Bush Summit: Anthony Albanese faces hot welcome

Anthony Albanese and the ­nation’s political leaders arrived in the country music capital of Tamworth on Friday to face NSW’s angry farmers at The Daily Telegraph Bush Summit.

Anthony Albanese with Daily Telegraph editor Ben English. Picture: Jonathan Ng

Anthony Albanese and the ­nation’s political leaders arrived in the country music capital of Tamworth on Friday to face NSW’s angry farmers at The Daily Telegraph Bush Summit.

The NSW Bush Summit was the first of six over the coming days to be held in almost every state and which will address the critical issues facing regional Australia, from drought to the rollout of renewable energy.

News Corp Australia executive chairman Michael Miller said that by broadening the summit’s scope, national issues as well as local ones could be addressed and solutions found.

“The fact that the current Prime Minister has attended every Bush Summit also speaks to his commitment to the people of the bush,” he said.

Mr Albanese arrived at the Tamworth Regional Entertainment Conference Centre to a hot welcome from more than 100 protesting farmers waving placards and chanting in protest at the rush to renewables. Leading them was local MP Barnaby Joyce, who said the issue had united thousands of landholders from 240 groups stretching from Queensland to Tasmania.

The farmers are furious at the spread of foreign-owned wind turbines and solar panels across thousands of hectares of prime land. “Renewables are not an ­environmental solution, they are an environmental catastrophe,” Mr Joyce said. “The swindle is the money is going overseas.”

After addressing the summit, Mr Albanese honoured his promise to meet with the protesters.

James Gooden, chairman of the apolitical Renewable and Transmission Line Action Network, called for more time.

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“The Prime Minister has promised to give us a seat at the table,” he said. “He was very ­receptive to us calling for a Senate inquiry into this.”

However, Mr Albanese told the summit he was focused on ­“investing in rewiring the nation to bring our energy transmission into the 21st century” and underpinning electricity supply.

He announced a $38m boost in funding to support the long-term trial of new and emerging agricultural practices to increase drought resilience. And he earned a round of applause for announcing 20 new study hubs.

Water remained a recurring theme for the summit, with federal Water and Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek defending controversial water buybacks.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton called for “honest discussion” about small modular nuclear ­reactors like those used in China, France, Britain and the US.