Farmers up in arms over reef move

THE Great Barrier Reef, the world’s most extensive coral reef system, is undoubtedly under duress and should be protected.

But it is easy to understand why farmers and canegrowers are outraged by the State Government’s reef protection bill.

Cane growers have been knocked about by a politically toxic global sugar market, tanking prices, and strict vegetation management laws introduced by the State Government last year. It is no wonder they feel as though the Government’s Great Barrier Reef protection bill is a direct attack on their livelihoods.

The new laws, first proposed in February, will increase fines for breaching environmental standards from a previous maximum penalty of $13,000 to as high as $217,365.

It will also allow unprecedented oversight into farming practices, including auditing records of fertiliser production to supply and use.

Environment Minister Leeanne Enoch has defended the proposed laws, arguing the agriculture industries have not improved their practices fast enough over the past decade.

Water quality, she said, was still poor, and only 11 per cent of Queensland cane farmers were accredited under the current voluntary program.

It should be noted that in 2009, the Queensland Government passed a law setting “the optimum amount” of fertiliser farmers were allowed to use.

In the nine years to June 2018, it was found not a single farmer had been prosecuted for breaching the law, despite evidence of widespread overuse of nitrogen and phosphorous.

Scientists and environmentalists have flagged the critical need for action to be taken quickly to ensure the reef is not harmed beyond repair.

It is important to safeguard the reef while simultaneously encouraging a productive and sustainable agriculture industry. How to approach this through sensible discussion is the true challenge.