The Queensland Parliament has tonight voted to protect Queensland’s existing vegetation management framework and maintain the hard-won property and development opportunities of landholders.
Shadow Minister for Natural Resources and State Development Andrew Cripps said despite the Palaszczuk Labor Government’s opposition to the motion, common sense had prevailed.
Mr Cripps said the LNP’s amendments to a motion moved by the Katter’s Australian Party (KAP) received majority support in the parliament.
“The Palaszczuk Labor Government is frozen at the wheel, beholden to extreme green groups and unwilling to recognise the importance of the agriculture sector to jobs and prosperity in Queensland,” Mr Cripps said.
“Queensland’s vast agricultural opportunities are the envy of other states and the rest of the world is hungry for the food and fibres we produce.
“That’s why it’s so important we have a government in charge to support landholders’ rights, but sadly with Deputy Premier Jackie Trad calling the shots that’s never going to happen.”
Mr Cripps said the motion drew a line in the sand that ensured the Parliament would not support any legislation that weakens rights of landholders.
“The LNP’s management framework is simple, it’s workable and it protects the rights of landholders from Warwick to Weipa,” he said.
“Labor’s motivation to scrap these laws is twofold; firstly to repay the debt it owes to green groups and secondly to undo the work of the former LNP Government in a political get-square.
“Queensland deserves better than a vindictive government indebted to third parties with a short-sighted, one-track agenda.”
Mr Cripps said only the LNP was committed to supporting a management framework that was simple, that was proven to work well and fully protected the rights of all Queensland landholders.
“Unlike Labor, the LNP wants to unleash the potential of Queensland’s agriculture sector so it continues to deliver jobs and support our economy for generations to come.”
Katter’s Australian Party (KAP) has voted to withdraw its support for campdrafting throughout Queensland.
Member for Nanango Deb Frecklington and Member for Gympie Tony Perrett said the KAP MPs Rob Katter and Shane Knuth yesterday voted with the Palaszczuk Labor Government to reject proposals to grant Community Liquor Permit (CLP) exemptions for campdraft events.
The LNP’s Liquor and Fair Trading (Red Tape Reduction) Amendment Bill 2015 sought to provide exemptions for campdrafting from needing a CLP during the running of its events and the KAP voted with to knock back the LNP Bill.
“By rejecting this bill Labor and KAP have openly admitted that they do not trust campdrafters. This is quite ridiculous and extremely disappointing,” Mrs Frecklington said.
“It was a common-sense change aimed at reducing red tape for campdrafting groups.
“Volunteers who run these local community groups are being burdened with unnecessary paperwork to appease the nanny state mentality of the KAP and the State Labor Government.
“In fact, the initial request to grant the exemption came from the President of the Cooyar Campdraft Association, Paul Barron who asked that campdrafts be treated the same as ‘small regional shows’ which are given an exemption.”
Member for Gympie Tony Perrett said that the vote showed that KAP claims of support for rural and regional activities and their supporters were mere tokenism.
“They had an opportunity to show their support and instead they once again chose to go the way of the Palaszczuk Labor Government,” Mr Perrett said.
“This is disappointing but not surprising. It is a kick in the guts for the sport.
“There is no way the KAP did not know what they were voting for when they sided with the government.”
“Campdrafting has more than 20,000 supporters across Queensland and 220 affiliated committees.
“Even the Department of Justice and Attorney-General admitted that there have never been any problems relating to the sale of liquor at camp drafting events.
“As a member of the Legal Affairs and Community Safety Committee I specifically asked if the Department was aware of any problems in relation to the sale of or availability of alcohol at campdrafting events. The reply was of course – No.*”
“I have had a long association with campdrafting, and it is obvious to me that Labor and the KAP have no idea when it comes to supporting regional communities. “
“The vote shows that they seem to be more interested in horse trading and backroom deals.”
“Campdrafting it is a family orientated sport, run by reputable people and they deserve our support.”
*Queensland Parliamentary Hansard
Mr PERRETT: … Is the Department aware of any problems currently occurring in relation to the sale of or availability of alcohol at camp drafting events?
Mr SARQUIS: No. We have no evidence of any problems there. They are largely family-type events, so we generally do not have problems with those sorts of events.
Link to Public Hearing (see pages 22-23) http://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/documents/committees/LACSC/2015/02-LiquorFairTradRTRAB15/02-trns-ph20Jul2015.pdf
The true power of community strength was evident in Kingaroy on Tuesday night at the Kingaroy Concerned Citizens Forum. A 900 strong crowd demonstrated unequivocally that they did not agree Moreton Resources should be granted permission to build a coal mine so close to Kingaroy.
I’d like to thank everyone who took the time to attend and present their views. I’d also like to thank the Kingaroy Concerned Citizens group who did a remarkable job organising the evening and presenting a great deal of information in an easy to understand format. It is forums and events such as these which galvanise a community and help me, as your local Member, to take your message to the decision makers.
I’d like to reconfirm two of the points I spoke about at the forum. Firstly, before Moreton proceeds with any further plans, they must show good faith and start baseline monitoring in and around the exploration site, Kingaroy township and surrounds. This must be independent monitoring which provides data on things such as dust, groundwater and noise so we, as a community, know what environmental conditions we have right now.
Secondly, only 1% of all exploration permits for coal ever proceed to a full a development licence. There is much ahead of us before this mine could be granted permission, and I think Moreton have just been served one of the biggest hurdles they will face – a resounding lack of community support. As promised, I will now take the results of the forum to the Minister for Mines and the Shadow Minister so they can understand how the Kingaroy community feels about the possibility of a coal mine on their doorstep.
We all need to be concerned about the recent decision by the Labor Government to evict farming families from their long term grazing leases within national parks. One of these families are Kilkivan graziers, Ben and Teresa Day who have been farming the land for 140 years. Another is the Mayne family from Springsure, a certified organic operation, following the Global Animal Partnership’s sustainable code-of-practice. Their light, rotational grazing for three to four months a year ensures adequate ground cover while reducing hazardous fire fuel load. Plus they manage feral pests and weeds at no cost to taxpayers.
So what has brought about the decision to oust these primary producers from their leases and literally take away integral parts of their grazing businesses?
The Labor Government have introduced changes to the Nature Conservation and Other Legislation Amendment (NCOLA) Bill 2015 which say that the deciding power on whether leases are renewed will now rest solely with a department head - with absolutely no right of appeal for the leaseholder.
These changes will deny natural justice to the holders of 78 leases across Queensland, many held by farming families for generations. It takes away the basic rights and liberties of Queenslanders and is another attack on the agriculture sector.
The LNP’s Shadow Minister for the Environment, Stephen Bennett, has written to the Labor outlining a long list of concerns with the legislation, which also includes the loss of management input on traditional lands by local indigenous people, and the removal of all references about community use and enjoyment of protected areas, such as tourism.
Our LNP Opposition will be challenging this Bill, which raises so many concerns it absolutely should not be passed. On behalf of our primary producers, I will be strongly speaking out against the Bill. This is not about grazing livestock in pristine, World Heritage-listed national parks. This is about supporting on-going production from areas that have been grazed sustainably, in some cases for generations.
Nanango Electorate families could be slugged on their power bills thanks to the Labor Government’s ill-conceived policies.
Member for Nanango, Deb Frecklington said the Labor Government had dismissed many recommendations from the Queensland Productivity Commission’s draft report into electricity prices, including changing solar feed-in tariffs and ways of improving competition in regional Queensland.
“Treasurer Pitt is already refusing to accept the Queensland Productivity Commission’s (QPC) advice, meaning local families could end up paying more just so Labor can meet their poorly-conceived and uncosted election commitments,” Mrs Frecklington said.
“He’s already scared the pants off pensioners by announcing he would consider the report’s recommendation to scrap the $321 Electricity Rebate Scheme for Queensland Seniors Card holders, only to drop the idea 24 hours later.
“What’s more, he has rejected the QPC’s assertion that legacy costs of the previous Labor Government’s Solar Bonus Scheme are hurting low-income households and adding $89 to the typical power bill this year.
“Labor’s dud policies will only drive up electricity prices, which goes to show they’re not interested in cutting the cost of living for Queenslanders.
“I certainly don’t think it’s fair that Nanango Electorate families are facing higher power bills and I’ll be taking the fight up to the Labor Government to ensure these changes are put where they belong – in the bin.
“After a year in office it’s clear this government still has no plan to help families with power costs.
“Our community deserves better.”
Shadow Minister for Health Mark McArdle and patient advocate Justine Christerson have jointly called for the development of an App to help rural and regional Queenslanders access information about the Patient Travel Subsidy Scheme (PTSS).
Ms Christerson said the contact she received each day from regional Queenslanders asking for advice on accommodation and costs when staying in Brisbane for medical treatment was proof the App was needed.
“The PTSS is supposed to help regional and rural Queenslanders with their accommodation costs but the information is not getting to them,” she said.
“Many rural and regional Queenslanders don’t even know the PTSS exists, where they can stay or the costs of where they can stay,” she said.
“An App is a common sense way of getting this information to patients and their families 24 hours a day, seven days a week, especially when many people in Queensland Health work five days per week.
“At a time when they are concerned about the health of their loved ones or themselves, this would at least help to ease that burden a little.”
Mr McArdle said the LNP Government had doubled the PTSS in 2012, increasing the scheme for the first time since 1987.
“The LNP acted quickly to improve affordable access to health services for rural and regional Queenslanders and it’s time the Palaszczuk Labor Government stepped up to show their support,” he said.
“You can imagine living in Cairns, Mt Isa or Cunnamulla and being told that you or a loved one must to go to Brisbane for medical treatment and could spend months away from home.
“It can be a daunting experience for these Queenslanders who don’t know Brisbane, let alone how to get to the hospital, where they can find accommodation or where to get food.
“An App doesn’t sleep and could help ease the burden and stress of travelling to access health services.”
Labor’s plan to strip control of local Hospital Boards is well underway, Shadow Health Minister Mark McArdle said today.
Mr McArdle said the Hunter Review dumped on local Hospital Boards concluded the government should establish a new leadership executive, effectively giving power to George Street at the expense of local people with local experience.
“The new executive is made up of the Director General, Deputy Directors General, senior bureaucrats, the Queensland Ambulance Service Commissioner, all of whom work in Brisbane,” Mr McArdle said.
“The only local knowledge on this executive is Chair of the Hospital and Health Board Chairs Forum.
“The Palaszczuk Labor Government is silencing the voices of rural and regional Queenslanders and restricting the rural and regional knowledge of what is happening in local hospitals.
“Aren’t they a part of Queensland and don’t they have a right to be heard?
“Labor said its government would consult with Queenslanders, but this is far from it, and this complete disregard for rural and regional Queensland is holding the state back.
Mr McArdle said there were 16 Local Hospital Boards each with between 6 and 10 members - a total of between 96 and 160 people, but local knowledge would be lost or ignored.
He said the Chair of the Hospital and Health Board Chairs Forum, the only regional representative, had no voting rights.
“The reason they can’t is the Hunter Review saw a potential perception of conflict of duty,” he said.
“How does the Chair of the Health Board Forum have a conflict of interest when all other members of the executive, also working in Queensland Health, don’t?
“Local hospital boards are clearly at risk and the Palaszczuk Labor Government is restricting their ability to act on local knowledge.
“The boffins of George Street are back in charge at the expense of rural and regional Queensland.”
