DEPUTY premier Jackie Trad has reaffirmed that the Palaszczuk government will enact its failed anti-farmer vegetation management laws if it is returned at the next election.
Speaking following a UNESCO meeting in Paris, Ms Trad said the Palaszczuk government was committed to protecting the Great Barrier Reef.
“Despite recent setbacks in Parliament, the Palaszczuk government is still resolutely committed to protecting our reef and will reinstate our nation leading vegetation protection laws if we are returned at the next election,” Ms Trad said.
“While UNESCO provided positive feedback on the work already underway, they recognised the importance of strengthening our vegetation protections laws – one of the Palaszczuk government’s key commitments to protect the Great Barrier Reef.”
The setbacks Ms Trad refers to is the defeat of its controversial Vegetation Management (Reinstatement) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill in August. Those laws were defeated 44 to 42 when the LNP opposition led by natural resources spokesman Andrew Cripps, two Katter members and Labor turned independent Billy Gordon voted against the bill.
One HVA application that has been rejected is for the Cape York property Kendall River. CLICK HERE to read that story.
Mr Cripps said the anti-farmer legislation was unwarranted because existing laws upheld the rights of Queensland farmers while continuing to protect the Great Barrier Reef.
“Labor’s proposed laws are fundamentally unfair and unworkable, threatening to take away the rights of farmers and make them criminals on their own land,” Mr Cripps said.
“Our farmers deserve more credit than that – they know their land better than anyone and they deserve the rights to manage it effectively and responsibly.”
CLICK HERE to read how the controversial bill was defeated.
The Palaszczuk government’s commitment to its anti-farmer laws set the scene for a reef themed election fought largely in the leafy western suburbs of Brisbane, reflecting its desperation to appease extreme green groups including the WWF and Wilderness Society.
Ms Trad said a progress update on implementation of the Reef 2050 Plan to the World Heritage Centre and International Union for Conservation of Nature was due to be submitted in December.
“I acknowledge the World Heritage Centre will then undertake a robust scientific assessment of this report to ensure the Australian and Queensland Governments keep faith with their commitments in Bonn last year, when UNESCO considered listing the Great Barrier Reef as ‘in danger’,” Ms Trad said.