More must be done to save dairy industry: Knuth

MEMBER for Hill Shane Knuth is calling for more to be done to revitalise and save Queensland’s dairy industry.

While the long-term dairy campaigner welcomed the 10¢ per litre milk rise by Woolworths, he said a 30¢ per litre increase was needed to save “a collapsing industry”.

“In the year 2000 we had 1500 dairy farms in Queensland. The day I tabled my Fair Milk Mark Bill in 2013 we had 540,” he said. “Thanks to both major parties voting down the bill we now have less than 370 dairy farmers left in the state.

“If we continue this trend of inaction we will have no dairy farms left in Queensland within the next decade and will be importing all our milk.”

Mr Knuth said more needed to be done by the state and federal governments.

“I have also put a motion into state parliament calling on all governments to pressure supermarket giants, that a 10¢ per litre increase be applied to every litre of milk sold in all supermarkets in all milk producing states, with the 10¢ increase going directly back to the dairy farmer,” he said.

While unable to match Woolworths’ price drop move, supermarket giant Coles has said it was “committed to finding a better model that can be adopted … to assist farmers”.

Coles said it would collect customer donations at supermarket registers, and would match them “dollar for dollar”.