CANBERRA (Reuters) – A growing number of Australian farmers are dissatisfied with the government’s climate and agricultural policies, a survey showed on Wednesday, as measures to protect the environment anger farmers in Europe and some other places.
Australia is one of the world’s largest agricultural exporters, shipping almost $50 billion worth of products as diverse as beef, wheat and wine in the 2022-2023 financial year.
Since coming to power in 2022, the country’s Labor government has passed legislation that will ban the export of live sheep and restrict the use of water for agriculture in some areas.
The country has also tried to raise more money from farmers for biosecurity and has made progress on renewable energy projects in rural areas, sparking anger in the agricultural sector.
Seventy-three percent of 1,026 farmers surveyed across the country said government policies are hurting the sector, up from 54% a year ago, a poll by the National Farmers’ Federation (NFF) and communications agency Seftons showed.
Eighty percent said the government did not understand or listen to farmers, compared to 41% last year, while only 10% said the government had a positive plan to grow the agricultural sector.
Half of respondents thought Australia’s food and fiber production would increase over the next decade, up from 56% a year ago.
“The results are not surprising. Critical issues such as the live sheep export ban, biosecurity taxes and water buybacks have weighed heavily on farmers,” said NFF chairman David Jochinke.
“Farmers are frustrated,” he says. “They feel that they are not being heard and that they are being inundated with harmful policies – which appear to be driven by campaign groups or politicians, and not by farmers.”
Earlier this year, farmers in many European countries staged protests over a range of issues, including excessive environmental regulations.
