Ag unit could tackle land access issues

The Coalition’s Agricultural and Competitiveness White Paper announced $11.4 million to implement the new unit, under the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).

It will interrogate industry-specific market issues around supply chain competition powers with Australian Farm Institute executive director Mick Keogh tipped to be named the first Agricultural Commissioner.

Speaking to Fairfax Agricultural Media ahead of tomorrow’s COAG Energy Council meeting, Mr Laird said issues between farmers and Coal Seam Gas mining companies around land access negotiations was no different to the accusations made about the behaviour of the Coles and Woolworths duopoly, in the retail supply chain.

He said the ACCC had powers to investigate “unconscionable contracts” and the Agricultural Enforcement Unit, established by the White Paper and linked to Federal Agriculture and Water Resources Minister Barnaby Joyce, can address market-power imbalances.

“There’s a power imbalance between gas companies and landholders and that’s no different to the situation between Woolworths and Coles and farmers,” he said.

“The Agricultural Commissioner is something the government can do today and we’ve been told there are unconscionable contracts out there.

“We believe farmers should have the right to veto land access to mining, to restore the balance of power in the negotiations around land access.

“We think that if you can’t disagree then how can you agree?

“And if you’re forced to agree then that’s coercion which leads to an unconscionable conduct and there are actions that the federal government can take right now to fix that.”

Mr Laird visited Canberra last week ahead of the COAG forum to meet with various federal politicians and key policy staff from the office of Federal Resources Minister Josh Frydenberg and Environment Minister Greg Hunt.

Mr Laird said he believed Mr Frydenberg - who will play a central role at the COAG meeting with State Energy Ministers - had recently shown leadership, with pressure escalating on the land access issue between gas companies and landowners.

“Our message is clear,” Mr Laird said.

“You need to divorce the land access negotiation from other issues around royalty streams and resource ownership, for the States.

“It’s not a State issue – it’s something that the federal government can jump into.”

Mr Laird, a NSW farmer, said the federal government had external affairs’ powers and corporations’ powers that can be used if State governments fail to take action and introduce legislation with the Commonwealth, to resolve ongoing land-access disputes.

“In six months, we think the feds can act based on those two powers and by putting the pressure on the States we can get an outcome,” he said.

“But if we leave it to the States nothing will happen because it’s in their interests for nothing to happen.

“It is up to the federal government to show leadership.”

Mr Laird was joined on his lobby pursuits in Canberra by Helen Bender - the daughter of Queensland cotton farmer George Bender who recently took his own life.

Ms Bender said she agreed with Mr Laird’s views about the imbalance between farmers and mining companies based on her family’s experience over the past 10 years.

She said landowners lacked options to remedy problems or gain assistance in dealing with failed land access arrangements.

“Landowners have absolutely nowhere to go to,” she said.

“There are no rights and the threats are ‘you sign up or you do what we want on our terms otherwise it’s land court’ and that situation is not fair for anyone,” she said.

Ms Bender said the federal government needed to act and ministers had an opportunity to show leadership to prevent ongoing social or environmental damage; especially to the detriment of agriculture.

“Someone has an opportunity to come out of this looking like a goddamn hero and do something that no one else has been prepared to do up until this day, which is to return the balance,” she said.

“Superior rights need to be returned to landowners.”

In light of the COAG meeting, Australian Pipelines and Gas Association (APGA) chief executive Cheryl Cartwright said the big challenge for ministers and the nation was securing sufficient gas supply to ensure its key role was maintained.

She said development of the LNG export industry in Queensland and the lack of development of gas reserves in NSW and Victoria meant eastern Australia was facing a challenge to its domestic gas supply.

“Changes and improvements to market design and operations are fine but these adjustments don't address the fundamental question of accessing gas supply,” she said.

“The continuing moratoriums on gas exploration and development in NSW and Victoria are major contributors to the gas supply challenges facing the domestic market.

“The challenge for the nation is securing sufficient gas resources to ensure gas maintains its key role in our energy mix.”

Australian Greens leader and Victorian Senator Richard Di Natale said COAG must act urgently to give landholders in every State and Territory legal rights to say no to coal and gas mining on their land.

He said the Greens had legislation in federal and State parliaments to give landholders the legal rights they deserve to protect their land, water and climate.

“Communities are sick of the empty promises and the Greens are standing with them to demand that COAG finally acts to fix this injustice,” he said.

In a letter to Mr Frydenberg, Mr Laird said Lock the Gate had never argued for a change of ownership of the resources that form the nation’s common wealth.

But he said they “do believe that some reform of access arrangements giving power to landholders and native title holders is urgently called for”.