Farmers still vulnerable without trespass laws
Farmers are still waiting for farm trespass laws to change, according to Member for Eastern Victoria Melina Bath.
A parliamentary inquiry recommended onthe-spot fines be implemented as a solution to stop extreme animal activists breaking into farms, stealing livestock and damaging biosecurity in February 2020.
But, Ms Bath said the recommendations had not converted to laws, leaving farmers vulnerable to farm trespass.
She said more than a year after the inquiry report was handed down and six months since Labor finally agreed to the recommendation, farmers are still waiting for change.
Ms Bath brought the issue of illegal farm trespass and animal activism to state parliament at the start of 2018 and successfully established an upper house Inquiry which recommended Victoria implement on the spot fines for illegal farm trespass.
“Other states have already enacted similar laws so there is no excuse for Victoria’s protracted delays..
“Farmers deserve to feel safe in their own homes, but Victoria’s weak farm trespass rules embolden extreme activists to break the law – instead of deterring them.
“Victorian farmers were expecting to see the Andrews Labor Government implement onthe-spot fines with the same urgency as New South Wales, but frustrating there has only been inaction,” she said.
Victoria’s farm trespass inquiry was established in May 2019 after The Nationals successfully advocated for farmers’, standing up against worsening illegal farm invasions in State Parliament.
Ms Bath said many Victorians were left appalled after a law-breaking activist received a fine of just $1 in court for breaching biosecurity after livestock was stolen from the Gippy Goat Café in Yarragon.
The Café was targetted multiple times by activists and subjected to sustained online abuse. It eventually closed, costing local jobs.
Ms Bath said farm invasion took a heavy emotional toll on farm families and their employees.
“These farms are not just a business, for the people who live on them they’re home,” she said.