As Farm Safety Week begins on 19 July, it’s an important reminder that no harvest, no deadline and no job is worth risking a life.
Across our region, farming isn’t just an industry. It’s a way of life. Our farms are workplaces, but they’re also homes where children grow up, families work side by side and generations build a future together. That’s exactly why safety can’t be treated as an afterthought.
Every year, lives are changed forever by preventable accidents on Australian farms. Whether it’s taking an extra minute to check machinery, managing fatigue during busy periods, wearing the right protective equipment or making sure children stay clear of dangerous work areas, small decisions can make all the difference.
Our farmers already shoulder enough. They battle the weather, rising costs, labour shortages and uncertainty, all while producing the food and fibre that every Australian relies on. They deserve to know that they’ll return home safely to their families at the end of each day.
Farm Safety Week is a chance for all of us to stop, have the important conversations and take a fresh look at the risks around our properties. There is no job so urgent that it can’t be done safely.
To every farming family across the electorate, thank you for everything you do to keep our communities strong.
Let’s all play our part in making sure every person who heads out through the farm gate comes back home again.
Annabelle Cleeland MP
State Member for Euroa
