Water buybacks stopped Day 1. Electrified freight rail Melbourne–Sydney–Brisbane at 3–5 cents per tonne-kilometre. 30,000 GL/yr new water from the Alice Hub. Farmers First — legislated as the governing principle.
Six abattoirs closed service kills in four months. Labor buybacks expanded into the northern Basin in February 2026. Farm debt grew from $100B to $140B in four years. Farmers are borrowing to survive while the regulatory and trade environment makes survival harder every year.
Australian grain, wool and cattle move to port by diesel road at 12–15 cents per tonne-kilometre. No electrified freight rail on the east coast. No inland spine. Every tonne exported costs more than it should — and that cost flows back to the farm gate.
AUKUS alignment cost farmers billions in China sanctions. The EU FTA was called the worst-ever deal by the NFF. Sheepmeat access a fraction of what New Zealand received. Our largest trading partners use our agricultural markets as leverage in conflicts we never voted to be part of.
SBC Phase 0 runs three electrified freight tracks inland from Melbourne to Brisbane via Albury-Wodonga, Wagga Wagga, and the Hunter Valley. Grain, wool, and cattle to port at 3–5 cents per tonne-kilometre — 70% cheaper than diesel road. The first electrified freight network in Australian history, running through the heart of agricultural Australia.
SBC#1 extends the inland spine from Brisbane to Perth. Every farm within 50km of the corridor connects to the national freight network. Grain from Hay to Fremantle. Cattle from Wentworth to Brisbane. Water piped south from the Alice Hub. Power at 6c/kWh to every farm gate. The continental corridor makes Australian agriculture globally cost-competitive permanently.
The SBC maglev runs alongside the freight corridor. Albury-Wodonga to Sydney in 2 hours. Wagga to Sydney in 90 minutes. Albury to Melbourne in 2 hours. For the first time, living and farming in regional Australia doesn't mean being disconnected from the cities that buy what farmers grow.
A moratorium on Commonwealth buybacks declared Day 1. New water from the Alice Hub — 30,000 GL/yr from the monsoon north, gravity-fed south to the Murray-Darling. New water, never taken from a farmer. The water wars end by addition, not rationing. Murrumbidgee and Murray irrigators get spur connections.
MMP legislates a right of access to abattoir service kills for small and medium livestock farmers. Corporate abattoir operators above a threshold size are required to maintain minimum service kill capacity as a condition of operation. Six closures in four months cannot happen again.
Every federal decision affecting agricultural land, water, trade, or inputs is tested against one standard: does it put Australian farmers first? MMP legislates Farmers First as the governing principle for the Agriculture Department. Not a slogan. A standard that every bureaucrat, minister, and trade negotiator must meet.
The China sanctions happened because Australia became a US proxy through AUKUS. Under MMP, strategic neutrality means no trade partner can close our agricultural markets for political reasons. 25% concentration rule: no single country takes more than 25% of any major commodity export. Diversification is sovereignty.
Australia exports $5.76 billion worth of canola seed annually — mostly to Europe to be processed into biodiesel. That ends. MMP fast-tracks biodiesel processing to maximum domestic production. Canola processed in Australia replaces imported diesel. Farmers get a domestic premium market. Australia gets fuel sovereignty.
The ACCC is given real divestiture powers to break supermarket price gouging. Mandatory code of conduct — binding, with financial penalties. Farmers receive itemised payment statements showing every margin taken. Contracts cannot be terminated without 90 days notice. 30-day payment terms enforced.
Fuel tax credits legislated permanently — not subject to annual budget review. A 90-day national fuel reserve reduces price volatility for farming operations. Australian crude, processed in Australia, stored in Australia. Farming fuel costs fall as the sovereign supply chain is rebuilt.
Australian biosecurity is underfunded and split across too many agencies. MMP consolidates biosecurity under a single national command within 12 months. Pre-border surveillance doubled. FMD, Varroa, Khapra beetle — the threats at the door are real. One command. One budget. One response.
| Current — The Failure | MMP — The Fix |
|---|---|
| No electrified freight rail on east coast. Diesel road: 12–15c/tonne/km. | SBC Phase 0: three electrified freight tracks inland Melb–Syd–Bris. 3–5c/tonne/km. |
| No inland freight spine. Every tonne to port goes via diesel road. | SBC#1 inland corridor Brisbane–Perth. Continental freight network. |
| Albury to Sydney: 5hrs 55min by train. Shares track with freight. Both wait. | SBC maglev: Albury to Sydney 2 hours. Albury to Melbourne 2 hours. |
| Labor buybacks expanded into northern Basin Feb 2026. No warning. | Moratorium on buybacks Day 1. Independent review. Farmer Water Advocate. |
| Murray-Darling declining. Northern monsoon water runs into the sea. | Alice Hub: 30,000GL/yr north→south. New water, never taken from a farmer. |
| 6 abattoirs stopped service kills in 4 months. Small farmers locked out. | Service kill access legislated. Corporate abattoirs required to maintain capacity. |
| AUKUS alignment cost farmers billions. China sanctions. Markets weaponised. | Strategic neutrality. No partner can close our markets for political reasons. |
| EU FTA: worst-ever deal per NFF. Sheepmeat access fraction of NZ. | Farmers First standard: reciprocal or not signed. EU FTA reviewed Day 1. |
| $5.76B canola exported as raw seed. Europe makes the diesel, not us. | Biofuels fast-tracked. Canola processed here. Replaces imported diesel. |
| Supermarkets: ACCC no real power. Farm gate price squeezed every year. | ACCC divestiture powers. Mandatory code. Itemised margins. 30-day payment. |
No memos pinned to this policy yet. When an MMP memo on this topic is published, it will appear here with a short summary. The full memo index is at moralmajority.com.au/memos.html.