UPHOLDING the right to farm and protecting farming activities from civil liability and changes in land use are the objectives of a draft bill released for consultation by Family First MLC Robert Brokenshire this week.
Mr Brokenshire said he had drafted the Right to Farm Bill because more farmers were telling him they were frustrated they did not have the right to farm.
"There are so many impediments against what they want to do and if the government is serious about green-flagging agriculture then they need to become much more proactive in giving farmers an easier pathway to do their work," he said.
"In conjunction with this bill, I am getting amendments drawn up to the Mining Act to give farmers better rights there too."
Mr Brokenshire said with existing mining legislation strongly in favour of mining, clear amendments within the act were required rather than through the Right to Farm Bill.
"It is more general," he said.
"For example, it could apply to people coming into the district saying 'we didn't know that tractor worked at night' or 'we didn't know they were going to spray along our boundary fence'.
"Or if someone buys near a piggery, the piggery needs to be declared to the purchaser so they can't be forever contacting the Environment Protection Agency complaining about odour."
Mr Brokenshire said civil liability or complaint mechanisms through government departments made it difficult for farmers to do their day-to-day work.
"It needs to stop because it becomes a real impost to productivity and often it becomes stressful and an unnecessary and costly factor because the farmer then needs to get legal help," he said.
"I've had lots and lots of those examples - mushroom farms, piggeries and where a farmer is growing grain and all of a sudden there is an application to put a vineyard next to that property.
"My bill would give that graingrowing farmer the right to continue spraying and operating his farm.
"This is a huge issue and will be until we sort it out.
"It will give farmers better rights but it also sends a signal to them that agriculture is open for business in SA and we are going to support and enhance it."
Mr Brokenshire said he wanted to work with all industry groups and ultimately, it would help if Primary Producers SA as the peak body would help drive the reforms.
PPSA chief executive officer Rob Kerin said right to farm legislation was always a challenge.
"We welcome the bill being put on the table," he said.
"PPSA is keen to see the regulations and the second reading speech which can be used to interpret the legislation.
Mr Kerin said the need to amend the mining act had been raised many times but the issue was in the detail.
"Opinions are divided and we need to represent everybody," he said.
"But we want to make sure farmers are looked after."
Agriculture Minister Leon Bignell said he had not yet seen Mr Brokenshire's bill.
"It's important to note a similar bill was rejected in 2013 because the legislation was not the appropriate mechanism to uphold farmers' rights," he said.
"Without seeing his new bill, I am not aware if Mr Brokenshire has proposed additional or significant changes."
Mr Brokenshire said it was the government that rejected the bill in 2013 and not parliament, as it had passed the Upper House.
"This bill is broader than the previous one and there has been more demand for it from farmers as their right to farm has been eroding, not improving," he said.
Mr Brokenshire is keen to get the public's knowledge and input into his Right to Farm Bill.
"I would like people to email me at robert.brokenshire@parliament.sa.gov.au to comment or ask for a copy of the bill, because this is a starting point," he said.
"There has been a lot of demand for this and I want broad consultation and then to ultimately put in a bill best drafted according to the feedback I get."
