00:00G'day, my name's Andy Stephens. I'm from Rokewood, a little town in the Western District.
00:05We grow a bit of wool, fat lambs and cropping, have a mixed business.
00:10We're just finding conditions of the state and the country are just getting so degraded.
00:18You know, I don't want government handouts, but I don't want to be a cash cow for the rest of the state.
00:23We're just getting fed up. You can see the state getting run down every year.
00:26The roads are just getting worse, more dangerous. I think the connection between country and city has just got really stretched.
00:35You know, 50 years ago, everyone would know a farmer or know someone who knew a farmer.
00:41Nowadays, if you've done the same survey in Melbourne, you're probably lucky to find one in 10, maybe one in 20,
00:48that would actually be able to ring up a farmer and have direct contact and know where their food and fibre's coming from.
00:54I've never been a bloke to protest. I'm sort of one of those fellas, happy to stay home and do my own thing and keep working and let someone else do it.
01:03But it's finally gotten to the stage. I thought, well, we've all got to stand up. We're all going to have to do this.
01:09I've got wind turbines being built on my farm.
01:12And, you know, it has divided the community.
01:16There's for and against, and that's what they've done.
01:20You know, I feel a little bit guilty to be standing here protesting against these overhead power lines and the rights and all this.
01:27At the same time, I'm part of the cause.
01:29You know, you could say I've sold my soul out to the devil.
01:31But at the same time, no one can give you a real true fact of what the costs of these turbines are.
01:41Because we know they all lie about their figures.
01:43It would be really, you know, good to know exactly what goes on with it.
01:49Who can we trust? Who can we believe?
01:51But, you know, the fact that I made that choice to have that go on, where these other farmers don't get to have that choice.
01:59And there's other options the government could take, but they just always want to take the easy option and walk through the little man.
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