When the Queensland Parliament rightly voted down the Palaszczuk Government’s harsh and unnecessary vegetation management laws in August last year, farmers knew the battle was far from over.
Key figures in Labor’s dominant left faction have repeatedly vowed to “seek a mandate” to bring the same ill-conceived laws back again if they are re-elected to government with a majority.
And this week green groups launched “an alliance to end land clearing”, while also calling for the Queensland Government to get rid of the self-assessable codes which allow for sustainable practices such as thinning and fodder harvesting.
Interestingly the day after this alliance was announced, The Australian newspaper revealed Ministerial briefing notes in which the State Government admitted their tree survey data was flawed and only told half the story about vegetation management.
While green groups continue to try to scare Queenslanders about vegetation management using football field analogies, the reality is that only 0.1 per cent of the total woody remnant vegetation is being cleared annually, and about two-thirds of that is to control regrowth.
AgForce has always said we are willing to work through a science and evidence based process on this issue, and in recent months our Vegetation Management Committee has been developing a proposal for an ‘outcomes based, landscape scale’ approach rather than prescriptive tree-by-tree regulations.
Unfortunately, as this week’s revelations about the flawed tree survey data show, the Palaszczuk Government has been more interested in pandering to activists and green groups than developing good policies and getting the science right.
Labor’s determination to re-introduce flawed vegetation management laws if they are re-elected just shows they have no plan to develop the north and don’t care if they push up food prices for Queensland families.
AgForce will ensure voters in multiple marginal electorates know how irrational vegetation management laws based on politics rather than science will cost regional Queenslanders jobs today and their kids jobs in the future.
Agriculture is one of the foundations of the Queensland economy and could grow from $17 billion a year to $30 billion a year over the next decade, but only with sensible and workable laws that allow primary producers to manage their land and grow their businesses.
