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 Peter Spencer hanging in there on day 23 

Peter Spencer hanging in there on day 23

16 Dec, 2009 10:05 AM
Hot, desperate and angry, Peter Spencer has a strong voice for a man who hasn't eaten in 23 days.

He's on a hunger strike, perched on a wind-monitoring mast on his Shannon's Flat property north of Cooma.

He won't come down until Prime Minister Kevin Rudd admits the Australian Government owes farmers like him $100 billion for capturing carbon in their vegetation that they have lost the use of due to land clearing bans.

Dangling from his wooden platform 10m above the ground, he looks like another lunatic in the climate change circus.

Except Mr Spencer is a resourceful businessman and farmer supported by a formidable legal team headed by Sydney barrister and one-time Malcolm Turnbull rival, Peter King.

As climate change negotiators in Copenhagen scrutinise Australia's dependence on agriculture to meet carbon reduction obligations, the media is suddenly keen to hear about Mr Spencer's 200 court appearances over the past decade.

He's fighting for compensation for not being allowed to clear his property under NSW native vegetation laws and says 109 million hectares of Australian families' private property has been locked up under the same management laws.

Under the guise of water reform and biodiversity, those laws were in fact the former Howard and present Government's means of reducing our carbon emissions by 22 per cent which enabled Australia to met its Kyoto Treaty obligations

"The cat's out of the bag," he said.

"Labor intends to manipulate ambitious cuts in Australia's 2020 greenhouse gas emissions by focusing once again on farmers' private property."

His timber homestead resembles a bunker with press releases, newspapers and policies piling up and phones ringing incessantly.

Queensland-basd Property Rights Australia which has long argued for the rights of landholders, reckons Mr Spencer is reliving the iconic Australian film The Castle.

Mr Spencer said the farmers' case was like the Government coming to a $1 million suburban home in Canberra and taking three quarters of its equity to fund services.

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What has been highlighted by Peter is the blatant theft of property by successive governments. Our Constitution is virtually a worthless document. Theft occurs under the following guises:- Native Vegetation Controls, Water Allocation Planning, Heritage Listing, to only name a few. The Commonwealth Government utilising COAG agrreements with the States have destroyed our democracy and are in the process of returning our property to "The Crown" without spending a "RED" cent. The only Act that can help is the Commonwealth Criminal Code 1995 Section 7. The Proper Administration of Government. However you need a court jurisdiction to use this. Guess what, there appears to be no jurisdiction. SURPRISE SURPRISE!!
Posted by John Michelmore, 16/12/2009 2:15:02 PM, on The Land
What else can we do to fight this blatant theft of property as it seems there is more to come, as farmers will be the fall guys and the big polluters will be looked after at our expense. We can't strike or hold our produce back and are so limited to action that it comes down to sitting up a pole. We should be all sitting up that pole as we will soon be all on the dole. I am personalty out of pocket $35,000 a year from rent that I could of got from the tree farmers and run half the cattle and had a steady income. Rested the paddocks and have a lesser impact on the environment and lived happily ever after. But now have to flog the paddocks to run extra cattle to make ends meet. And if we have to pay a fart tax on top of that the health of the land suffers again from pencil pushing public servants in air condition offices who drive out to the country in there air condition cars and know very little but to make rules to make their jobs look feasible.
Posted by Tonytwotimbers, 16/12/2009 8:37:56 PM, on The Land
What are the reporters doing on this issue? Siding with the government and ignoring it, or pushing it to the lunatic fringe. Even our own rural press which must sell more papers to the city folk than the few remaining truly rural readers. How about shimmying up the pole and getting a proper interview and an up to date photo mate. Come on John you can do it. This is the sort of thing that leads to revolutions you know so it is about time someone started taking this issue seriously in the media.
Posted by Common Cents, 17/12/2009 7:59:58 AM, on The Land
Good one common cents, weak interview and article done from the comfort of aircoditioned office chair. Politicians and farming bodies have colluded together to deny compensation to the farmers who have been adversely affected by native vegetation laws. They have used the ruse that if you ignore some thing it will go away and die in this case he probably will. NSW farmers have lost members in droves because they have colluded with governments against the interested of a section of farmers.
Posted by Bushie, 17/12/2009 12:07:55 PM, on The Land
The local member Mr Kelly is only out to score points, “I spoke to his mate Alistair and I understand it’s a difficult situation for him. The previous government should have set up a system in the heyday where farmers could be compensated for this sort of thing,” Dr Kelly said. Ok Mr Kelly, why don't you get off your backside and rectify the situation instead of just yapping continuously and achieving nothing. In a previous interview he said that if the Rudd TAX was passed Peter's problems would be resolved. These bloody labor politicians are as useless as the proverbial's on a bull. Peter Spencer must be applauded because he is one of a few in Australia that is prepared to stand up for their rights. Where are the NSW Fencesitters (Farmers) Association or the National Farmers Federation?
Posted by jerangle, 17/12/2009 1:51:49 PM, on The Land
I understand why Peter's doing this, but dying is not going to help. Stay alive Peter and be here to annoy them, I will be praying that God gives you the sense to get down, your children need you too. You'll be forgotten pretty quick when your dead, but alive you can keep fighting, go for it.
Posted by loretta, 29/12/2009 6:39:57 PM, on The Land
The govenrment don't care. I totally agree with what Peter is standing for but his family is more important. I can only say that if this ends very sadly then Australians that is farmers make sure they feed only their families not the communists Rudd, Wong adn garrett who have destroyed all our livelihoods. I know that if one were to vists my property I would not even offer them some water.
Posted by carolyn, 31/12/2009 6:58:13 AM, on The Land
What does the government care? They'll retire rich with their big bonuses and yearly salaries and go live somewhere very very nice. The government's behaviour is discraceful, totally unaustralian and inexcusable. Peter is more useful alive to the community then a matyre. Somebody hide him. If there is a constitutional abuse we must take all means possible to get these greedy posh rats out of control. No amount of action is too much when we're talking about human rights. To them its just paper for twisting. We have NO RIGHTS as long as we sit back and let it happen.
Posted by Nopolicestate, 31/12/2009 10:06:19 AM, on The Land
I am so distraught by what has happened to this great Australian that he has had to go to such lengths to be heard. And as distraught as I am for this man's plight & God knows how many others, I am equally disgusted but not at all surprised by the the fact that Rudd hasn't even batted an eyelid - couldn't care less it seems. All that consumes him is his merrygoround of O/S's trips & keeping his spin doctors working on more BS. And don't worry the spin doctors will be out in force when he's facing the next election. I have two request: No: 1 - Please come down Peter - don't let the mongrels win & if you lose your life they will win because there will be one less decent Australian trying to keep our wonderful Pollies (ha ha) honest. And No: 2 - And to all Australians - please don't ever forget this travesty of justice (whatever the outcome) & particualy don't forget it when election time comes around again & again!! The only politician we have in this country with a backbone is Barnaby Joyce. And as for the State Government - where's the Premier on all of this - sorry can't quite remember who that is!!
Posted by Tracie, 31/12/2009 8:31:06 PM, on The Land
I totally agree with what peter is doing, Its time for people power to take control of our great country, Rudd has had control for two years and look what has happened to our great country, where the hell is he when he has a job to do for the australian community - his overseas trips must stop and start doing the job he employed to do
Posted by Ian, 1/01/2010 9:39:30 AM, on The Land
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Peter Spencer
Peter Spencer
Peter Spencer perched high above his property on a wind-monitoring mast. Photo: ANDREW SHEARGOLD
Peter Spencer perched high above his property on a wind-monitoring mast. Photo: ANDREW SHEARGOLD
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