128
THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
Farmers Speak Out “ I believe that the best and most effi- cient method for the long-term pres- ervation of rare livestock breeds in
have been achieved and there’s no need for more water as 72 per cent of river flows are for environmental purposes. There are still many non-flow outcomes needing to be achieved. The focus must be on getting better outcomes from exist- ing water, by addressing barriers to im- prove environmental outcomes, including carp management, riparian management, fish screens, and fish passage. It is in Aus- tralia’s best interest for water policy to focus on shared outcomes not politics into the future. The next MDBP must be a management plan not a volumetric plan.” Lou Gall, Executive Officer of Gwydir Valley Irrigators Association. “ Australian farmers for the most part have always done the right thing when it comes to the myriad of community expectations in modern agriculture. The scale and intensity of government re- porting on almost everything we do now, however, seems to have increased a lot in the last decade or so. With a mid-left fed- eral government that could be in power for quite a while, meaning an even bigger public service, that’s a lot of jobs relating to monitoring everything from animal wel- fare to pesticide use to transportation on the farm. While I am all for transparency on risk management as I enter the twilight years of my 50+ years’ career in agricul- ture, I confess that the younger generation is being deterred from the profession due to government overreach on farm compli- ance. Like anything where there is inher-
this country is a semen bank. Many coun- tries around the world have extensive government-funded semen banks for fu- ture generations. Australia has none. This responsibility has been left to a NFP char- ity organisation. Future requirements are inherently unpredictable. We might en- counter the arrival of a lethal disease (such as Foot-and-Mouth Disease) and need to repopulate the breed. In the future, focus may shift toward the production of wool- len carpets, which will demand high-qual- ity carpet wool. In New Zealand, the use of wool carpets is now compulsory in all government-owned buildings. There is no carpet wool industry left in Australia. Fi- nancial support is needed to enable the storage of livestock semen. Donors are considerably more likely to provide finan- cial contributions if they are permitted to deduct the amount from their taxable income. Without governmental endorse- ment or assistance, this work proves to be a formidable challenge.” Anne Sim, Managing Director of Rare Breeds Trust of Australia. “ The Murray Darling Basin Plan (MDBP) 2012 has achieved its goal to reduce diversions to Sustainable Diversion Limits delivering a healthy working basin with optimised social, economic and en- vironmental outcomes. Flow-based out- comes [REF: 2025 Basin Plan Evaluation]
Powered by FlippingBook