Darcy Gervasoni, a sixth generation farmer in Smeaton, Victoria, would love to host Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in her living room.
She’d pepper him with questions about her concerns, both local and national, for the bush.
“Australian ag is facing many issues it hasn’t before,” she says.
“Bio security risks, environmental policy changes, the renewables roll out, farm theft, lack of support after natural disasters like floods, fire and drought, tariffs and new trade deals…
“I’d ask the prime minister whether there will be any point when the government will actually seriously look at agriculture and make decisions that are in the farmers’ best interests.”
Darcy’s grandfather John, in his 80s, still works full-time on their properties, straining fences and tending to his beloved Black Angus cattle.
The farms produce prime lamb, as well as crops of canola, wheat, barley, beans or oats.
The family, which first arrived here from Italy in 1852, includes Darcy’s younger sister and father.
HAVE YOUR SAY NOW IN OUR BUSH SUMMIT POLL
Darcy, 24, is the product of almost 180 years of family wisdom, of the tough times and drastic challenges which always arise on the land.
She echoes other farmers in expressing fear about the fallout from the Middle Eastern war.
The prospect of fertiliser and fuel shortages have plagued the bush since February.
She speaks of a disconnect between farmers on the ground and policymakers in the cities.
“The whole government system doesn’t really seem to know where their food comes from and it’s probably not until they’re really hungry that they’re going to understand,” she says.
The push for net zero has been rolled out without any consideration of farmers.
“The speed and the force that it has been done hasn’t been thoroughly thought through,” she says.
“They haven’t taken into consideration the agricultural farming land that they’re destroying on the path that it is coming through … they’ve pushed it through to make it appear like sunshine and rainbows, at the expense of actual people who don’t live in the cities.”
This goes to Darcy’s bigger point. That the people of the bush need to be heard.
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‘WE WANT A GOVERNMENT THAT HAS OUR BACKS’
Em Hurst seeks to breed the finest Angus cattle possible.
Her mum has been doing it for three decades; with her move to the coast, Hurst, at 30, now runs the family’s 300-acre property in Gunning, north of Canberra.
Speaking in May, Hurst, like all farmers, expressed concerns about the flow on impacts of the war in the Middle East.
Cost of living increases around here, as with the cities, are becoming more challenging to navigate.
She also identifies the disconnect between farmers on the land and policymakers in the cities.
When there has been consultation – a patchy process – she has felt that a lack of follow through on the consultation has followed.
Food and fuel security were key, she says, topics about which she would love to question Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
Being treated as people rather than numbers would be a first step, she argues.
A lack of local engagement goes is also true of net zero energy policies.
“It’s one of those programs that I support in theory,” she says.
“We are on the frontline of climate change, we are seeing more droughts and more natural disasters.”
“(But) rather than saying we want to reach net zero, work with us on how we actually make that measurable on an individual farm level basis.”
It would help, she says, if policymakers visited and consulted people in those regions who were affected by their policies.
“You know, we are farmers,” she says. “We chose this life and this lifestyle. We know the risks and challenges but we also know the rewards. We’re not asking for handouts and we’re not asking to be given anything. We’re asking for a government that has our backs.”
AUSTRALIA’S BUSH SUMMIT CAMPAIGN BEGINS
The largest conversation between the bush and powerbrokers starts today, as News Corp Australia launches its 2026 Bush Summit campaign.
Regional Australians can have their say on issues that matter most in a new poll, which will help frame debate at the annual forum, being held in Dubbo, NSW, on August 26 and 27.
The bush has been knocked about by the Iran War.
The conflict has deepened uncertainty for a vital slice of Australia that endures and thrives despite perennial uncertainties.
No issue is off the table. It might be dangerous roads. The scarcity of fertiliser. Or the cost of diesel.
And change is possible, going by the successes of previous Bush Summits, which have secured low interest loans for farmers, and regional taskforces for mental health and growth.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who has attended every Bush Summit since its inception, said safeguarding regional Australia from the fuel crisis was the most pressing discussion point.
We are keen to capture the mood, priorities and concerns of regional Australians ahead of the Bush Summit. From today, you can have your say in a poll that will help identify the most pressing issues. Here are some of the questions we are asking:
● What issues matter most to your community?
● Is the shift to renewable energy an opportunity or a threat for your community?
● Has the gap between regional and metropolitan Australia grown?
● Should there be more incentives and policies to encourage people to relocate to the regions for work?
● If you could ask Prime Minister Anthony Albanese one question, what would it be?
Bush Summit: Have Your Say is supported by S.Kidman & Co.
Originally published as Young farmer’s challenge to PM: ‘We need a government that has our backs’
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