Tuesday’s rally for Australian farmers lists seven priorities – but the biggest two are nowhere to be seen | Gabrielle Chan
Written by Gabrielle Chan from the Guardian
The last time the National Farmers’ Federation marched on Canberra politicians were carefully controlled. This time the agenda looks more useful for politicians than farmers
In country circles, WhatsApp groups and emails have been pinging. As Tuesday dawns on the first rally endorsed by the National Farmers’ Federation since 1985, there has been a bit of chat about its merits.
The 1985 rally descended on the Hawke government. It numbered 40-45,000 people and was duplicated at some state parliaments. In Victoria, according to journalist Martin Flanagan, 30,000 people protested, holding placards such as “farmer the new poor”, “Agricultural Income Deficiency Syndrome” and, my personal favourite, “wife home working”.
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Written by Gabrielle Chan from the Guardian
The last time the National Farmers’ Federation marched on Canberra politicians were carefully controlled. This time the agenda looks more useful for politicians than farmers
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In country circles, WhatsApp groups and emails have been pinging. As Tuesday dawns on the first rally endorsed by the National Farmers’ Federation since 1985, there has been a bit of chat about its merits.
The 1985 rally descended on the Hawke government. It numbered 40-45,000 people and was duplicated at some state parliaments. In Victoria, according to journalist Martin Flanagan, 30,000 people protested, holding placards such as “farmer the new poor”, “Agricultural Income Deficiency Syndrome” and, my personal favourite, “wife home working”.
Sign up to receive Guardian Australia’s fortnightly Rural Network email newsletter
Continue reading...
Since you’re here …
… we have a small favour to ask. More people are reading the Guardian than ever but advertising revenues across the media are falling fast. And unlike many news organisations, we haven’t put up a paywall – we want to keep our journalism as open as we can. So you can see why we need to ask for your help. The Guardian’s independent, investigative journalism takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce. But we do it because we believe our perspective matters – because it might well be your perspective, too.
If everyone who reads our reporting, who likes it, helps fund it, our future would be much more secure. Support the Guardian – it only takes a minute. Thank you.

