Steve, you made a comment about the lightly wooded grazing land. That is true but as you go on - regarding the sapling growth, you should realise this is because the land is not marginal -32/34 inch rain pa, growth into forests here is prolific the type of animal grazing impacts on this as well. See may paper on Namadgi on my blog. A recent paper produced by UNE placed in the Farming Institute Quarterly - quotes this Namadgi paper.

You mentioned the Monaro being hard. Well that is true to a point although Australia has places more severe then this - just in other ways. However you should understand “Saarahnlee” is not typical Monaro we are higher and have almost twice the rain fall.

At Parks, the drought summit - I said to him the Minister, give us farmers back our land and forget the subsidy.

How, I asked him, could one manage our livestock, in a drought, if we cannot access our land?

Steve, the Constitution is clear. Where the State takes your property they must compensate. But equally so, I believe, if regulation is such that it denies the use of your land it is equal proportionally to acquisition.

An Example could be the State my ask you to put in to your home a smoke detector, or insulation, or safety screens on your glass window, BUT you can still use your home. If, on the other hand, the State takes 90 of your house and turns it into the town library, leaving you with one bedroom, with you being told - be grateful. Then in addition the bank tells you your loan is called up - as it is now worth only 10% /20% of its value. Would you not feel unjustly treated?

You must admit Steve it is my land whether it be desert or swamp, hill or flat if it is marginal or gilt edge and if I develop it today, tomorrow, or intergenerationally that really is my business - as is your house.

More tomorrow out of space.

SuziQ, I have never been a farmer but it is clear that the reality of life on the land, and its increasing importance to Australia are issues left unaddressed by most people that are insulated by city lifestyles. The supermarkets are always stocked so what's the problem?

Even just a cursory glance at a map of Australia shows a brown land encompassed by a narrow green ring. At an accelerating rate, we see acres and acres of beautiful soil being buried under brick and tile. No one wants to live in marginal country yet they are more than willing to criticise those that have a go at doing so.

There will come a time, not in our generation perhaps but not too far away, when the marginal land is all that we will have to rely on because successive governments refuse to admit that the carrying capacity of this country has already been reached. Just over twenty million people and we are already used to water restrictions and green blue algae. We perpetuate wetland farming in cotton and rice in the second driest continent on earth and our major arteries are becoming little more than puddles. What happened to just plain common sense? Apologies for the diversion from topic but it is a particular interest of mine and, I am sure, many others.

Anyway SuziQ, I know of people that have just walked away from all that they, and their parents before them, worked for simply because the hardships became so much greater than any possibility of return. Suicide in the bush is much more prevalent that people in the city would be aware of when they shoot their slings and arrows about Mercedes Benz, new dresses and generous welfare payments. Or perhaps they are aware of it but just don’t care which makes their indictments all the more reprehensible. The farm is not only a job but a way of life and any one of us would fight to protect our way of life regardless of the critical disregard put forth by too many of your fellow Australians.

Wendy L

I heard a WA farmer was selling Australian halal sheepmeat killed to a malysian muslim market, if this is indeed true, its a good thing both in animal welfare (no boat rides and within the Aussie higher welfare standerds)and the farming industry (jobs).

Most Australian export lamb is killed in halal abbatoirs. Some lefties would be surprised to learn that many rural towns have high muslim populations as abbatoir work brings them into town. However, some middle eastern countries (like Kuwait) simply will not accept any other arrangement than exporting the sheep live and slaughtering them locally.

So farmers have a choice - they can either sell the sheep (most sheep sold as live exports are merinos that are too old to produce decent wool) as live exports or they can shoot them. Greenies would prefer they are shot obviously.

Yeh Yobbo

i think its about $50 a head on the boats n yeh farmers do really need money.
Maybe sell the old mutton to the large pet food industry or snags or whatever.

Whats the harm in trying to sell to malaysia instead of kuwait? they all eat halal. The meat workers union have sided against live export

why doesnt animals rights lobby for subs for farmers who try to sell Aussie killed to malaysia or sell their old mutton here in Oz etc

Cruelty free is a big market in the West as well.

if u forget idealism as a policy and treat it as a product

ie the wealthy body shops low grade(trust me im female, they arnt much good) cosmetics selling on a massive scale purely on the idealism of un-tested on animals cruelty free.

neither side will dissapear farmign or animal rights, a lil common sense and practicality could help both maybe not perfectly.

There could be payoffs on both sides, ie keeping PETA of the back of industry here, and using idealism for the benifit of animals and industry. neither side is gettign what it needs now as it is, and i reckon these kinda thoughts are at least worth exporing.

am i im cursed? ..... im a right wing animal righter lol

Peter.

I have no issue with your abilities as an author, press secretary or public servant. I do have issues with your buying 4 separate parcels of land, leaving them for 10-15 years, causing the regrowth, and then complaining when your inaction caused you a problem. You have not commented on this.

To move on to your damming of a creek, not building two dams, on Rock Hut Creek.. Do you care to answer the following questions raised in NSW Parliament?

“What is his position on the operation of the private fishing generated by damming waters of the Murrumbidgee, called Rock Hut Creek, a tributary of the Murrumbidgee River?
Has there been an approval for dams to be constructed at Rock Hut Creek?
If so, when and by whom?
Where were the fish stocks sourced from?
Is fishing being permitted in the closed season from dams at Rock Hut Creek?
If so, why?
What is the NSW Fisheries position on access for New South Wales anglers in that area?”

Come on admit it, you had an emotional dream of a “Tree Change” to The Monaro, you were not a farmer but had the funds through your hard work to buy four farms and combine them into your dream.

Your abilities as a spin doctor are not being questioned. I am questioning the facts you presented in your article. A bit fuzzy around the edges I am afraid