ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION (RIGHT TO FARM) AMENDMENT BILL

Introduction and First Reading

The Hon. R.L. BROKENSHIRE (16:30): Obtained leave and introduced a bill for an act to amend the Environment Protection Act 1993; and to make a consequential amendment to the Land and Business (Sale and Conveyancing) Act 1994. Read a first time.

Second Reading

The Hon. R.L. BROKENSHIRE (16:31): I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

I foreshadow further amendments to this bill because I have had a meeting, again, with key industry sector groups in agriculture, and I want to address some issues with respect to this right to farm bill that will also address the conflict between mining and farming rights.

I declare my interest as a farmer and my family as farmers, but I am introducing this not in the interests of my family as farmers but as a member of the Legislative Council who has many constituents very concerned about the right to farm. Whilst other states are also looking at this, we do not lead the way in Australia at this point, and we certainly do not lead the way internationally when it comes to right to farm. Look at America and some parts of Europe if you want to see how serious they are about ensuring that food production is secured with right to farm legislation in their countries.

As I said, the bill is one I introduced last year, and it was passed; again, I thank all my colleagues who supported it, and I trust that it will get support again when it is voted on during 2010. To assist my colleagues and others who may want to look at the words that I introduced the bill with on 23 September 2009, they are on page 3297 of Hansard, and my summing up comments and the comments of other honourable members on 18 November 2009 are on page 4003 of Hansard.

I note that this bill also passed this council on 18 November but was not progressed through the House of Assembly. I am passionate about this issue. There is plenty more to come in relation to the protection of family farming and South Australian food security from Family First during this term. I would love to see the government take this on: it can improve it, if it wants to, but I really want to see right to farm protected.

Nearly weekly now, issues come up for farmers that make it more and more difficult for them to get on with the business of producing food and, counter to that, we are seeing more and more food being imported into Australia—much of it inferior quality, I might add—and more and more of our good land being subdivided, which is going to restrict our capacity to produce food in the future as the world gets hungrier and, as we see from government notification, 500,000 more people coming into this state in the next 10 or 15 years.

I believe that it is important that we get on with this. One thing that is crucial to farming is the fact that you know that you have your government and your parliament behind you giving you that right to farm. Changing structures, machinery and practices in farming are making it more of a night activity, for example, and that is just a fact of life.

When people come to live in a rural area, from time to time during the year, depending on the season, they have to put up with balers, headers and air seeders going at night and, in our case, milking machines going from 3.30 to 4.00 in the morning. It is a fact of country living and, if people want to come and enjoy that—and we encourage them to do so—they need to accommodate farmers' practices in the best interests of food security. I commend the bill to the house.

Debate adjourned on motion of Hon. T.J. Stephens.