Family First applauds the courage of farmers who stood up to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Premier Jacinta Allan in Ballarat, chasing the Prime Minister’s motorcade with tractors and blocking the Premier’s escape with CFA fire trucks.
Upper House candidates Bernie Finn and Jane Foreman said the farmers’ defiance was nothing less than an echo of the Eureka Stockade.
“The spirit of Peter Lalor lives on in Ballarat. Farmers are saying to arrogant Labor governments: enough is enough. They will not stand by while their land is seized, their rights trampled, and their livelihoods sacrificed on the altar of reckless Net Zero ideology,” Mr Finn said.
“These farmers feed our nation. They are not extremists; they are proud Australians defending their homes, their families, and our food security. Their tractors rolling through Ballarat were as much a cry for freedom today as the raising of the Southern Cross was in 1854.”
Ms Foreman said the protests revealed how deeply rural communities feel betrayed by both state and federal Labor.
“Albanese and Allan have treated farmers with contempt. They impose an Emergency Services Levy that unfairly punishes regional families while passing laws that allow bureaucrats to use force to enter private land and build transmission lines. This is tyranny, pure and simple,” Ms Foreman said.
“Throwing a few dollars at farmers doesn’t solve the problem. You can’t buy off people’s love of their land. Like in the movie The Castle, this is their home, their castle. No amount of money can compensate for the destruction of prime agricultural land.”
The protest was a grassroots uprising that brought Ballarat to a standstill. Farmers, CFA volunteers, and their communities sent a clear warning to governments who believe they can ride roughshod over regional Victoria.
Family First stands shoulder to shoulder with these farmers. Their actions highlight the urgent need to protect food security, defend private property rights, and end reckless policies that sacrifice the bush to satisfy inner-city ideology.
“The Eureka flag still flies in Ballarat,” Mr Finn concluded. “Farmers today are showing the same grit and courage as their forebears. Family First is proud to back them.”
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