Passing of Phillip Toyne AO

On behalf of the Australian farming community, the National Farmers’ Federation (NFF) sends its condolences to Molly and her family on the passing of Phillip Toyne AO.
In 1989, the NFF and the Australian Conservation Foundation convinced the Hawke Federal Government to support a movement that would engage communities across Australia in activities to reverse the degradation of farmland, public land and waterways. This was the beginnings of Landcare as a national movement. The unlikely political alliance saw the national peak bodies put aside traditional rivalries to focus on areas of common purpose, for the benefit of all Australians. The partnership mobilised a generation to act, and in turn, has created a legacy of national and international importance.
Mr Toyne made a significant contribution to conservation and land management as one of the founders of Landcare and worked closely with the NFF. One of the most important outcomes of Landcare was gaining a better understanding of what could be achieved through collective action. It is hard to contemplate what this country might look like today, if the national Landcare partnership had never come together to form this important movement.
ENDS