159-years of farm craft lost in Canberra

Mr Colbeck is a former Parliamentary Secretary for Agriculture who was first elected in 2002 and was Tourism and International Education Minister in Malcolm Turnbull’s ministry and the Minister Assisting the Trade and Investment Minister.

But he was brutally dropped to the vulnerable fifth position on the Tasmanian Liberal Senate ticket at the double dissolution election, after a bitter internal power struggle with Eric Abetz.

Mr Colbeck earned a substantial reputation among farm stakeholders for being a sturdy performer who didn’t seek flashy news-headlines but worked diligently behind the scenes doing his job.

He was always willing to speak at industry events and hold centre stage like the annual ABARES conference or National Farmers’ Federation congress often due to ministerial commitments.

But he was just as comfortable and willing to mingle with delegates behind the scenes to gain greater insight and knowledge through personal interactions, taking time to interact and engage effectively rather than rush-off to the next, more important event.

The Tasmanian Liberal who hailed from a dairy farming background was able to apply such learnings to his Senate committee work and separate reality from ignorant sensationalism, due to superior policy details.

In a media statement today, Mr Colbeck cited the Senate Select Inquiry into Australia's food processing sector as one of his most important items of work.

“The Inquiry provided excellent insights into the supply chains for the agricultural and food industries and the policy directions that would facilitate growth in an immensely competitive global market,” he said.

Mr Colbeck has effectively been replaced by a rookie Jonathon Duniam who is a former deputy chief of staff to the Tasmanian Premier and seems to have graduated from the political system, rather than having any lived experience of the land and its perpetual trials and tribulations, battling global commodity market fluctuations and Mother Nature’s fickle weather patterns.

SA Liberal Senator Sean Edwards is also set to become another victim of the double dissolution election after he was also dropped to a vulnerable place on his State’s election ticket.

Senator Edwards started in the Senate in 2011 and for the past 20-years has been a vigneron and winemaker in SA’s Clare Valley region.

He’s also been a strong and regular contributor to committee work on agricultural and rural issues and advocate of common-sense, science driven policy in areas like animal welfare standards and biotech crops.

Veteran NSW Liberal Senator and Junee livestock and grain farmer Bill Heffernan also stepped down at the recent election after serving for 20-years where he addressed most agricultural-related issues – from the ABW wheat export single desk through to biosecurity concerns on fresh beef importations.

His scheduled replacement Hollie Hughes - a Moree based disability advocate - was unsuccessful at her Senate bid, after being dropped to sixth position on the NSW ticket.

Mr Heffernan has expressed grave concerns about losing authentic rural representation capacity within the federal Liberals - especially those with practical backgrounds in hands-on careers like farming - at the expense of candidates that have climbed the political ladder, by progressing through the party system.

While regarded as one of the most unique and extroverted characters in federal politics - especially for his colourful language - his rare brand of raw honesty and lived-experience of farming will leave a gaping hole in the authenticity levels of the Liberal and Coalition party rooms.

While Mr Heffernan’s often unpredictable antics may have frustrated some of the more modest Liberals, it was tempered by the views of cooler heads with a different set of skills but no less passion for farming and rural communities, like Sharman Stone.

Unfortunately, Ms Stone is another loss for the party having stepped down from the Victorian seat of Murray after 20-years.

She was replaced by the Nationals Damian Drum who has strong rural roots but has probably spent more time in the AFL and Victorian parliament recently, than he has at the local wheat silo or livestock saleyards.

Former National Farmers' Federation Executive Director and Trade Minister Andrew Robb is another Liberal who won’t be adding his depth of knowledge to high level debate and considerations in the federal cabinet or party room, having retired after 12-years.

Ian Macfarlane is another old school bush advocate with grass roots farming experience and skills who was also heavily involved in agri-politics before entering parliament in 1998 but retired ahead of this year’s election.

He has been replaced by former Queensland LNP State MP John McVeigh who has an executive background in agribusiness.

Mr McVeigh was also an agriculture minister in the Queensland parliament after being elected in 2012 but his record falls short of Mr Macfarlane’s who served nine years in the federal cabinet.

After 15 years of service, NSW Nationals MP and former Shadow Agriculture Minister John Cobb is another ex-agri-politician and practicing farmer who chose to retire, adding to the shrinkage of agricultural know-how, in the current parliament.

Mr Cobb was Shadow Minister in opposition when the Coalition re-charged its agricultural policy under Tony Abbott to lift its profile and standing as a core contributor to the national economy.

Nationals’ leader Warren Truss resigned ahead of the election after 26 years of service representing another debit for Canberra’s agricultural and rural wisdom.

Mr Truss was a former Agriculture and Trade Minister who hailed from a farming family in Queensland and was regarded as a resolute politician who took time to read reports and documents to absorb and digest the actual details and grow his knowledge base.

He was a strong supporter of Genetically Modified crops, understanding the scientific potential of developing new biotechnology traits, like frost and drought tolerance, to help counteract future food production limitations and keep farmers viable.

He was replaced by former police officer Llew O’Brien while Queensland NLP Maranoa MP Bruce Scott also decided to step down from federal politics after 26-years and was replaced by regional banking manager David Littleproud.

Before his election in 2013, Tasmanian Liberal Eric Hutchinson had a keen background in agriculture working in wool-exporting.

He was vocal on irrigated agriculture and the value of export trade deals to farming in the previous parliament, but lost his seat at the July 2 poll.

WA Greens Senator and Agriculture and Rural Affairs spokesperson Rachel Siewert could also lose her position as vote counting continues.

However, some of the disappearance in farm enlightenment and grounded experience in the new term will be off-set by the elevation of Agriculture and Water Minister Barnaby Joyce to Nationals leader and Deputy Prime Minister.

Agricultural and rural losses in Canberra

Colbeck - 2002-2016 (14-years)

Truss 1990-2016 (26-years)

Scott - 1990-2016 (26-years)

Heffernan - 1996-2016 (20-years)

Stone – 1996-2016 (20-years)

Macfarlane - 1998-2016 (18-years)

Cobb - 2001-2016 (15-years)

Robb - 2004-2016 (12-years)

Edwards - 2011-2016 (5-years)

Hutchinson - 2013-2016 (3-years)