Whish-Wilson: Greens need NFF to help “throw the kitchen sink at climate change”

After the Greens announced a last minute deal to end the backpacker tax political melodrama at a 15 per cent rate, which included an additional $100 million in Landcare funding, Senator Whish-Wilson made a deliberate symbolic gesture of good will towards the National Farmers’ Federation (NFF).

He shook hands with NFF president Fiona Simson, CEO Tony Mahar and policy guru Sarah McKinnon on the last day of parliament for 2016 to acknowledge their organisation’s recent and significant shift on climate change policy.

Until that modernisation, the NFF’s collective view on the highly divisive political issue that stems the globe was to question the legitimacy of climate change and its scientific reasoning, putting it at odds with many others, in the community.

Much to the chagrin of the likes of Senator Whish-Wilson, the NFF’s climate change denial was a persistent political headache exacerbated by pointed media statements like the one it released in April 2009, when the carbon trading debate was at its peak.

In it, the NFF welcomed Prof Ian Plimer’s contribution to the climate change discussion and debate, claiming to debunk many of the theories and dire predictions of some within the scientific fraternity.

It seized upon quotes in a book released by the Professor from the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of Adelaide, saying, ‘Climate changes in the past have been far greater and far more rapid than anything measured in the present. Not one previous climate change has ever been driven by carbon dioxide. To talk of carbon pollution shows an appalling ignorance of basic school science. Carbon dioxide is plant food, without it humans could not exist’.

The then NFF President David Crombie added, “We’ve heard ad nauseam from those scientists convinced that climate change will ruin us all and, seemingly, hell-bent on making grim doomsday predictions - but we’ve heard precious little from those experts for whom the jury is still out, or, in the case of Professor Plimer, say their research shows extreme climate change predictions are over-stated”.

“Now, before I’m carted to a stake for public torching, I’m not saying Professor Plimer is right, nor that his colleagues with differing views are wrong,” he said.

“Just that it’s about time we had a balanced, informed discussion and debate, free from vilification of those who dare to question conventional wisdom.

“We know that not all scientists agree on climate change or the cause and effect theories that underpin it.

“As farmers, we have no way of knowing who is right, wrong or kind-of-in-the-ballpark on the scientific research and the judgements therein, but no-one was ever hurt by being exposed to all the facts on any given topic.

“Rigour underpins getting the science right - Prof Plimer is part of the mix.”

Fast forward to late 2016 and Greens leader Richard Di Natale begrudgingly acknowledged the NFF entering the twenty-first century with its climate change views.

“I’d love to claim credit for the National Farmers’ Federation changing their position,” he said.

“I mean really? In the twenty-first century an organisation that denies the impact of climate change when the people who will be most impacted are the people working on the land.”

NFF’s modernised policy now says it recognises that climate change poses a significant challenge for Australian farmers but there’s also great opportunity for the agriculture sector to contribute to national emissions reduction goals.

Senator Whish-Wilson owns a vineyard in Tasmania’s Tamar Valley and said his father was also a farmer with that dirt under his fingernails experience helping to shape his practical and political views on the backpacker tax and climate change debate.

He said farmers understand the environment and that their livelihoods are “beholden” to the weather, soil quality and other elements critical to agricultural production.

“In their own ways, farmers are quite green,” he said.

“But I felt we were in this ridiculous situation where the peak body, the NFF, wasn’t representing the views of many farmers around the country.”

Senator Whish-Wilson said for him, the backpacker tax agreement had been “very personal” given he uses working holidaymakers for seasonal labour on his vineyard.

He said he also saw parallels between the NFF’s positioning on the backpacker tax debate and its long-running policy stance on climate change.

He criticised the NFF during a recent Senate speech where he “had a go” at the peak national farm body for taking a position that he felt was reflective of being too close to the government and trying to appease Agriculture and Water Minister Barnaby Joyce; a view he’s long-held.

He said he was disappointed the NFF moved too soon to jump from the 19pc backpacker tax rate to the compromised 15pc rate.

But Senator Whish-Wilson said the horticulture sector would have “suffered the most” impacts of further delays to passing the backpacker tax like losing seasonal workforces.

He said the NFF doesn’t represent horticulture within its membership structure, or Tasmanian farmers.

“The NFF are more the big end of farming town,” he said.

“There was a disconnect, yet the NFF were happy to step into this space and lobby hard for the horticulture industry to accept the government’s decision.

“A lot of farmers I’ve spoken to have said it looks like the NFF are trying to get ta deal for the government and not the best deal for farmers and I think it’s been the same thing for climate change.

“By being silent on it, or openly hostile towards climate change or climate denial, if you like, it’s the same thing because they’re not going to get a good deal for farmers.”

Senator Whish-Wilson said he welcomed the NFF policy shift on climate change but he believes more political action is needed to help tackle it.

He said the NFF also needed to step up and not only say ‘we’ve got a policy that brings us into the twenty first century on climate change but we’re actually going to go the next step and advocate for action’.

“That’s why I came out and shook their hands,” he said.

“We’ve got to work with these guys and we have to throw the kitchen sink at climate change.

“It’s not just about pricing carbon; there are a whole range of different measures that we need to implement and we need farmers on board.

“We’d like them (farmers) to consider the Greens when they go to the ballot box but more important than that is that they actually consider climate change and these guys (NFF) can lobby the Prime Minister and others to actually take some action.”

Senator Whish-Wilson said in Tasmania, the NFF weren’t speaking officially or even informally on behalf of farmers and in future “we’d like to see a lot more collaboration”.

Asked how the lobby group would proceed after some bitter political exchanges over the backpacker tax debacle, NFF President Fiona Simson said she hoped any differences could be put aside, to achieve the bipartisan outcomes that her group aims for on behalf of rural and agricultural Australia

“Certainly there’s been some strong words around the (House of Representatives) and certainly there’s been some strong words about issues that we’re all passionate about but our aims is to work with all the elected representatives and Senate representatives to actually achieve good outcomes for farmers and good outcomes for regional Australia,” she said.

“Trust I think is something that we need to build and acknowledge that we need to build with all parties.

“I come to this with a fresh perspective that hopefully we can make a clean start and a clean slate and hope that we can work together in trust.”

Standing alongside Ms Simson at the media conference following the backpacker tax resolution, Mr Mahar said there had “certainly been some learnings taken out of this process”.

“We have always advocated this is about the farmers and about the farming industry and that’s why we’ve taken a strong public policy line,” he said.

“Good public policy is what we’re supporting and we’ll continue to support that and we’ll continue to build relationships with all members of parliament so that we can progress agriculture.”

Ms Simson said 37-years ago the NFF was founded to be apolitical and to work with all sides of politics.

She said, “those bipartisan outcomes are the ones that we really want” while adding the backpacker tax issue had been frustrating.

“Eighteen months ago we were blindsided by a single line item in the budget and it has been a long 18-months of uncertainty for farmers and backpackers while we’ve struggled to address this,” she said.

“Sometimes agriculture is difficult to get together and difficult to speak with a unified voice.

“But over the last 48 hours we’ve seen our members and our non-members and the whole agricultural community come out in unprecedented numbers and support a position that is fair, is equitable, is competitive and reasonable and support parliament working constructively together for a good outcome.”