The Nationals have won a two-year long battle to enhance the protection of farmers' private property from radical animal activists following the recent passage of the Biosecurity Legislation Amendment (Incident Response) Bill 2024.

Nationals Gippsland East MP, Tim Bull says it was the Nationals who pushed this Bill through Parliament, pressuring the Government every step of the way to adopt these measures that impose tougher penalties for trespassing on agricultural premises, effectively doubling them to a maximum of $23,077 for individuals and $115,386 for organisations.

“Two years ago, an Impact of Animal Activism Inquiry, led by The Nationals, revealed shortfalls in the existing trespass laws and revealed instances of justice system failures. Despite this, the Labor Government initially ignored our recommendation of harsher penalties for individuals trespassing on, and causing damage to producer’s homes and businesses.”

Highlighting a previous incident only last year where 30 radical animal activists trespassed into a Benalla abattoir, chaining themselves to equipment in the facility to disrupt its normal operations, Mr Bull said it became obvious to all action needed to be taken, but still Labor refused to commit.

“When the Liberals and Nationals tried to introduce harsher penalties, Labor voted against it, only to feel the pressure and introduce the exact same amendments this year.

“The welfare of all animals is paramount, and Victoria has some of the most stringent animal welfare laws in the country. However, farmers and the agricultural industry will not be dictated to by radical animal activists, nor will they have trespassers enter their home or workplace illegally, simply to cause disruption and damage. We all have the choice to enjoy meat as a meal when it is produced in a safe and sustainable way,” he said.

“We do not need extreme animal activists attempting to bring our agriculture industry to a grinding halt.”

Mr Bull criticised Labor’s political games that left primary producers paying the price for Labor’s inability to listen and act on the needs of the industry.

“The two-year delay by Labor has meant justice denied for our hardworking farmers that were impacted by trespassing and damage to their premises,” Mr Bull said.

“Despite this recent win, the fight is not over. The next battle is to ensure Labor does not destroy our state’s agricultural sector with their amendments to the Animal Care and Protection Bill, currently open for public submissions.

“With a history of questionable dealings between Labor and crossbench MPs, The Nationals will persist in our fight for strong animal welfare outcomes as well as the long-term viability of Victorian agriculture.”

Caption: Nationals State MP, Tim Bull, pictured at the Gippy Goat Café in 2019. The café faced targeted animal activism attacks, ultimately leading to its closure later that year.

Monday, 4 March 2024

Finalising fair timber industry departure packages and fast tracking the now four year bushfire rebuild were yet again raised in State Parliament last week by Gippsland East Nationals MP, Tim Bull.

“It beggars belief that this Government is closing down an entire industry and the one thing it can do to support the community – get the bushfire rebuild done – continues to lag,” Mr Bull said.

“It is proof this city centric government does not support rural areas, or have a genuine desire to help our region through a tough period.

“The one thing they could do to assist towns like Orbost is get on with the job and restore this important tourism infrastructure.

“It is probably unfair on snails to say they get things done at snails’ pace. It’s not an indictment on local workers on the ground, it’s the upper echelons, but they are frozen in bureaucratic approvals and infected with a serious attitude of non-urgency,” he said.

“On the issue of timber workers more specifically, Mr Bull said this was meant to be all put to bed by Christmas, and now we hear an announcement is pending to wind up VicForests in a few months’ time, but the reality is more workers remain in limbo.

“Packages have been set to a budget rather than a fair outcome, down the line businesses that were promised support remain in limbo, and the government continues to haggle with mills over exit packages.

“Their families have not been treated courteously or fairly.

“An example of the contempt is the person who is handling the exit strategy went on holidays for much of February with an out-of-office reply saying their emails would not be monitored while they were away – all while families seek a fair outcome that they are not being offered.”

Caption: State Nationals MP, Tim Bull, pictured in front of the flailing Cape Conran Cabin project, again, called for urgency for bushfire recovery projects and a fair deal for timber workers after the recent industry closure.

Monday, 4 March 2024