General News
6 June, 2025
Peter Byrne: we're not selling to the mine
Peter and Marie Byrne began their married life together at Banyena 55 years ago on some of the best grain-growing land in the Wimmera region.

They enjoy the lifestyle they share with their family in the home and on the farming enterprise they have built.
Peter was born at Banyena and is the fourth generation of one of the early farming families to settle in the region in 1873
Peter and his twin brother John made history as the first twins to be drafted into National Service.
"John's unit wasn't sent to Vietnam, but mine was, and I spent 11 months there; Marie and I were married in 1970, about 18 months after I returned.
Peter and Marie had eight children, four boys and four girls, and now have 19 grandchildren who love to visit and experience the carefree life their parents enjoyed on the farm growing up.
"They come home for the holidays and follow the tracks their parents rode and just love the farm life," Peter said.
However, their idyllic lifestyle is under threat.
The 'mansion' that Peter promised Marie when they married, and they live in still, is in direct line of the Astron Limited Donald Mine Mineral Sands Project.
They laugh about the term 'mansion' because it took quite a few years to renovate the old homestead to mansion status after they married.
But it's no laughing matter that they, like David and Goliath, are facing off with the mining giant Astron Ltd.
"The banks wouldn't even loan us the money to buy this land to start our married life on, but Dad and an Uncle helped, and the previous owners left some money in it so we could get a start.
"So, we wouldn't swap what we have here for the world," he said.
It wasn't until about 1990, the Byrnes became aware there was a significant deposit of rare earth minerals on their farm at Banyena in the Wimmera, approximately halfway between Horsham and St Arnaud, and they were quoted in the press that they were not interested in selling then, and they are not now.
However, they (Astron Ltd - Donald Mine Project) recently sent the Byrnes an offer on part of the land, 1000 acres (404.68 hectares) adjoining the 10-acre home block, but apart from being an "insulting amount, they don't seem to understand; we are not selling," they said.
"The offer came by mail, and they want a decision."
"We don't want to sell, so there's nothing to discuss," he said.
"And importantly, we are not interested in the money, we just want to keep our farm so our family can continue to enjoy the legacy of our generations."
Ten acres of Buloke trees nearby will be exempt from the mine because they are sacred.
Peter says if they can go around the trees, they can go around his home.
"Our home is sacred to me and my family."
But Peter and Marie said they are in awe of the young women farmers in the area who are in this fight with their husbands and families.
"They have picked up this fight, and they are a force to be reckoned with," they said.
"Some of them have married into the families that have been here for generations, and yet they are fighting for the survival of the agricultural community like you wouldn't believe; they are heroes in my eyes!"
"....an inspiration," Peter said.
When letters from the Donald Mine Project began arriving about 18 months or two years ago, the Byrne family saw no reason to discuss something that "wasn't going to happen."
However, they agreed to meet with mine executives and took lawyers with them.
"Our four daughters were there too," said Peter.
"We told them we weren't interested."
Since then, they have engaged lawyers who are more experienced in the subject of mining.
If Byrne's farmland is compulsorily acquired by the mining company, their home will possibly be inside the buffer zone.
If that occurs, regardless of whether the house is left standing or not, they will not be able to live in it due to the contaminated dust from the mine and 24/7 noise and light pollution.
Peter said he doesn't think about what's ahead because if he did, he would never sleep.
Farming for the Byrnes is a family affair. Son David and his wife, Sarah, and four sons live in the original homestead about two kilometres away; they are the fifth and sixth generation to live there over the past 125 years.
"Our son Danny was just as keen to leave school and work on the farm as David.
" Sadly, we lost Danny in a car accident in 1996. But we have wonderful memories of Danny here on the farm.
"David has often said there must be a heaven because Danny is looking down and watching what we've done here," Peter said.
Only about 4 percent of Australia's land mass is arable land, suitable for cropping or machinery movement, and that is what Peter is concerned about.
"I think this is the most important part of this discussion," he said.
"Why would anyone think mining any part of that prime food-producing land is a good thing when it is such a small percentage of our total land mass?.
"I'm not against mining. But, mine where we can't grow food," he says.
"This part of the conversation is always overlooked, and I don't know why, because I think it is just common sense."
"If people sell and move to another farm, they could be facing the same thing in a few years because so much of Victoria is under exploration licenses," said Peter.
The Byrne family is in this fight, not just for themselves but for the generations to come, and for Peter, that included attending the rally on the steps of parliament on May 20 to oppose the new Emergency Services Volunteer Fund that would see farmers hit hardest.
He said he is concerned for all Australians, the future of the food industry, and farming in general, but Marie is more direct.
"It's a sin," she said.
"Many of our young men and women gave their lives to keep Australia and our way of life safe; what would they be thinking now?"
The Mail-Times has contacted Astron Ltd for comment.
Managing Director of Astron Ltd, Tiger Brown provided the following response
"We are in ongoing discussions with the Byrnes family.
"Wherever possible, we seek to accommodate landowners' preferences, including retaining houses where they are," he said.
"Under Victorian mining law, compulsory acquisition is not permitted.
"We cannot begin mining without written landowner consent or registered compensation agreements."
However, VCAT and the Supreme Court are options for both parties.
Under the provisions set out in the Land Acquisition and Compensation Act 1986, land required for a public purpose can be acquired/resumed by government departments and agencies. This can be done either compulsorily or by negotiation.
