Farmers care deeply for land

I WRITE in response to the Queensland Conservation Council’s misleading full- page ad about vegetation management laws ( TB, 31/ 1).

Farmers only manage vegetation on our land to sustainably produce high- quality food, yet we are often attacked over how we produce this food by ill- informed extreme greens from inner- city Brisbane.

The reality is farmers love and care for their land and know how to manage it responsibly.

The Palaszczuk Government’s proposed changes will just make it harder for us to do our jobs and harder for us to help create new jobs.

Despite the claims made in the ad, the Threatened Species Commissioner recently said that “based on the science the biggest threats in Australia to our wildlife aren’t land clearing” and are instead feral cats, foxes and fire.

In addition, the photo used is not what thinning looks like on a typical rural property.

Thinning is the selective removal of trees to prevent thickening, promote native grass growth and ensure a good environmental and productive balance. Enough is enough. Let’s cut the hysteria and instead look at how we can all work together to ensure good outcomes for both the environment and farmers.

RUSSELL LETHBRIDGE, AgForce North Queensland Regional President,

Einasleigh.