A new report from CSIRO highlighting potential future water shortages in western NSW again shows how climate change is hurting regional people, Farmers for Climate Action said today.
Farmers for Climate Action, an organisation which represents 8000 farmers around Australia, has long pointed out farmers and rural Australians would be hurt most by climate change.
The CSIRO study comes as the Australian Defence Force (ADF) has pointed out it is "unsustainable" for it to deal with increasing floods and fires as well as defending the nation.
Defence Force personnel were vital during the 2022 Lismore Floods and the 2019-20 Black Summer Fires and the ADF told a Senate Inquiry in April that: "While the ADF is proactively postured to support the response to domestic disaster relief, the unprecedented scale, duration and frequency of support is unsustainable without accepting significant impacts to ADF preparedness for its primary defence-of-Australia role."
Farmers for Climate Action spokesperson and NSW sheep and cropping farmer Peter Holding said the CSIRO report Reshaping Australia's Food Systems had found Australia's food and water supply was ill-equipped to deal with climate change, and that access to clean water would be a growing issue for western NSW. Walgett, Wellington and Lake Cargelligo have all had issues with water supply in recent years.
"Climate change is hurting rural and regional Australians right now, with farmers on the receiving end of repeat damage from floods, fires and drought. It's sending insurance premiums through the roof and sending farmers broke," Mr Holding said. (Farmer flood stories and pictures here.)
"This has already harmed city people through increased food prices, as our Fork in the Road: Impacts of Climate Change on Food Supply report revealed last year. Food price rises might not affect the privileged all that much, but they really hurt average Australian families on average Australian wages.
"We need more renewables in the grid fast to help bring down energy prices. We need deep emissions reductions in this decisive decade to protect our farming families, our food supply and our national security."
