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 Farmers rally against Spencer 'carbon theft' 

Farmers rally against Spencer 'carbon theft'

04 Jan, 2010 04:19 PM
HUNDREDS of farmers have marched on Parliament House in Canberra in support of hunger-striking farmer, Peter Spencer, calling for a royal commission into property rights and land clearing in Australia.

Mr Spencer is now on day 43 of his strike, insisting he will not come down from a weather tower until he can speak to Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd.

Mr Spencer has accused the Federal Government of "carbon theft", which he alleges as a result of land clearing laws.

He said the laws were imposed as a result of a deal done by the States with the Howard Government so it could meet its Kyoto targets.

He said farmers should be compensated for the near 80 million tonnes of carbon sequestered as a result of land clearing restrictions.

At a $25 a tonne market price for carbon, farmers could be owed some $2 billion if that carbon was actually recognised as a property right.

Queensland Nationals Senator, Barnaby Joyce addressed the crowd and while urging them to keep up the fight on land rights, he also made a plea for Mr Spencer to end his hunger strike before he seriously harmed himself.

NSW Nationals MP, Kevin Humphries also spoke to the crowd, and said Mr Spencer represented the thousands of farming families which have been affected by the onerous land clearing laws first enacted by the Carr Government in 1995.

Mr Spencer's children thanked marchers for their support, and told of their hope that they would see their father come down from his strike before flying back to their homes next week.

A number of farmers in the crowd travelled more than 10 hours to attend today's rally – a large contingent from the native veg hot spots of Nyngan and Tottenham which have battled with the Government to ease its restrictions for more than a decade.

Many will visit Mr Spencer at his property this afternoon.

The Prime Minister has so far refused to meet with Mr Spencer, and said he should pursue his concerns in the courts.

Mr Spencer has so far had close to 200 court appearances on the issue, but the matter has stalled at the High Court without a hearing.

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Land Clearing! Majority of farmers and landowners take pride and care of their asset. With experience of hands on development, improvements and responsibility, know for a fact it is easier to work with nature than fight it. Therefore land clearing is usually a part of general maintenance, or planned income generated to be from clearing and felling of trees. I have a property that has been harvested for generations for income. Which now I have lost. When you work a lifetime to secure you income and lifestyle, with careful planning. That is then lost........ If I were to park myself in the loungeroom of these so called environmentalists........... Would they say use it like a park for future generations. This is what the government has done to my back yard. Put a hold on my lifestyle, income and careful planning, only to have 3/4 of my farm donated to the dole bludgers for a park! Or carbon offsets! I certainly am not Santa Clause. Equal rights I don't think so. Why should farmers pay the penalty with no compensation. Hog tied. SUNSHINE COAST HINTERLAND Sunny Queeensland 160 acres. Little farmer still struggles. I preserved and created the asset they want for FREE! J.K. QLD
Posted by THE GLEBE STUD, 4/01/2010 4:09:25 PM, on The Land
I might have this all wrong but my understanding is when Canada and Australia signed up to Kyoto there were financial penalties if we did not satisfy the protocol. Canada now owes 1 billion Dollars. Australia got around the problem by passing laws that restricted logging and stopped farmers clearing their land. So in effect Mr Peter Spencer is carrying the can for the rest of Australia. All because Mr Rudd could big note himself at the last Kyoto meeting.
Posted by Siruke, 4/01/2010 9:06:48 PM, on The Land
I think I agree with the Glebe Stud, land clearing legislation punishes those landholders who were the best custodians of the land ie those who didn't clear their land when they had the right to. The worst custodians of the land, who cleared every hectare are unaffected by land clearing legislation. Surely Peter Spencer is right. People who had a cultivation entitlement taken from them deserve to be compensated. Even the ETS scheme intended to compensate big polluters. Surely good land custodians deserve to be compensated......and even rewarded for their conservation of ecosystems.
Posted by Bill Williams, 4/01/2010 9:15:31 PM, on The Land
My family's farm was worked for two generations, and then in one quick act, it was included in World Heritage zoning in the mid 80s. Amazingly my parents successfully fought to take it out of the zoning (tho many other farmers were not so lucky), but today they continue to fight similar battles as the government continues to keep including it in every conservation map they release, despite showing little evidence that they have researched the property they are so determined to 'conserve'. They draw arbitrary lines around it with little thought to the human impact their days work has, on those who have worked the land all their lives. Land rights every day right across the nation are stolen and there is no requirement apparently for government to justify their decisions. I support Peter in his brave fight!
Posted by Farmer's Daughter, 4/01/2010 9:29:33 PM, on The Land
Demonising the people, self worship of the leaders www.twawki.com Discusses the peter Spencer case and how those like K Rudd are quickly eroding our rights
Posted by alph, 4/01/2010 10:39:45 PM, on The Land
If these politicians and bureaucrats who support the theft of property rights and ignore the plight of all the rural landowners who Peter Spencer in reality represents were told to forego three quarters of their income in perpetuity then there would be action. But they don't care and they don't want to understand because their regular salaries still keep appearing in their bank accounts. These people have never lived on and off the land and most have never run a business so the issues affecting us are completely foreign to them.
Posted by Green landowner, 5/01/2010 6:52:26 AM, on The Land
An extreme implementation of the legislation as it stands now, should all those people with riverfront homes and Kirribilli house be allowed to mow the lawns flowing down to the river in these gardens? Isn't that stopping the native vegetation from returning to those areas where there once was very significant ecosystems, replaced now by introduced flora and fauna requiring very heavy fertilisation to maintain this modified ecosystem, which after a big rain on these sandy coastal soils merely runs directly into the river and thereby increases the nutrient load on these estuarine ecosystems. Is Kevin Rudd going to stop the landholders in the townships from mowing their lawns to let the native vegetation return rather all these introduced lawns and gardens? What honestly is the difference? Oh, - the people who bought these houses have the right to have a garden and lawn I hear you say, yes they do but landholders on Freehold -land also have the right to manage -their assets and the associated ecological systems how the best see fit. If those inherent rights associated with freehold title are removed, the landholder should be compensated commensurately
Posted by Sam, 5/01/2010 6:59:03 AM, on The Land
It is notable that the mainstream media is ignoring this issue. One wonders if they are under instruction from the Fed Govt to suppress this news. Even SBS who did report on Peter Spencer's protest, didn't reveal the facts behind the protest. They said that the reason for the protest was that the land clearing laws prevented him from clearing his land. Nothing about his court battles and that we cannot get carbon credits for the trees we are forcibly made to retain. I firmly believe that the only way forward is to create a new Country Party to take the fight to the floor of parliament. There would be plenty of talent available amongst Peters supporters to do this. The Nationals have been shown to be pussy cats when it comes to protecting the freehold rights of rural industry. Unless they pick up their game, they will become irrelevant.
Posted by Trugger, 5/01/2010 7:11:28 AM, on The Land
Again this is basically a land grab, tie the farmers up and stop them developing the land all in a "green" land grab to keep the Greens happy. Rudd is gutless and won't stop it nor will he speak to Peter Spencer because he has nothing to back his stance on land clearing and the granting of carbon credits to his backers. It is an absolute disgrace that this man is risking his life to expose what is happeing to farmers yet Rudd keeps chanting his mantra Carbon Credit Carbon Credit or for a change Ban farming Ban Farming
Posted by Mrs Mac, 5/01/2010 7:16:43 AM, on The Land
We have become a Communist country by stealth! Food security and safety is not on the priority list of Labor Governments, or it seems under John Howards watch as well. When Australia imports its food due to farmers being sent broke by worthless Governments and their hair brained advisors it will be to late. Remember not one of Dudds Government has run a small business. They were Union officials, lawyers, solicitors, Rock Stars etc with no Idea of the real world. God Save the Queen because nothing less than a change of Government will save Australia from a Prime Minister whose expertise is writing Childrens Fairy tale books.
Posted by Mark, 5/01/2010 7:40:32 AM, on The Land
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Peter Spencer is conducting his hunger strike on a platform on a wind monitoring tower on his property.
Peter Spencer is conducting his hunger strike on a platform on a wind monitoring tower on his property.
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