THE Palaszczuk government has been challenged to end its anti-farmer crusade and dump plans to destroy common sense vegetation management laws and ‘choice in marketing’ legislation for cane farmers.
LNP agriculture spokesman Tony Perrett and natural resources spokesman Dale Last in the Burdekin said they were stepping up the fight for a ‘fair go’ for Queensland farmers.
“The election’s over but Labor’s still scapegoating and demonising hard-working farming families and their communities,” Mr Last said.
“Our farmers understand their responsibilities to protect the environment and they’re doing a great job of reducing fertiliser and chemical run-off and keeping precious soil in their paddocks.
“Instead of constantly pandering to greenies, Labor should be supporting and praising the efforts of our farmers and particularly cane farmers for embracing best management practices that are protecting the reef.”
The Palaszczuk government’s new vegetation laws are expected to go to parliament in March. There has been little indication on progress of new laws to wind by the sugar industry’s ‘choice in marketing’ legislation, despite Labor’s previously strong opposition to the legislation.
Mr Perrett said rural Queensland was extremely worried by threats to shut down regrowth management, fodder harvesting and high-value agricultural development.
“This is about allowing our farmers the right to properly manage their farms and their land,” Mr Perrett said.
“Retrospective, onerous legislation with red tape and tree police will stifle farm production and destroy jobs right across regional Queensland.”
“With much of the state still in drought, the last thing Labor should be threatening is the scrapping of sensible vegetation laws and sensible laws guaranteeing our cane farmers the right to a fair-go and choice in sugar marketing.”
