India, Farming Legislation

The Hon. T.T. NGO (15:44): It is an honour to be the first member of parliament in South Australia to formally put on the record in this parliament the escalating situation between Indian farmers and their national government. Last week, I received a community delegation, led by Mr Trimann Gill and Mr Amarjit Grewal, raising concerns about farming-related laws recently passed by India's central government.

The delegation advised me about the situation farmers are facing in India. As I speak, hundreds of thousands of farmers and thousands of tractors are making their way to Delhi from agricultural states across India. Many travellers are walking over hundreds of kilometres to practise their democratic right to peacefully protest in Delhi. Even while police seek to stop protesters reaching India's capital, many of the farmers serve food to these officers along the way. This is in keeping with their practices of feeding others without discriminating on religious or political considerations and is telling of their peaceful nature.

As it has been put to me, the farmers protest their government passing three new laws. They are mainly concerned about the undermining of the minimum support price (MSP). The MSP has existed for decades, providing a safety net or assurance for farmers. This allows farmers to sell produce at government-regulated markets. Currently, the MSP is set by the central government for selected crops, based on recommendations from the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP). The CACP is tasked with setting the MSP.

I understand most farmers in India are concerned about the consequences of deregulation of the agricultural sector, and these new laws do not reference or guarantee the MSP. Without protections, farmers with small landholdings believe they will be exploited by big corporations. This concern is real. We witnessed similar reforms in Australia, and I can testify to the impacts. Those here today who visit our regions will be familiar with the impacts of deregulation on Australia's farming industry. Over recent years we have seen many family farms held at the mercy of big corporations and families forced off their land. Tragically, farms held by generations of families are now owned by multinationals.

If it were not for community leaders like Mr Trimann Gill, Mr Amarjit Grewal and others, raising this issue and mounting a public awareness campaign, we would be ignorant of the situation unfolding in India. I am amazed and disappointed that the mainstream media seems to barely raise the issue. The media attention on other protests around the world starkly contrasts media coverage given to perhaps the largest protest the world has seen and in the world's largest democracy. It seems peaceful protest does not attract the same media attention as rioting.

In Australia we are free to peacefully protest. We are allowed political expression. Even when mainstream media is quiet, we can share the plight experienced by others, especially those occurring in the homelands of our local multiculturalism community. I recognise the efforts of Mr Gill and Mr Grewal, raising public awareness not only using socials but even billboards, including at the Main North Road and Grand Junction Road intersection.

In closing, in our global community we must help others in their plight against their local perils. We must lend them the benefits of our experiences and lend our voice to their cause. I urge members to join with me and ask the national government of India to continue to allow its citizens to exercise the fundamental right for any democracy; that is, the right to protest peacefully. I also call on the Indian national government to undertake meaningful dialogue with the farmers and to resolve this evolving situation peacefully.