Farmers demand the Coalition government does more on climate change

Victorian dairy farmer Karrinjeet Singh-Mahil
 and Liverpool Plains beef farmer Derek
 Blomfield at Parliament House in Canberra
 on Tuesday.

A thumping majority of Australian farmers have concluded they are witnessing the effects of climate change, urging the Coalition government to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and prepare the country for a future that is drier, less predictable and more prone to bushfires.

This is according to a survey of 1300 primary producers across states and agricultural sectors, conducted by advocacy group Farmers for Climate Action with the co-operation of the National Farmers Federation.

It found 88 per cent of respondents want rural and regional politicians to start advocating for stronger climate change action. Two thirds have seen changes in rainfall over their time on the land and half have seen an increase in droughts and floods.

Nine in 10 are concerned about damage to the climate and eight in 10 support Australia moving towards 100 per cent renewable energy.

Read the story by Fergus Hunter in The Sydney Morning Herald - “Farmers demand the Coalition government does more on climate change.”