AFTER all the controversy and reactions to our double-page spread on the BJD government policy disaster last week, I’d like to explain how the North Queensland Register became involved.
I was included in the emails that were circulating heavily over the weekend whilst enjoying the cricket. I could tell things were hot as the emails were coming as fast as Johnson was putting them down the wicket.
During the course of it all, I replied that the paper would be interested in publishing these responses to Wallace Gunthorpe’s original email.
Not only was I rewarded by signing off on their emails, I also received a lot of phone calls from people that had obviously seen the emails but weren’t actually on the original mailing list.
It is very hard to express the heartache that everyone in the beef industry is feeling at the moment. But, having the newspaper in my grasp, I thought it would be a good way of carrying the pain out to a wider audience.
When BJD was detected at Rockley Brahman Stud in November 2012, it had a devastating effect on the Kirk family because it is now quite obvious that the stigma associated with the disease is worse than any clinical effect of the disease itself.
The detection of the disease caused a tsunami of fear and doubt to inundate the Queensland cattle industry.
Now 15 months on, we are still in limbo as to where this disease is going to take the cattle industry.
I’m totally confused about the fact that BJD has been around for over 100 years and has no effect on human consumption yet it is still a disease subject to quarantine.
What came across to me from the heated conversations is that BJD has gone off the radar, but the crippling effect of it hasn’t minimised at all. In fact, it may have even broadened across Queensland.
The newspaper game is made of deadlines. While we may hit most newsagents Thursday, some are lucky enough to get them Wednesday. This is because our deadline is Tuesday morning.
Our paper is printed before 12pm every Tuesday.
It became very ironic that I received a press release from Minister McVeigh’s office on Tuesday at 5.24pm.
The Minister, in his press release was only recommending that the compensation be lifted from $50,000 to $100,000. The buck stops with the Minister so we can assume the recommendation will go ahead and come into effect at the end of this month.
I have been in contact with the Minister’s office and was asked why they weren’t given a chance to reply. Unfortunately, they had missed the boat, was my reply.
While nothing is concrete yet, we can definitely say BJD is no longer off the radar. However, for the sake of those suffering, we can’t lose momentum now.
Stay tuned. There’s certainly more to come on this subject.
