Council & Politics
13 August, 2025
Farmers vow: We'll be back
WIMMERA, Mallee and Grampians farmers have taken to the steps of Parliament House in Melbourne for the second time in months.
WIMMERA, Mallee and Grampians farmers have taken to the steps of Parliament House in Melbourne for the second time in months.
They protested a range of State Government policies which Gerald Feeny says have been developed in haste.
Organised by Rupanyup farmer Andrew Weidemann, with Victorian Liberal Party leader Brad Battin and Victorian Nationals leader Danny O’Brien in attendance, as well as Ararat Rural City councillor Rob Armstrong and landowners including Marnoo’s Ben Duxson, Kanya’s Marcia McIntyre and St Arnaud’s Gerald Feeney.
The big issue being addressed was the National Electricity VicGrid Stage 2 Reform Bill 2025 which would grant authorised officers from VicGrid the power to enter private property without the consent of landowners.
Also being targeted were mining operations proposed on farming land and the State Government’s controversial emergency services tax that saw thousands protest on Parliament in May..
Rural people are feeling targeted said Mr Weidemann.
“It’s all because of this government’s attack on rural communities, but also Victorians in general with this proposed legislation that they’re talking about bringing into play.
“We will be back at some point because we can see this government just is not listening, and the only way it’s going to listen is through people power and groups forming and being united.”
“We’re starting to break down that barrier – it’s not just about rural Victoria, it’s about people here in the city as well.”
Ms Jane Foreman from the Family First Party said at the protest, that it was a powerful reminder that country and city Victorians alike are waking up to the cost of the Allan Government’s reckless green agenda.
“The $12,210 fines, lock cutting powers and emergency services tax hikes are just the beginning. Labor is turning Victoria into a green dictatorship,” she said.
The Nationals will also fight the Allan Labor Government’s proposed legislation that would allow government officials and transmission companies to enter private farmland without consent – and fine landholders who object.
The Nationals’ Member for Lowan, Emma Kealy, said the VicGrid Stage 2 Reform Bill would hand unprecedented powers to VicGrid and authorised officers, allowing them to forcibly access private property, cut locks, break gates, and issue penalties for resistance.
Under the bill, landholders who obstruct access could face fines of more than $12,000, while businesses could be fined more than $48,000.
Ms Kealy said Labor was steamrolling farmers in its blind rush to renewables.
“Labor expects our region to do the heavy lifting for the state when it comes to hosting more renewables, but all we get in return are more potholes, cuts to health services, and a shortage of
Read More: Local