About - Protect Our Farms

Protect Our Farms

Where our members come from (October 2024)

Protect Our Farms Incorporated is a community-led association of Mitchell Shire farmers and residents who are concerned about the impact of government policies on agricultural land use. Protect Our Farms advocates for fair policies for farmers and seeks to work with government and the broader community to ensure that agriculture remains a major economic contributor to the prosperity of Mitchell Shire.

Mitchell Shire Proposed SLOs

Mitchell Shire Council is proposing to impose new Significant Landscape Overlays (SLOs) that will affect more than 400 properties, and almost 10% of the land in the Mitchell Shire, with 94% zoned “Farming”.

The proposed new SLOs will hurt farmers and farming operations

The proposed new SLOs will impose severe restrictions on farmers, adding burdensome bureaucracy, increased costs and other potentially serious negative and unintended consequences.

The SLOs discourage farming.
The new SLOs will fundamentally alter the development rights attached to property. Farms aren’t stagnant and changing/adapting/developing is essential for farms
The SLOs impose financial costs on farmers from compliance.
The complexity of the SLOs is burdensome in itself.

Mitchell Shire Council does not understand the business of farming or the importance of agriculture to the local economy and community

Agriculture contributes $240 million per year to the Mitchell shire economy and directly employs more than 500 people ¹
Agriculture also contributes indirectly with farmers purchasing inputs (machinery, feed, fertiliser) and services (eg transport) to support their operations

A weakened agricultural sector in Mitchell Shire will ultimately affect every ratepayer

The proposed new SLOs will impose severe restrictions on farmers, adding burdensome bureaucracy, increased costs and other potentially serious negative and unintended consequences.

The SLOs will add costs and deter investment in the shire.
A decline in agricultural activity in the Mitchell Shire will lead to reduced economic benefits for the area and fewer jobs.
If farmers stop farming vermin and invasive species become an issue and spread to neighbouring properties.
Council says the SLOs are ‘unlikely to have impacts on land values or farming operations [sic] as it does not prevent or prohibit agricultural land use.’²
However, it will not undertake pre and post valuations ³

The proposed new overlays are about ‘aesthetics’, not the economic wellbeing of the Shire

The proposed SLOs focus on views and landscapes at the expense of farming efficiency
The stated objectives are to protect the “visual significance” of the area, including “…to avoid the removal of native vegetation”.
The proposed SLOs do not consider the impact on agriculture or primary production or its economic impact on the local community
There are no claims that the landscapes in question are under threat of being altered or damaged by future farm activity
The ‘views’ being considered are not ‘original’ or ‘pristine’ as the area has been farmed for over 150 years.

The process to introduce the new SLOs is flawed and misleading

The process to introduce the new SLOs has been acknowledged by current Councillors as “flawed” ⁴
The communication of the SLOs has been ineffective and misleading
The consultation process has been biased towards known interest groups, with farmer groups (including VFF and Landcare) ignored
The Landscape Assessment Study recommending the SLOs has been prepared by an expert whose methodologies have been heavily criticised by other Planning Panels

The Shire cannot afford this unnecessary burden on its limited resources

The costs of progressing the SLOs will add an unnecessary burden to ratepayers at a time where our Council cannot afford to meet all the needs of ratepayers already
Costs include independent experts, council planning staff time (when their are huge and growing demands on their time from development applications in the south of the Shire), legal costs, etc