No end to drought for some graziers

I WAS recently asked, Why do you write letters about what happens on the stations out west? You know they don’t read the Chronicle.

It’s not about read or not read. The western graziers are a huge part of our economy and so often do it very tough due to low prices, drought, isolation, freight costs and much more.

A recent news article made that point. Richmond, Flinders, Boulia, McKinlay, Murweh, Paroo and Diamantina have been in severe drought for over four years, from being drought declared on April 1, 2013 and no sign of relief in sight. Barcoo, Tambo, Blackall and Winton were added two months later.

Truck loads of expensive molasses, hay and cottonseed were heading north to supply emergency stock feed and continue till today, with no end in sight.

Qld producers have been feeling the extreme pain since the Gillard introduced ban on live cattle exports which sent prices plummeting.

Some now have had a bit of rain and stock prices are good, but they have few, to no stock to sell. We do need to feel for them. — RAY HARCH, Toowoomba

Railway project

MAYOR Antonio says the Railway Project will change Toowoomba “forever’. Yes that is true.

The work according to the State Government’s website was supposed to start on May 1 and here we are already a month late.

So we have already started taking that long step into “forever” land, it will take forever to do.

And what is this $10 million of ratepayers and state taxpayers funds going to achieve?

Well some temporary propping up and strengthening of the shed.

Mayor Antonio has got to be joking when he says this is going to be a “catalytic’ project.

Not whilst Labor are in State Government it won’t be.

All I see is another long drawn out political promise of State Labor, let’s see, something along the line of Kerry Shine’s promises about the Bridge Street Quarry Garden development.

In the near future he will be rolling out this promise again as well as the Railway project.

He will probably be including a “Yellow Brick Road” as well somewhere. — JOHN FRIEND, Toowoomba

❝the Qld producers have been feeling extreme pain since the Gillard introduced ban on live cattle exports which sent prices plummeting.