![Prime Minister Anthony Albanese speaking with Latrobe farmer Michael Perkins in Tasmania as Latrobe mayor Peter Freshney watches on. Picture by Brodie Weeding. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese speaking with Latrobe farmer Michael Perkins in Tasmania as Latrobe mayor Peter Freshney watches on. Picture by Brodie Weeding.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/230597393/e1a1a6eb-d61c-431f-81ce-8ff3e159ec7c.jpeg/r0_285_5568_3428_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has planted the first seeds of Labor's re-election pitch to agriculture, using a speech to the NSW Country Labor Conference in Nowra to ramp up the climate wars and claim the Nationals were no longer the party for farmers.
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The next federal election will be held by May next year with the green energy transition expected to be a headline policy point-of-difference between the major parties.
And while there remains uncertainty around aspects of Labor's net-zero agenda, particularly its agricultural and land sectorisation plan and emissions reduction goals for farming, it clearly hopes to corner the Nationals - after years of Coalition climate inaction - on its "delay tactic" nuclear energy push and push back on Labor's industrial scale renewable projects, including regional transmission projects, as being part of the problem, not solution, for farmers.
"The Nationals claim to stand for regional Australia. They pretend climate change isn't real. We're getting on with dealing with its challenges and seizing its opportunities," Mr Albanese said.
"Who provides a better example of adaptation than farmers? Farmers understand the necessity of change. Farmers endlessly look for better ways of doing things.
"Farmers are in tune with their environment, realistic about tackling climate change, and open to the possibilities of new technology. That's why we've seen such an extraordinary evolution in farming practices."
However, the comments attracted an immediate rebuke from Nationals leader David Littleproud who said the Labor leader, who highlighted tax cuts and industrial relations policies in the speech, deliberately ignored some of the parties more divisive policies.
![Nationals leader David Littleproud. Picture supplied. Nationals leader David Littleproud. Picture supplied.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/230597393/b86cb585-1373-48d5-bc00-2f00e1547f46.jpg/r0_280_5472_3369_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
But, in a statement to ACM Agri, he also choose not to mention the National's climate stripes.
"In just 20 months, Labor has presided over $16.2 billion in cuts to crucial infrastructure projects," he said.
"Labor has changed the Murray-Darling Basin Plan to buyback an additional 450 gigalitres of productive water, destroying Basin communities.
"Labor scrapped the AgVisa and made the Pacific Worker Scheme unviable, stripping agriculture of its workforce.
"Labor will introduce a fresh food tax on farmers to pay for their foreign competitors to bring their product to Australia and failed to listen to warnings on supermarket behaviour towards farmers and consumers for nearly 18 months.
![Pastoralists and Graziers Association of Western Australia president Tony Seabrook. Picture supplied. Pastoralists and Graziers Association of Western Australia president Tony Seabrook. Picture supplied.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/230597393/e81b070c-fdb5-4263-9b3c-a891afb0e9f2.jpeg/r0_265_5184_3191_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
"I'd say Anthony Albanese has no clue about regional Australia."
Mr Littleproud subsequently spoke publicly about being open to repurposing Labor's pole-and-wire transmission capital towards a household solar and battery scheme.
Then there are the producers themselves.
The National Farmers Federation has called for and backed energy transition policies that do not impact productive agriculture land and activity and launched a Keep Farmers Farming campaign last October that railed against several Labor policies it believed were "anti-agriculture."
Groups, such as Farmers for Climate Action, have supported several of the government's energy settings.
Many individual farmers understand the need and want to hop aboard the carbon reduction train. Some have been quietly doing so for years amid a growing narrative that access to finance and markets may become tied to their performance on sustainability, while the majority kept the powder dry in waiting for government policy, direction and funding before making a move.
But the more immediate concern for many in 2024 is how the usual ups and downs of the profession have been compounded by recent events like such as multiple extreme weather events, supply chain disruptions, input price hikes, worker shortages and federal and state government policies that have further increased red tape and shrunk margins. And that these extraneous forces might bring a halt to their businesses long before the impacts of climate change.
Pastoralists and Graziers Association of Western Australia president Tony Seabrook said producers had long been used as a political football and that "the core of the issue" is that a farmers' love of farming "has been used against us."
"Politicians think we will keep on doing it because we love doing it, and there is a lot of truth in that," he said.
"But three sheep farmers told me separately just yesterday that they were getting out of the industry.
"I saw (Orange-based farmer Michael Cunial) tipping over his cherry trees (on the ABC) because he was being squeezed and has been working so hard for so little return and doesn't want to do it anymore.
![Orange-based cherry farmer Michael Cunial said he was about to quit the industry, telling Four Corners, its like theyve got their hand on your throat and (are) just letting you breathe. Picture supplied. Orange-based cherry farmer Michael Cunial said he was about to quit the industry, telling Four Corners, its like theyve got their hand on your throat and (are) just letting you breathe. Picture supplied.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/230597393/08bf652c-ea6e-4064-bd5c-d958a1e6a37b.jpg/r0_432_4624_3032_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
"The normal for a lot of people is you get paid every week, you have weekends off, you will get holiday loading, long service leave and your superannuation paid for.
"In my business, I am working 75-80 hours every week, I go to bed at night thinking about the business and what I have to do to make it work.
"There is no guarantee of water, our power goes down, it is a pretty tough gig, but we do because we love it.
"But when a government is attacking and attacking it puts a lot more pressure on people like me to keep going and we have more and more people in town now asking how we even do it."
The next year or so and looming government, financial and supply chain policy - and adversity - will greatly decide future on-farm management practices and farmer-driven innovation for many landholders.
The next step will be any outcomes from this week's national energy minister's meeting.