The farmers' burden

The Gundagai Independent, Page: 5
Thursday, 3 August 2006

The Federal Government's recent claims of meeting greenhouse commitments fails to recognise the extraordinary burden placed on farmers to achieve this outcome according to the NSW Farmers' Association. Chair of the NSW Farmers' Association's Conservation and Resource Management Committee, Louise Burge says Australia can only claim to be meeting its greenhouse commitments because of restrictions imposed on agricultural land, primarily native vegetation restrictions."Australian Greenhouse Office reports show that agriculture is effectively subsidising the greenhouse gas pollution of - other industries, leaving family farming businesses to foot the bill for other industry sectors," Mrs Burge said." There is no compulsion on these greenhouse emitters to pay agriculture for the burden imposed,""In fact Government policies have created this inequity via agreements made in relation to the Kyoto Protocol, where potential future carbon credits schemes can only apply to vegetation planted or regrown since 1990 should Australia sign the convention," Mrs. Burge said.

Mrs. Burge says the real sting in the tail comes from the Federal Government's recent change to thetaxation arrangements in regard to renewable fuels."On the one hand Government policy is directing industries, including agriculture to become more greenhouse efficient -yet supports policies that don't fully recognise the environmental importance of renewable fuels such as biodiesel that can help reduce carbon dioxide emissions by up to 70%," Mrs. Burge said.

"Now, with many farmers wishing to reduce their fuel costs and reduce their impacts on the environment, Governments should be aware of the benefits of renewable fuel and support the use of biodiesel as a way of meeting international emissions," Mrs. Burge said.

Mrs. Burge is also concerned that a report by the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) due to be released in December will place yet more of the greenhouse burden on agriculture and still fail to address the major greenhouse pollution caused by the energy and transport sectors."COAG's report may well find farmers facing new restrictions on the use of fertilisers or having to find solutions to prevent their cows passing too much wind," Mrs. Burge said.