An historic legislation has been passed which will allow farmers to carry out their business safely and productively across the state.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The Right to Farm Bill 2019 was passed through the NSW Parliament last week, outlining that farmers can carry out their lawful business activities without the fear of vexatious nuisance claims, as well as protecting them from trespass and harassment.
Member for Cootamundra Steph Cooke said the Bill would mean that farmers do not need to fear a nuisance claim for factors such as dust from trucks lawfully carting goods to and from a farm.
"Amendments to the Bill meant that the scope of this protection was widened to also include a range of secondary primary production activities such as abattoirs," she said.
"The Bill creates a shield against legal action where a producer is operating lawfully."
The Right to Farm Act 2019 will also increase the penalties for aggravated farm trespass with fines of up to $22,000 and three years jail time a potential punishment.
Ms Cooke said the work that the region's and state's farmers do is 'so important'.
She added that trespassers who put at risk the health and safety farmers, their families and their animals, as well as introducing new biosecurity hazards would not be tolerated.
In other news:
"People working on farms need to feel safe as they go about their everyday activities," Ms Cooke said.
"Likewise, the risk of animals being released intentionally, or inadvertently where a gate is left open, is not acceptable and could lead to situations such as livestock being hit by vehicles on public roads."
The new legislation was not an attempt at burying various protests or opinions, according to Ms Cooke, but instead about safety and fairness.
"The legislation addresses these types of circumstances, it is not about silencing protest, but about protecting our farmers from people that break the law," she said.
"This legislation sends a message that we value the food and fibre that is produced in NSW, and the work of the people who produce it."
Junee farmer Tony Clough spoke of the value of such a Bill before it passed, saying that "At the end of the day, it's important that farmers are able to carry on with their business without the influence of any minority groups that want to stop farmers".
"[Farmers have] been doing it for a long time, they have regulations to abide by and the majority do, so why should we have to deal with activists because of personal beliefs?" he said.