Lachlan Hunter MLA – Toodyay Herald

Costs climbing

Pictured: Toodyay Hardward and Farm Supplies store manager Jeff Hudson.

The diesel shortage is starting to bite in Toodyay, with a local hardware store warning rising fuel costs, big price hikes on products made from oil-based plastic and disrupted deliveries could soon push up prices for residents and farmers.
Toodyay Hardware and Farm Supplies owner Damien said the flow-on effects were already being felt across its supply chain, with freight costs skyrocketing in the past few weeks.
He said the current diesel shortage was driving up costs and cutting down deliveries.
“Our freight supplier charges us a fuel levy on top of the standard pallet cost and at the end of February, this was a comfortable 17 percent,” he said.
“Today, it’s sitting at 60 percent and with seeding starting, I can only expect it to climb higher.”

Trying to keep the costs down

To combat the rising costs, some suppliers have added extra delivery fees and freight companies have scaled back deliveries to manage higher costs.
Damien said to date the business has done what it can to absorb these extra costs.
“But if this drags on past April, we may have no choice but to start raising prices.”
Damien said the fuel shortage was also causing price hikes on some PVC pipes and plastic fittings.
Simply because a huge portion of the oil used to make plastic resin comes from the exact same supply chain as the oil used to produce our fuel.
“It’s all connected.”
He said several suppliers had warned of price increases between 20 percent and 50 percent on certain products.
Despite this, several major suppliers have also indicated they do not plan immediate increases.

A hit for farmers

Shadow Minister for Agriculture Lachlan Hunter MLA said the crisis was now hitting agriculture hard, with devastating consequences for farmers heading into one of the most critical periods of the year.
“Without diesel, tractors stop, seed stays in the shed and next year’s harvest is put at risk.”
Mr Hunter said without urgent action, the fuel crisis will quickly become a full-blown food crisis.
“When diesel does not reach the people who produce and move our food, the cost does not disappear, it lands squarely on the kitchen tables of Western Australian families,” he said.
“This is how a fuel crisis becomes a food price crisis, with higher freight costs, disrupted supply and more pressure on families already struggling with the cost of living.”

Taking steps to help

In response, the State Government has activated emergency powers to take control of fuel supply data and direct deliveries to the regions most in need.
Fuel for agriculture is being prioritised, to ensure seeding can go ahead in hard-hit communities.
Road train limits have also been relaxed to move more diesel and petrol into regional areas faster.
A taskforce led by Deputy Premier Rita Saffioti is working with regional suppliers, including Great Southern Fuels, and the Federal Government to find new ways to get fuel into affected areas.
The measures come after widespread reports of fuel shortages across regional WA.
For now, Toodyay residents are being urged to brace for slower deliveries and the possibility of higher prices if the fuel squeeze continues.

By Rashelle Predovnik

High-stakes hearing

Photo: Tony Maddox was flanked by supporters
Central Wheatbelt MLA
Lachlan Hunter and former
Pastoralists and Graziers Association of
WA president Tony Seabrook at the
Supreme Court last month.

The strain of a court case that has rammifications for property owners across the state was visible on Tony Maddox’s face when he prepared to step into the Supreme Court last month with his supporters.
High profile barrister and former state Attorney General Christian Porter is representing the Toodyay farmer in the Supreme Court where Mr Maddox is launching an appeal after being charged for breaching a new rule in the Aboriginal Heritage Act he said no one was told about.
He is appealing against – what he says was a flawed process – that found him guilty of breaching the Act when he built a concrete crossing on his property.
He is also pinning his case on a section of the Aboriginal Heritage Act that protects people who did not know – and could not have reasonably known – about changes to the Act that makes their land a protected site.
The marathon hearing went for the whole day before the judge asked both parties to come back again with more information and a future hearing date is yet to be set.

Supporters back a fight they say needs to be won to protect landowners

To date, Mr Maddox’s legal costs amount to more than $140,000 and the public have been generous with their donations to his fighting fund.
If Mr Maddox’s appeal is unsuccessful he will consider taking his fight to the High Court.
Supporters who fronted up to court last month included Toodyay residents who have been supporting him every step of the way.
He was also flanked by Central Wheatbelt MLA Lachlan Hunter and former Pastoralists and Graziers Association (PGA) president Tony Seabrook who are standing alongside him in a fight they say needs to be won.
Mr Hunter said he was standing with Mr Maddox to support fair, common sense protections for WA landowners.
He said the fight was one that should concern every single landowner and every single primary producer in the state.
The amendment to the Aboriginal Heritage Act that captured Mr Maddox was added in November 2023.
Mr Hunter said if Mr Maddox could be convicted under these laws, without even knowing those laws applied to his land, then everyone should be concerned.
“It’s a basic principle,” he said.
“If it’s your land, you should have the right
to manage it with clarity and confidence.”
Mr Hunter said the state’s cultural heritage laws were causing confusion and uncertainty
across regional communities.
Mr Seabrook said Mr Maddox was a brave man.
“Tony said, if he pleads guilty – he pleads guilty for every single landholder in Western Australia who has a gully on their farm and might have built a crossing,” Mr Seabrook said.
“So you can have a piece of freehold land, with a title that says its freehold land, they
[the Department of Planning Lands and Heritage (DPLH) have drawn a line on it and they haven’t even told you about it.”

The Maddox case sparks calls for state laws to change

Western Australia’s peak agricultural bodies are now demanding the State Government makes immediate changes to the law to ensure existing and new Aboriginal heritage sites are shown on the Certificate of Title for all properties.
The call has come in response to the Mr Maddox’s appeal in the Supreme Court.
WA Farmers President Steve McGuire said the DPLH register of Aboriginal Heritage had more than 15,000 entries, many of which were on private property.
“The Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Committee (ACHC) meets every two weeks and regularly adds new sites to the register without notifying property owners that they have a new encumbrance on their land,” Mr McGuire said.
“What we learned from the Tony Maddox case is that the DPLH doesn’t always write
to property owners when their land is being considered for a new site, doesn’t publish the
agenda or minutes of the ACHC and doesn’t notify anyone when a new site is declared.
“The fact is, there are many property owners who simply don’t know it is illegal to do
a number of things on their land because they’ve never been told it is a declared site.”
Mr Seabrook said the laws needed to change.
“Right now it is an offence if your dog or livestock enters the boundary of a registered
site – even if it’s on your property,” he said.
“Other regulations say you need ministerial approval to disturb the surface of the ground,
dig a hole, cut your grass or remove any part of a tree that you own, even if it’s dead.
Mr Seabrook said the Tony Maddox case proved having a registered site on your land
was a liability.
“It is astonishing that someone can buy land in WA and not be forewarned that the property comes with the encumbrance of containing a registered Aboriginal heritage
site,” he said.
“The government must ensure registered sites appear on the Certificate of Title so
buyers can understand the risks of the property they are considering.”

By Rashelle Predovnik