Victoria’s peak farming body has released a sweeping 20-point plan that demands all major parties commit to the strongest farmland protections in Australia ahead of the Victorian state election in November.
The Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF)’s Victorian Farmland Protection Plan calls for a fundamental reset in the way Victoria safeguards its agricultural land.
VFF President Brett Hosking said farmers across regional Victoria were at breaking point as competition for farmland from mining, energy projects and urban sprawl intensified without adequate rules or protections.
“Farmers are the first to feel it, but every Victorian will live with the consequences if we don’t get this right. This isn’t only a farming issue, left unchecked it’s a food security issue for every Victorian.”
“Victorian farms produce a quarter of the Australia’s food and fibre from a mere three per cent of our farmland. Once that land’s gone, it’s gone forever and we’re seeing that loss accelerate at an alarming rate.”
“Our farmland is finite, our population is growing and at the moment our policy settings are failing to keep up. Government and developers have taken a crash-or-crash-through approach for too long. This election is the chance for the major reset that Victoria needs to protect food production for every Australian,” Mr Hosking said.
The plan is built on four pillars:
- Compensation and community benefits;
- Planning and community engagement;
- Rehabilitation and decommissioning and;
- Guaranteeing the right to farm.
The proposed solutions include the establishment of a statutory Farmland and Food Security Commissioner, reforming planning laws to require cumulative impact assessment, a $200 million Agriculture Productivity Fund funded through a Royalties for Regions model, government-backed rehabilitation and decommissioning, and a pause on critical minerals projects until this plan is in place and community impacts are assessed with rigour.
The plan also calls for standalone Right to Farm legislation modelled on New South Wales law, a ban on non-disclosure agreements that silence landholders and isolate neighbours, and binding rehabilitation requirements backed by credible science for all non-permanent land uses on farmland.
“Victoria is home to Australia’s most productive farmland, yet we have weaker protections than New South Wales and Queensland. That must change.”
“This is about creating a fair and balanced system, a framework that gives rural communities a voice, and recognises our land is a critical asset for every Victorian, not vacant space awaiting development.”
“The wellbeing of those impacted is worth more than the profit of large companies and we must not lose sight of that,” Mr Hosking said.
The VFF said tensions across Victoria are growing as farmers are forced to negotiate individually against well-resourced corporations and government entities, compulsory acquisition powers override landholder consent, and long-term productivity losses go unmeasured and uncompensated.
The Victorian Auditor-General has identified a shortfall in mining rehabilitation bonds, and there is currently no requirement for renewable energy developers to lodge decommissioning bonds with government. Victoria is approaching a wave of wind and solar decommissioning and mining rehabilitation with little guarantee or evidence base for returning land to productive agriculture.
“Australia’s best farmland and those who work it deserve Australia’s strongest protections. This plan gives every party a clear platform to commit to. We’ll be taking it to every candidate in every seat between now and November,” Mr Hosking said.