Farmers call for activist crackdown
Farm leaders have called for all states to follow Western Australia in cracking down big-time on farm trespassers.
FARM leaders are calling on all states to replicate Western Australia’s tough new farm trespass laws designed to deter increasingly emboldened and sophisticated activist groups from targeting producers and disrupting agricultural supply chains.
The demand comes amid as farmers are reportedly installing their own security cameras to collect evidence in case of an activist attack.
Meanwhile, the Farm Transparency Project, formerly known as Aussie Farms, is planning to hold a Mother’s Day vigil at a Benalla abattoir on Sunday, with organisers advising attendees how to approach and potentially touch the animals.
Victorian Farmers’ Federation livestock president Scott Young said the industry feared activists were “not at all concerned” with biosecurity on farms and processors. “We would love a national framework around this,” he said.
“The laws are not as strong as we would like and we must look at strengthening the penalties and extending these along the supply chain.”
Farm trespass has been in the spotlight again of late after animal activists broke into three Victorian abattoirs to secretly record footage of the pigs being stunned with CO2 gas. Seven protesters were also arrested last month after chaining themselves inside the Benalla abattoir where this weekend’s vigil will take place.
A Facebook post advertising the vigil tells attendees to approach the trucks heading into the abattoir “slowly, calmly and quietly so as not to frighten animals”; to speak with the animals “in a soft and quiet tone” and to “exercise discretion when engaging with and touching the animals”.
Victoria’s opposition agriculture spokeswoman Emma Kealy said the increased biosecurity risk should prompt an increased police presence on Sunday.
While several states have ramped up their farm trespass penalties – most recently WA, which in April introduced fines up to a whopping $24,000 and two years’ jail – not all apply across the whole agricultural supply chain.
Farmers say the lack of cross-border consistency is glaring with on-the-spot biosecurity fines ranging from a “slap-on-the-wrist” of $652 in Queensland to $1272 in Victoria.
An Agriculture Victoria spokesman said there were no immediate plans to increase Victoria’s penalties.
A spokeswoman for WA premier Mark McGowan said the new aggravated trespass laws were a targeted response to repeated instances of “unlawful interference with food production, farming families and farm workers.”
“Trespass onto farms poses a risk of spreading pests and diseases between animals and properties,” she said.
“This can have a serious impact on animal welfare, production, and market access. It also causes undue distress to farmers, farm workers and their families.”
The new offence is also unique in that it expressly captures behaviour involving the intimidation or harassment of farming families and workers. On the other hand, the laws also give authorities the ability to conduct spot-checks at knackeries, abattoirs and intensive farming operations for compliance with animal welfare laws.
Mr Young also called for all states to follow South Australia’s example that allows courts to order compensation to farmers for the loss of income due to activists and potential damage to reputation.
Federal Nationals leader David Littleproud said law enforcement must keep up with increasingly sophisticated, and sometimes global, activist groups making more strident demands of retailers, food manufacturers and government.
He said “we have hit a trigger point” and called on the commonwealth, states and territories to “explore every option” to curb illegal activism and protect biosecurity.
“When all this was coming to the fore we tried working with the states – and obviously they have sovereignty over trespass laws – to allow them to hopefully work in unison but they were to go as hard as they could,” he said.
“But if these laws are not changing behaviour, it is where national leadership is required to talk to the states about the failures in the system and to seek a more co-ordinated approach.”
He said the federal government could investigate whether the Biosecurity Act could be used to target activists, after the federal Charities Act and Criminal Code were amended in recent years to target activists’ activities.
However, the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions said it has so far received no referrals for prosecution under the Criminal Code, after it was strengthened for incitement of trespass after Aussie Farms published farmers’ addresses online.
Agriculture Minister Murray Watt was contacted for comment.
The NFF recently wrote to federal and state ministers and authorities to express its concern about the “alarming trend of the promotion of illegal activism and trespass”.
NFF vice-president David Jochinke said a growing number of farmers were also installing security systems to protect themselves.
“It is the only way to gather evidence and prosecute these people,” he said.
“There is a minority dictating to the majority and it would be good to have a national discussion on guidelines and see agreements across the states and territories to ensure they are taking it as seriously as one another and to protect farmers as they do all other law-abiding, taxpaying entities.
“If it is still happening, not enough is being done, especially if they are repeat offenders, and a start would be raising all the lower thresholds to match the highest amount.”
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