Kevin Rudds Stolen emissions.

Peter Spencer, Photo Courtesy Agmates.

I recently posted an article on the plight of Peter Spencer, an Australian farmer placed in desperate straights along with many others by the Rudd governments theft of their right to farm their properties. I feel that I should flesh it out a little.

Since the late 1990s, Peter Spencer has been unable to farm most of his property because of the state's laws banning the clearing of native vegetation. The vegetation on this property and millions of hectares of other private land has been used by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and his government as a bargaining chip to offset increased emissions, which would otherwise be penalized under the Kyoto protocol. Some estimates of the value of these offsets are in excess of $20 Billion.

No compensation has ever been paid to the affected landholders for the removal of the right to farm their land, leaving many in desperate straights. Peter has tried for some time to sue for compensation over this but is being stonewalled by the Government with legal technicalities.

He can no longer meet his mortgage repayments, and is about to be sold up by the bank. In protest two weeks ago Spencer began a hunger strike. Last week he went up onto a platform on a 100-metre wind-monitoring tower high on his farm. He says he will stay there and continue his hunger strike until the federal government gives farmers some sort of compensation. Tonight is the end of the 19^th day.

The case is that since the signing of the Kyoto protocol emissions have gone up considerably. Rudd is currently strutting the world posing as the good guy on climate change for meeting emissions targets under this accord. Almost all of the increased emissions have been offset with forest on land expropriated from Australian farmers.

No compensation has been paid to any of these farmers despite the huge economic benefits that this has given to other sectors of the Australian economy.

In effect the entire Australian commitment under the Kyoto protocol has been stolen from these people by the government.

More information can be found at Agmates:

Allan Jones interview with Peter:

Allan Jones follow up:

A Current Affair interview:

Peters Media Contact Alastair McRobert - Phone – 0429361318