And it was to be a big one – thousands of farmers descending on Canberra to promote the cause of landholder rights.
Bob had been public relations director of the Farmers Association from 1989-99 and he’d organised a many protest events - ranging from opposing US and European farm subsidies to attacking Federal policies that inflated rural interest rates.
This protest was generated by the belief that farmers must be compensated for the provision of biodiversity and carbon services, as well as for the erosion of their property rights due to government regulation and legislation.
Farmers feel both sides of politics have gained ‘green points’ from the United Nations by blocking farm clearing and development. Why must farmers be the only ones to foot the bill, they argued.
The rally grew from the hunger strike over land development rights by Monaro farmer, Peter Spencer. The Farmers Association joined forces with Spencer supporters to ram home the issue.
It takes great coordination to get thousands of people to one spot at the same time. In Canberra, it requires dealing with Parliament, Federal Police and the National Capital Authority.
People have to be motivated to attend through the media, adverts and a tsunami of telephone calls and emails. The logistics are awesome.
The two-week campaign eventually attracted 4000 protesters to the rally. Thirty buses were hired, some leaving for Canberra soon after midnight, and the farmers assembled mid-morning for a late morning march to Parliament House.
Parliament House is a key protest point. Not only to gain the attention of parliamentarians, but every media outlet in Australia is represented in the Press Gallery. Give them a solid story to write and you entice them to give you good coverage.
Each medium has special needs. Television wants interesting pictures; so we gave them horse riders, whip crackers, a small pipe band and lots of placards. Radio wants quick message grabs from organisers and participants. Daily papers want follow-up stories for the next morning.
The regional media want stories about their local people. We delivered and the coverage was massive.
Embattled farmer, Peter Spencer, put his case publicly. Farmers President Charles Armstrong, a 30 year veteran of agri-political battles, delivered the message in plain English to all Australians. Broadcaster Alan Jones put his imprimatur on the cause.
They explained that farmers trying to sell farms without such rights suffer major capital losses. As a farm constitutes the core of a farming family’s assets, and its eventual sale is their superannuation, such devaluations badly affect rural families.
That’s well worth a protest rally.
The right to protest: the farmers’ rally
When NSW Farmers CEO, Shaughn Morgan, called Bob Lawrence at Jackson Wells, the rally was only a couple of weeks away.
