Coming Food Crisis: Connect The Dots People...
Farmer climbs 60' Windmill Tower and goes on hunger strike
to protest Australia's new climate change, carbon laws...
Radio Interview:
youtube.com
Peter Spencer says he is prepared to die to make his point that farmers are being disadvantaged under state native vegetation land clearing laws.
Mr Spencer says Australia has claimed a 22 per cent carbon emissions reduction under the Kyoto Protocols, which has only been achieved by 'locking up' farmers land under native vegetation clearing legislation.
abc.net.au
By David Claughton, Michael Condon and Keva Gocher
Tuesday, 22/12/2009
The issue is summed up by many landholders as "confiscation with no compensation".
Peter Spencer has taken the issue through local, state and federal courts.
He says his farm development plans were ruined, and his protest is on behalf of all Australian farmers.
Will his supporters intervene and prevent Peter Spencer from dying?
Alastair Mc Robert says perhaps not.
"His requests are that nobody intervenes," he says.
Peter Spencer is calling for a Royal Commission into farming regulations, and he also wants over 10 billion dollars in compensation for farmers unable to clear land for agricultural work as their trees were claimed by the federal government as carbon sinks for reducing carbon emissions from industry.
Alastair Mc Robert says "the farmers that own the 109 millions hectares, he wants them paid the $10.8 billion for the carbon that the government stole that is making Australia meet its carbon (reduction) controls under the Kyoto protocols."
"Expropriation is the word, under the Constitution the Government can not take property off anybody unless there are just terms."
Federal member talks about farmer hunger strike
Mike Kelly the Federal Member for Eden-Monaro says the claim that Peter Spencer has made that he cannot clear his land is not true.
He says there is an ongoing offer from the local Catchment Management Authority to discuss his application to clear.
He says the CMA and Mr Spencer had a discussion about a smaller amount of land clearance, as his original proposal was to clear too big a chunk of his land, about 1,400 hectares.
Mike Kelly says there are 16 threatened species on Mr Spencer's land.
He says on the issue of whether the Federal Government has received a benefit by the action it has taken regarding Mr Spencer, Mike Kelly says he can't comment on that as that is the subject of court action.
"I'm very concerned about his health and wellbeing, and written correspondence with various government ministers on his behalf.
"This action by Mr Spencer is not worth the risk to his health."
The Prime Minister has responded to Peter via a letter from Minister for Agriculture Tony Bourke, saying he can't comment on the compensation matter before the courts, but there is an invitation in the letter for Mr Spencer to discuss his case with senior officials in the government, with a view to accessing some rural assistance funds, land management options and other government financial assistance that may be appropriate.
Day 30
A hunger-striking grazier in the south-east of New South Wales has refused to meet senior Federal Government figures despite demanding a Royal Commission into land rights.
Peter Spencer is entering his 30th day without food, perched high on a wind tower on his Shannons Flat property, near Cooma in the south-east.
He has received a letter from the Agriculture Minister, Tony Burke, on behalf of the Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.
It details compensation options and possible land management strategies.
But his supporter Alastair McRobert says he will not open it.
"The Government wanted Peter to come down and talk about measures that were already in place to manage his land," he said.
"It'll be returned unopened."
Meanwhile, the Australian Federal Police and local police both say they will not intervene in Mr Spencer's protest.
Day 18
A scone with jam and cream was the final meal 18 days ago for Peter Spencer, the Monaro farmer suspended on a platform up a wind monitoring tower on his farm.
"He has had no medical attention"
"In his own mind, passive protest is the only way he can be heard"
"He has put his life and his health on the line for this" says supporter Alastair McRobert.
Peter Spencer is living in an exposed position, 10 metres above the ground, on his farms wind mast as he protests against native vegetation land clearing laws, and national carbon emissions reduction.
Day 15
Peter Spencer talks to Michael Duffy on the ABC's Counterpoint program:
Michael Duffy: "Can you tell us now about the purpose of the actions you're taking at the moment? What do you want to achieve?"
Peter Spencer: "I've served a notice on the Prime Minister for a series of demands. We've got to fix the democracy, we've got to get our democracy back on a level, and those demands run through a series of things and until they're met.
"I'm not discussing them with him, I've been to him time and time again, I wrote to him when he first came and asked him to bring morality back to government, to bring truth back to government, and he just ignored me. And so there's no discussion. He can either meet the demands or he can bury me, suit himself."
Michael Duffy: "Peter, have you had any response to the letter that you wrote to the Prime Minister telling him about the action you were taking?"
Peter Spencer: "Michael, what do you think?"
Michael Duffy: "I'll take that as a no, shall I? And can you just tell me about going up the wind mast, as you're doing? Is there a symbolism or something related to that?"
Peter Spencer: No, no, I just know what will happen if I don't. If I don't get high enough up the mast, as soon as I get sick they'll take me away on the condition that, oh, they've got to care for my nutrition to make sure I'm kept well, that's what they'll do. The police have been here twice already.
"The idea is to get far enough away... we've now put notices on the gate, the lawyers served the police station in Cooma a notice today to say if they come on the property they're now going to be restrained by court order. The idea is to get far enough away so they can't get me down because as soon as I get sick they're going to start and try and drag me down, for my own welfare of course, but it won't be for my damn welfare - it will save the politicians' arse [sic]!"
Michael Duffy: "Peter, what would make you come down now?"
Peter Spencer: "Total settlement of the conditions, nothing less."
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The small independent farmer is to be eliminated. And they
will use environmental laws and carbon taxes to do it.
Only corporate farms shall exist under Agenda 21...
"Effective execution of UN AGENDA 21 will require a profound
reorientation of all human society, unlike anything the world
has ever experienced - a major shift in the priorities of both
governments and individuals and an unprecedented redeployment
of human and financial resources. This shift will demand that
a concern for the environmental consequences of every human
action be integrated into individual and collective decision-
making at every level."
- United Nations "AGENDA 21"
SOTB |
