCA thinks about this latest Nationals move. She speaks like a politician here: "Nationals policy is a matter for the Nationals." Speaking of Nationals, at the last election Michael McCormack won his seat of Riverina convincingly and maybe rolling back net zero is the vibe he gets when he's visiting pubs and clubs in the area. Fourth in the 2025 vote was community independent Jenny Rolfe, who came from a standing start last December. She says McCormack has not been listening to the entire electorate. "He is in an echo chamber of people and failing to show leadership of engaging with the entire community," says Rolfe "If we don't take action on climate change then those of us in the regions will feel the greatest impacts of inaction." Amen to that. Don't let these blokes steer you the wrong way. Sorry. *look, we all know what a cow is, right? But I can't for the life of me find a nongendered word for a single bovine animal so boycow it is. Kind of like cowboy. **I asked about this. Sexist and ageist much? Apparently not.
News.com.au
23-07-2025
- Politics
- News.com.au
Energy Minister Chris Bowen says Barnaby Joyce and Michael McCormack's net zero protest a ‘dream ticket' to turf David Littleproud
Energy Minister Chris Bowen has jumped on a home goal kicked by 'virile' Nationals MPs Barnaby Joyce and Michael McCormack, as the Coalition faces a standoff against net zero targets. With the opposition stalled on a recommitment to Australia reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2050 until a policy review, Mr McCormack has issued a warning shot to party leaders, saying he would unite with his unlikely ally Mr Joyce on opposing the goal. Two pair had tussled for the regional party's top job, taking turns at the Nationals leadership before current leader David Littleproud ascended in 2022. The pair's position on net zero has raised questions over Mr Littleproud's leadership. Speaking to Sky News moments before the first question time of the 48th parliament, Mr McCormack hit back at comments put forward by the Coalition's energy spokesman. 'Dan Tehan this morning calling me a steer and Barnaby a steer – we're not gelded, we're not emasculated,' he said. 'We're very much virile and out there.' A mere few hours later, Mr Bowen took aim from the dispatch box during question time. 'The member for Riverina said on the Kieran Gilbert show, 'We're virile and we're out there,' the member for New England and member for Riverina,' Mr Bowen said. 'That this is not his Tinder profile, this is his dream ticket. He's not looking to swipe right, he's looking to swipe out the member for Maranoa, is what he's trying to do. 'But they're … really betraying people in rural and regional Australia, they are the ones who pay the price of drought and flood which will be more common and severe under climate change.' Mr Bowen's comments was one of the more noteworthy moments from the hour-long display of political theatre, formally known as question time. It was also Sussan Ley first as Opposition Leader, with the Coalition attempting to lob knives poised for Labor's ailing 1.2 million housing target and controversial superannuation tax. Dressed in a powder pink pants suit, Ms Ley stared down the Prime Minister and his army of 94 Labor MPs who spilt onto chamber benches normally reserved for the crossbench. The National Housing Accords were in her sights, with the promise to build 1.2 million homes by mid-2029 already lagging by about 55,000 following its first year. 'The Liberal Party I lead will always champion policies to help more Australians into a home of their own but under Labor the homeownership dream has never been further out of reach,' she said, asking the first question. 'With leaked Treasury advice confirming this is a broken promise, will the Prime Minister abandon his failing policies and work constructively with the Coalition to address Labor's housing crisis?' Criticism of Labor's plan to hit superannuation balances of more than $3m with a 30 per cent tax was also prosecuted, with the Coalition attacking the government over the proposal to hit unrealised capital gains. However, Mr Albanese, wearing a dark suit and dark blue tie, returned fire saying the tax would rebalance the superannuation system and only affect 0.5 per cent of accounts, while also quipping: 'The time to launch a scare campaign is before an election'. Elsewhere, Labor's majority was on full display. In an unsubtle but effective reminder to the Coalition and the Greens' sole lower house stalwart, Ryan MP Elizabeth Watson-Brown, Labor's Dorothy Dixers – the questions asked by government MPs to ministers – were all delivered by the MPs who turfed out a sitting Liberal or Greens MP. In order of appearance, they included Dickson's Ali France, Melbourne's Sarah Witty, Griffith's Renee Coffey, Emma Comer of Petrie, Gabriel Ng in Menzies, Hughes MP David Moncrieff, Jess Teesdale from Bass, Sturt's Claire Clutterham, Banks MP Zhi Soon, Deakin's Matt Greg, and Braddon's Anne Urquhart.
