NSW Farmers misled by NSW Farmers Association - 2 February 2005

The NSW Farmers Association continues to misrepresent and mislead the state’s farmers and has today used them as pawns in a politically motivated move to try and stem the tide of members deserting the organisation, Greens MLC Ian Cohen said today.


Mr Cohen said a media release issued by the NSW Farmers Association today attempts to set farmers up in confrontation with The Greens over greenhouse gas emissions, but that instead it has backfired and been exposed as a political stunt.


Landclearing“The NSW Farmers Association has tried to deny evidence established by the CSIRO, The Australian Greenhouse Office, and the 13 scientific experts on the NSW State of the Environment Advisory Council about the greenhouse emissions generated by land clearing.


“Instead, the Association has used the state’s farmers as pawns in a thinly veiled attempt to gloss over its recent decisions on planned reforms to land clearing laws and halt the decline in its membership numbers.”


Mr Cohen said The Greens had well-established and healthy working relationships with farmers across NSW.


“It seems to be that only when the NSW Farmers Association gets involved that major problems arise. Individual farmers do not use terms such as ‘extreme green’ because they themselves are quite green.”


Land clearing in NSW is estimated to emit between 283.9 and 591.3 tonnes of greenhouse gases per hectare per year (source: Australian Greenhouse Office). Current rates of clearing are estimated to be 60,000 hectares per year in NSW.


Further Information: Paul Sheridan, 0410 516 656