Red tape has farmers in bind
NORTH Queensland farmers are fighting tooth and nail against proposed new tree clearing laws but they may as well save their breath – Labor seems hellbent on presiding over a green Utopia.
At a federal level, throw in the Coalition Government as well with its imposition of the backpacker tax, an agreement to import mangoes and dragonfruit, importing seafood, banning certain chemicals, and generally imposing more red tape than is necessary.
At state level, there are numerous examples of Labor’s anti-farmer bias and anyone who believes in a strong and agile farming sector should vote accordingly.
Farming lobbyists claim the proposed new clearing laws will deem any regrowth over 15 years as “High Value” forest that can’t be cleared.
“Farmers just want fair and workable laws to grow more food, create jobs and look after their environment without being strangled in red tape. It’s pretty simple – if farmers can’t feed their own families, they can’t feed yours,” said AgForce general president Grant Maudsley.
Growcom chief advocate Rachel Mackenzie said that under the present laws, only 56ha of land a year had been cleared for horticulture while at the same time 5700ha a year of prime agricultural land was being lost to urbanisation. In other words, clearing trees doesn’t matter unless it’s those nasty farmers wanting to do it.
Public hearings are planned for March 27 in Townsville and Cairns on April 13 to hear from people for and against the new laws.
But as we’ve seen with previous such “consultation”, there is absolutely no way the Palaszczuk Government will back down.
We’ll go through weeks of hearings, at great expense, while bureaucrats and politicians put on their most concerned expressions.
Then they’ll wait a couple of weeks and say that after weighing up all the testimony, they will still go ahead with the new legislation.
We saw it in Cairns a few years ago with the attempts to sway Ms Palaszczuk to make Cairns a “priority port” like Townsville is and open it up to dredging and development.
But despite a flawless and factbased argument presented by numerous lobbyists, Cairns missed out.
Government bureaucrats simply drew up a Great Barrier Reef Marine Park map that conveniently excluded the Townsville Port while including the Cairns Port.
If consultation hearings really carried any weight, the performance by groups such as the Cairns Port Development Incorporated was so compelling it would have swayed the decision in their favour. But no.
One has to wonder why port development in Townsville isn’t harmful to the Reef but Cairns is.
So here we go again with another round of consultation after the ALP initially only gave two weeks for people to have a say on the proposed Bill.
The hearings are being held after news broke this week of a farmer at Eidsvold west of Bundaberg who faces almost $1m in fines and court costs for the egregious crime of clearing firebreaks that were too wide.
After devastating fires in NSW this month, blame was laid on “greenie” laws that place restrictions on hazardreduction burning and clearing.
The Beef Central news website reports that firebreaks not designed to protect buildings can only be 10m wide. Anyone who has seen a bushfire up close would laugh at the belief a 10m gap would be enough to stop a fire spreading.
Other instances of anti-farm bias include the Labor Government’s refusal to help farmers with crippling power prices, not allowing hunting of feral animals in national parks, setting unattainable runoff quality targets, its refusal to fast-track new dams, and its scaremongering on relaxing firearms laws.
Any time Reef water quality is mentioned, the glaring spotlight of blame is laid squarely on farmers just trying to make a living.
North Queensland and Australia need a strong farming sector free from city-centric, green-clad, bureaucratic buffoonery.
The North’s agricultural sector has been copping it from successive governments for decades and all they’re asking for is a fair go.
They’ll attend these latest hearings full of hope but they should prepare for another kick in the guts.
Julian Tomlinson NORTH QUEENSLAND AND AUSTRALIA NEED A STRONG FARMING SECTOR FREE FROM CITY-CENTRIC, GREEN-CLAD, BUREAUCRATIC BUFFOONERY