In my 1,500 km travels to communities in Mallee last week including Birchip, Horsham, Natimuk and Pyramid Hill, one after another people came to me asking – how are we going to protect our prime ag land?

In Canberra this week I, with Nationals colleagues, am bringing prime agricultural land to the fore as we presented a Bill on Monday morning - which I wrote - called the Prime Agricultural Land Protection Bill 2026.  NSW Nationals MP Alison Penfold introduced the Bill as I have Shadow Ministry responsibilities.

I have been fighting for regional communities in Mallee and responding to the horrifying stories of poor treatment of farming families and shocking community consultation.  On Monday, The Nationals drew a line in the sand on the railroading of regional communities by saying the Commonwealth should not fund projects that trash prime ag land.

Food and fibre doesn’t just happen, nor does good farming soil.  Prime Ag land is a managed system – fertilised, irrigated, cultivated, protected from erosion, nurtured by our farmers – for generations - to provide food security for Australians.

Recent government-backed projects have treated Mallee, intergenerational farming families and prime agricultural land with utter contempt.  Take, for example, the 280 kilometre VNI-West transmission line and the Victorian Government using draconian powers to force their way onto farmers’ properties.

I am proud to have written a Bill that says social licence matters, and appoints an independent umpire - a proposed new federal Agricultural Commissioner – to decide disputes between farmers (on one hand) and  government and big business (on the other) who usually have the deep pockets and government power to force their way onto farms.  

The Nationals will map our prime agricultural land and incompatible projects won’t happen on our best farming soil.  We need prime ag land to grow food and fibre for generations to come.  The world’s population is getting bigger while good farming land is disappearing.  We must protect our most vital national asset.

In these globally volatile times, must get our priorities in order and food security is number one.