Politics & Council
12 March, 2026
Land protection Bill tabled in Federal Parliament
A BILL to protect agricultural land authored by Mallee MP Anne Webster has been tabled in Federal Parliament.
Member for Mallee Dr Anne said: “I dedicate the Prime Agricultural Land Protection Bill to Mallee’s farmers who have endured horrible treatment under the Allan and Albanese Labor governments.
“I recently visited Pyramid Hill, Sea Lake, Lake Boga, Swan Hill, Nhill, Horsham, Natimuk in my latest 1500km trip through Mallee, and everywhere at mobile office meetings Mallee residents asked me – what are we doing to protect our best farming land? Well – the Prime Agricultural Land Protection Bill is it.”
Dr Webster said she drafted the Bill based on existing NSW and Queensland farmland protection legislation, which would see the Commonwealth use existing reputable mapping to determine what is prime agricultural land, other farming land, and marginal land.
The Bill would stop Commonwealth funding supporting any project that diminishes prime agricultural land, and would put a significant obstacle in the way of energy projects railroading through Mallee farms, said Dr Webster.