QUEENSLAND agriculture does not need another dilettante minister, unable to effectively represent agriculture in cabinet.
The almost $14 billion sector needs a minister with the skills to deal with the complexity and diversity of the portfolio and counter the overriding anti-farmer sentiment which pervades the Palaszczuk government.
However, premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has little choice but to once again kowtow to the union controlled factions and accept which ever person the unions put forward.
As a career Labor Party politician and the leader of a minority government, Ms Palaszczuk knows full well she is beholden to the unions and cannot afford to alienate a single union boss.
The very reason why Leanne Donaldson has only resigned as a cabinet minister and will continue as the member for Bundaberg is that a by election could destroy the Palaszczuk government. That is not in the interests of the union movement which effectively controls Queensland.
Despite being on a $320,000 a year ministerial salary, Ms Donaldson quit in disgrace because she failed to pay outstanding debts including almost $8000 to the Bundaberg Regional Council. She later revealed she had been driving an unregistered vehicle. How those skills in financial management qualified her to oversee the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries $438 annual budget beggars belief.
Worse, Ms Donaldson was a disaster as minister because her fell in line with deputy premier Jackie Trad and environment minister Steven Miles who use farmer bashing as means of appeasing Labor-aligned extreme green groups.
Disturbingly, the best skills to represent agriculture are scarcely a consideration. Whether it is as the result of a reshuffle or an appointment from the backbench, Queensland’s next minister will selected by the unions that control the Labor Party.
Some of the names that are being thrown around as possible contenders including Craig Crawford (Barron River), Mark Ryan (Morayfield) and Aaron Harper (Thuringowa).
The real wild card is former police minister Jo-Ann Miller (Bundamba) who also quit the ministry in disgrace is December. Ms Miller is formidable member of the CFMEU and is no stranger using political force to achieve her goals. She declared she deserved to return to the ministry at a media conference this afternoon. Adding weight to the push was she was accompanied by CFMEU heavyweight Andrew Vickers.
Despite having at least some exposure to agriculture, Glenn Butcher (Gladstone) who is the chair of parliament’s agriculture and environment committee, is likely to be ignored simply because he belongs to the wrong faction.
Until an appointment is made, police minister Bill Byrne will also serve as agriculture minister.
Queensland’s parliament sits again for three days next week and then for the last time in 2016 on November 29 and 30 and December 1. Parliament is then in recess until February 14.
