While she may not be on the radar of many farmers, the devastating defection of Fatima Payman from the Labor Party to the cross bench will potentially have ramifications for Australian agriculture.
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The 29-year-old Western Australian senator resigned from the party following her suspension by Labor colleagues from caucus as punishment for not being a "team player" after she crossed the floor in recognition of Palestine last week.
In referring to the Payman split, Opposition leader Peter Dutton on Thursday said a second term minority Labor government would be a "disaster" in needing to beef up its offerings to minor parties to clear its legislative agenda.
The twist in the tale is that The Greens and several Teal Independents are already highly vocal in demanding the Albanese government go harder, faster on environmental and animal welfare issues, including the live sheep ban, that directly impact farmers and farmings.
"If (Labor) is in a minority government in the next term of parliament - it will include the Greens, it'll include the Green-Teals," Mr Dutton said.
The ALP now only have 25 Senators, while the Coalition have 31 and The Greens, who frequently hold the balance of power in the 47th Parliament, with 11, while the other now nine seats are held by a mix of minor parties and Independents.
Meanwhile, a Labor minority government "operating in conjunction" with The Greens and cross bench Independents would further encroach on the "lives and livelihoods" of farmers.
The warning was issued by former Nationals leader Michael McCormack on Wednesday during a second reading of the government's Nature Positive Bill he labelled as the "thin edge of the wedge" and another example of the "more and worse restrictive regulation, red tape, green tape, green lawfare" being foisted on to rural and farming businesses.
In referring to the live sheep by sea export ban that passed the Senate this week with the support of The Greens, Mr McCormack said "heaven forbid what is going to happen if The Greens are in a power-sharing relationship".
The live sheep ban however does create a dangerous precedent should Labor win only a minority government and need support of The Greens and crossbenchers, who have openly declared that live cattle exports and thoroughbred and greyhound racing are on their hit lists, to pass its policy platform.
In May, Nationals leader David Littleproud told ACM Agri that the Coalition was then cranking up election planning, including honing in on vulnerable seats, with the still live prospect of an early election.
He also said he believed that whoever wins is most likely to form a minority government.
A subsequent shake-up of divisions across Australia has left the nation with even fewer federal seats to contest.
History showing that no first-term government has lost a re-election for 93 years, despite the vast majority dropping seats, falls in Labor's favour.
Meanwhile, there are around 50 pieces of legislation the government needs to push through parliament, and a few dozen for key policy commitments waiting in the wings, before it enters caretaker mode.
Several of these will directly impact farmers or an agriculture supply chain that has seen little movement in its own cost-of-living crisis in recent years - the price and availability of inputs.
The roll call of looming legislation making farmers nervous includes Labor's agriculture and land sector plan that runs the rule over how farming's carbon emissions will be dealt with as part of an economy-wide push to reach net-zero by 2050.
It is also jittery about things like how hard Scope 3 emission rules will push down the supply chains and the impacts of Murray Darling Basin Plan voluntary water buybacks and the Nature Repair Market on agriculture production.
The federal government is also working on several pieces of legislation and policy around animal welfare, including national statements and settings in conjunction with the states and territories.
The farm lobby are also waiting for Labor's renewables rollout across farmland to become crystal clear, while Mr Littleproud told ACM Agri on Thursday the Coalition will fight back with an energy plan seeking to avoid farmland.
"The Coalition's plan for nuclear reduces the need for large scale renewable developments, therefore saving more arable land," he said.
"Projects should be based on merit, rather than Labor's ideology of 82 per cent renewables by 2030. The Nationals support renewables but it requires common sense, such a solar panels on rooftops, where it can't destroy agricultural land and remnant vegetation."
