Animal activists the last thing our farmers need
Their farms have been hit by droughts and floods. A struggle continues for farmers operating in a complicated global economy. As well, many farmers and their families must cope with the remoteness of Australian country life. On top of all that, our farmers now face property invasions by animal rights activists.
As is almost always the case, Australian farmers are fighting on several fronts.
Their farms have been hit by droughts and floods. A struggle continues for farmers operating in a complicated global economy. As well, many farmers and their families must cope with the remoteness of Australian country life.
On top of all that, our farmers now face property invasions by animal rights activists.
These activists, who typically live in cities and who have little concept of rural life, are posting images and addresses of farms online to intimidate farmers and to encourage trespassing.
Australian farms tend to be large, which makes protecting them extremely difficult. Protection is made more difficult still by the necessity of farm work. Every minute a farmer loses maintaining security is a minute of productivity lost.
Mostly, farm security was never previously an issue. Our farms essentially operate on trust. Farmers trust, for example, that passers-by will not unlock gates or cause needless damage to crops and fields.
That trust is now being eroded by animal rights activists who are bringing their city-based manias to the bush.
National Farmers Federation chief executive Tony Mahar has had enough, and is urging state and federal governments to help control what he describes as a “frightening and extreme pattern of activism”.
This activism, Mahar points out, “is obstructing our farm businesses from growing food and fibre and frankly, causing our farming families to feel unsafe in their own homes”.
Furious NSW Deputy Premier John Barilaro has heard the call, and is considering new trespass laws to combat vegan vigilantes.
At present, breaches of trespass laws are punishable by a maximum $5500 fine. Quite rightly, Barilaro and hardworking farmers want maximum penalties increased.
Our nation’s farmers “are very concerned, not only about their privacy, but also the significant biosecurity risks created by these trespassers,” Barilaro told The Daily Telegraph.
There should also be thought given to invasions of privacy being carried out online.
It is easy for animal rights activists, armed with maps and directions, to take out their misguided rage on a farmer’s property. Those who run such sites require legal correction.
Big feast of peace in Hanoi
Consider for a delicious moment the feast prepared for US President Donald Trump and Vietnamese PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc ahead of Trump’s summit with Kim Jong-un.
Their Hanoi banquet featured spring rolls with shrimp, pork, vermicelli and vegetables, king crab and spinach in a seafood broth, grilled cod, roasted wagyu beef with foie gras and black rice sauce and green chayote stems and leaves with garlic.
After a nosh-up like that, who could possibly be in the mood for argument? And now please excuse us while we urgently locate one of Sydney’s finest Vietnamese restaurants.
From Boyd to every man
Not so very long ago, mental illness carried a social stigma so comprehensive that sufferers were reluctant to even mention their condition.
This only increased the pain of mental illness for those afflicted. It perpetuated a cycle of trauma building upon trauma.
For those in the public eye, difficulties were additionally compounded. But following the brave stances taken by many who announced their conditions and sought to help others by going public, numerous barriers to understanding have been broken down.
Darius Boyd was one such pioneer. The former rugby league great checked into a mental health facility five years ago, fearing for his wellbeing.
It was a life-enhancing decision. And now Boyd is wholly supportive of fellow NRL star Josh Dugan revealing his own mental health challenges.
“With people like Dugan speaking up, it is only going to help the game, the players and society as well,” Boyd said.
“Men are not known for speaking up and talking about their emotions.”
Speaking up is half the battle.
Forced into a corner, Labor finally finds a little spine on Israel
After a year of muddle that has seen pro-Hezbollah marches in our streets, a shocking rise in anti-Semitism, and society all but torn apart, Labor has begun to find its voice on the Middle East.
Blair: Hamas and their mates are sooking for themselves
There would have been no deaths in Gaza for protesters to protest were it not for the declaration of war that was Hamas’s October 7 blood and rape orgy, writes Tim Blair.