Incoming NSW Farmers leadership vice president Justin Everitt and president Rebecca Reardon with outgoing president Xavier Martin.

OUTGOING NSW Farmers president Xavier Martin has used his final address to the organisation’s annual conference to reaffirm its commitment to withdraw from the National Farmers’ Federation and Grain Producers Australia.

The state farming group has also confirmed it has ended its membership of Australian Dairy Farmers and the Australian Chicken Growers Council.

NSW Farmers’ membership of the NFF and GPA organisations ceased in April this year, but there was some hope the relationship with the national farming body could be restored.

The NFF has since undergone a leadership change, with Hamish McIntyre appointed president and Michael Guerin, who previously held the acting chief executive officer role at NSW Farmers, appointed chief executive.

However, NFF leadership changes do not appear to have altered NSW Farmers’ position on its departure from the umbrella organisation.

Mr Xavier told the about 300 delegates at this week’s conference in Sydney that “tough decisions” were behind the moves to exit the national bodies.

“There’s been some change in some of those organisations, but some of it’s been glacial,” Mr Martin said.

Speaking about the NFF decision, he said there needed to be greater reforms to the national organisation’s membership structure and voting system.

“We have actively supported the current review, even at that glacial pace I referred to, and the reform process is an important opportunity, but it’s a little over 18 months since the long-term outgoing CEO Tony Maher made the point that, in his current structure, it is not fit for purpose.

“Even with a series of [Extraordinary General Meetings], we’ve really only got to the point where we’ve chopped off some of the non-farm organisations out of NFF and we’ve still got a real live gerrymander in there that those that pay do not get the say.

“It’s those that are hardly paying anything that have got the votes and got the influence.

“So we have a serious problem that we will continue to advocate for meaningful reforms and to deliver clear, tangible value to NSW Farmers members that reflects the scale of our contribution, the hundreds and hundreds of thousands of dollars we pay.

“[I]t may get to the point where a breakaway organisation may be the cleanest solution for a major reset of national farm representation.”

Mr Martin said he and the wider organisation were generally supportive of a national voice for agricultural representation.

“I was a young delegate in the late ’70s, where it took us two conferences to resolve to form NFF.

“We are a proud founding member, and our commitment remains strong to having national-level representation.

“In principle, a unified and effective federation of farm organisations is essential to delivering strong advocacy and outcome to Australian farmers.”

Industry concerns

Mr Martin also used his address to highlight key issues for agriculture, and the work NSW Farmers was undertaking to lobby state and federal parliamentarians.

He said policymakers needed to give national food security the same priority as energy security and environmental preservation.

“Members have told me of the red and green and black and white tape that is changing their farming, often from the best or second-best land use to the third, fourth or even worse use.”

“The sale or acquisition of this productive land and water to meet environmental objectives and ideologies must be called out as it destroys our national food security, that is the food and fibre you and I produce.”

He identified the lack of domestic fuel and fertiliser production and storage as another key national food-security concern.

“The decision by government to do almost nothing about our failing future security for fuel, fertiliser and chemicals is quickly translating into a looming food security failure as the nation is racing to be a net food importer.”

Mr Martin also highlighted the Terrorism and Other Legislation (TOLA) Act and its impacts on NSW firearm controls “along with the ramifications for future feral and pest animal controls on farms”.

“For many of our members, recreational hunters are such an important element in their integrated pest-management strategies in controlling these feral and pest animal numbers that even the numbers that cross between ag operations and state-controlled areas, we must facilitate their use, their adoption too.

“We are approaching the Premier [Chris Minns] to request consideration of modifications to the TOLA Act to assist farmers in protecting their own assets and incomes, which can in turn also aid protection of native flora and fauna, national parks, heritage areas, state forests.

“This should never have been about farmers using firearms.”

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