Farmers Go Nuclear | National News

The federal opposition announced in June a policy to build nuclear power stations on coal-mining sites, two of which are in New South Wales — the Hunter Valley and Lithgow.

Farmer Ross Durham backed the coalition plan, which he said would provide the state with a vital energy source, while others said there was too much investment in “unreliable” renewable energy sources.

A motion to impose a moratorium on utility-scale wind and solar energy development in New South Wales was unsuccessful and referred to the association’s committee for consideration.

Supporters of the moratorium have said the projects lack transparency and there are safety concerns. They say it is merely a temporary halt to work.

Others said the proposal was based on ideology and that renewable energy projects were crucial to the country’s future energy supply.

The motion to introduce a bonus of $20 per head for killing wild boars was also rejected.

Limited government resources, doubts about the effectiveness of bounties for catching specimens, concerns about safety and infringement of third party rights, and the risk of creating incentives for people to reintroduce the species or allow them to breed in order to compete for further bounties were reasons for rejecting the application.

Farmers will, however, demand more resources and funds from the government for research on biological control of the pig population and support for coordinated actions for its eradication.

Farmers also want daylight saving time to be reversed in New South Wales, saying the practice, which has been in place in New South Wales since 1971, is unfair to people in regional communities.

However, New South Wales Premier Chris Minns, who spoke at the conference on Wednesday, ruled out any changes to the program.

Charged with renewable energy

The conference heard from farmers who want to force renewable energy developers to maintain agricultural productivity of farmland, calling for greater control over the projects.

Producers are frustrated by the lack of planning and consultation on renewable energy deployment, including the location of transmission lines.

Delegates are also demanding that payments to farmers implementing renewable energy projects be extended for the duration of the project, rather than the 25 years currently on offer.

“Delegates are expressing their frustration… most of them are saying they can’t remember anything so poorly thought out,” re-elected NSW Farmers president Xavier Martin said.

“The impact on the landscape of some of our best farmland is simply appalling.”

Mr Minns described the land use challenges as “enormous”.

“I don’t have any easy answers… coal-fired power stations that we don’t own will be phased out over the next 10 years, and there’s a lot of work going on to bring inland renewable energy into the east coast grid,” Mr Minns said.