The NSW Liberals & Nationals in Government have today delivered on their election commitment to address attacks on farming families, such as those carried out by Aussie Farms, with the introduction of tougher penalties for activists who illegally enter farmers\u2019 properties from next month.
\nDeputy Premier John Barilaro and Minister for Agriculture Adam Marshall today announced a major shakeup of the State\u2019s Biosecuity Act.
\nA new offence has been created that will see illegal trespassers on farms, creating biosecurity risks, handed an immediate on-the-spot fine of $1,000 and further fines of up to $220,000 per person and $440,000 for corporations.
\nThe new penalties will kick in from 1 August 2019 and are the first stage of a broader suite of measures being developed by the Liberals & Nationals in Government to protect NSW farmers\u2019 right to farm.
\n\u201cVigilantes who are entering our farmers\u2019 property illegally are nothing short of domestic terrorists \u2013 our farmers have had a gutful. They don\u2019t deserve, nor have time, to be dealing with illegal trespass and vile harassment from a bunch of virtue-signalling thugs,\u201d Mr Barilaro said.
\n\u201cThe NSW Liberals & Nationals in Government are putting in place the harshest penalties in the country and sending a strong warning to those who think it\u2019s okay to illegally invade farms and harass our hard-working farmers.
\n\u201cBut we aren\u2019t stopping there. We are also looking at ways we can further deter this kind of behaviour, including introducing legislation and potential gaol time for offenders.\u201d
\nMr Marshall said the government was determined to clamp down on illegal farm invasions and was working on additional changes with further penalties, including gaol time, for those committing criminal acts associated with farm trespass.
\n\u201cToday we are putting these vigilantes and thugs on notice \u2013 your time threatening our primary producers by illegally trespassing and creating biosecurity risks is done,\u201d Mr Marshall said.
\n\u201cThe agricultural industry and community have had a gutful of this vile behaviour. These thugs are not only harassing and traumatising hard-working farmers and their families, they\u2019re also posing serious biosecurity risks by potentially bringing contaminants and diseases onto properties that could wipe out an entire farming operation.
\n\u201cToday\u2019s announcement complements the work the Commonwealth Government is doing in targeting the online incitement of farm trespass.\u201d
\nMember for Albury Justin Clancy said: \u201cI welcome today\u2019s announcement and look forward to further work from the NSW Government to protect farmers\u2019 right to farm in the Albury electorate.\u201d
\nUnder the changes to the Biosecurity Regulation 2017 it will become mandatory for site visitors to comply with a Biosecurity Management Plan.
\nAnyone who enters a designated biosecurity area without permission and without complying with the plan\u2019s requirements may be guilty of an offence under the Biosecurity Act 2015, and subject to the new, harsher penalties.
\nTo access the new offence, farmers will need to have a biosecurity plan in place and appropriate signage. Farmers are encouraged to contact the Department of Primary Industries or their Local Land Services office for more information.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The NSW Liberals & Nationals in Government have today delivered on their election commitment to address attacks on farming families, such as those carried out by Aussie Farms, with the introduction of tougher penalties for activists who illegally enter farmers\u2019 properties from next month. Deputy Premier John Barilaro and Minister for Agriculture Adam Marshall today … Continue reading “FARM INVADERS AND VEGAN VIGILANTES TO FACE TOUGHTEST PENALTIES IN THE NATION”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3350","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nswnews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3350","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3350"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3350\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3350"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3350"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3350"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}