DON’T CANE OUR FARMERS

NORTH Queensland LNP Senator, Susan McDonald has called for the city and bush to unite and fight for regional towns against tough new laws being proposed by the Queensland Labor Government.

The “Don’t Cane Our Farmers” campaign online, on social media and in newspapers highlights the threats the laws pose not just to farmers but to Queensland’s economy as a whole. The laws could be introduced within weeks.

Ms McDonald and Dawson MP, George Christensen, are inviting all Queenslanders to sign a petition backing farmers and rejecting Labor’s prosperity-killing regulations.

It is estimated new laws relating to fertiliser sales reporting will increase the cost of a simple soil test from $120 to $1000.

Cattle farmers are also in Labor’s sights under the legislation, being subject to 157 standards even for properties up to 900km from the Great Barrier Reef.

Ms McDonald said the new laws were the latest in a litany of Labor decisions that displayed a “breathtaking” lack of understanding and refusal to acknowledge the work already being done in the sector to improve farming methods.

 “We have a State Government displaying breathtaking arrogance and an ignorance fed by armchair environmentalists which makes it tougher for the regions to thrive,” she said.

“We are seeing this attack on the regions in Labor’s continual restrictions on cane farming, cattle farming, vegetation management laws that put people and animals at greater risk of bushfires, mining, commercial and recreational fishing, our timber industry, and port development.

“They do this supposedly in the name of the environment while feral pigs, wild dogs and feral cats breed up in national parks and wreak havoc on native wildlife and spread disease.

“With a state debt of $71 billion, Labor should be encouraging the wealth-producing regions and letting primary producers contribute as much as possible.”

Ms McDonald said the flow-on effects of struggling primary industries in Queensland would also be a major drain on cities.

“Bigger coastal centres like Townsville, Cairns, Mackay, Rockhampton and even Brisbane are major service hubs for thousands of farming operations, so any attack on farmers will hurt the cities,” she said.

“Farming is a natural part of life, and in many parts of Queensland it also means jobs on our farms, in our sugar mills, feedlots, in transport and at our ports.

“Not to mention the many other businesses that service the industry, such as mechanics, boilermakers, farm machinery dealerships and irrigation suppliers.

“Without a viable farming industry, thousands of businesses face financial ruin and this will cost jobs – not just in the agriculture sector.

“Farmers are excellent custodians of the environment – they have to be to stay viable – but this Government treats them like vandals.

“If you support farmers and what they add to our state, the only way to get real change is to change the government.”

 

The petition is at www.dontcaneourfarmers.com

 

 

ENDS

 

More information: Julian Tomlinson (Senator McDonald) 0421 059 187

Lynnis Bonanno (George Christensen) on 0408 773 207