THE Palaszczuk government has been challenged to launch a study into the potential impact of its own controversial vegetation management laws following the federal government’s decision today not to compulsorily acquire land for defence purposes.
The challenge was issued by opposition natural resources spokesman Andrew Cripps who said the Palaszczuk government had confected concern for potentially affected landholders in Central and North Queensland.
“In January, Agriculture Minister Bill Byrne threw funding at AgForce to undertake a study into the potential impacts of the loss of cattle numbers in Central and North Queensland on the domestic and export beef supply chain and the economic impacts on local communities,” Mr Cripps said.
“With the Federal Government now making it clear no landholders will be forced to sell their land to the Defence Department, there’s an opportunity to put the other threat to Queensland’s beef supply chain in the spotlight and that’s the legacy of Labor’s draconian vegetation management policies.
“I call on Bill Byrne to allow AgForce to keep the funding and amend the terms of reference for the study to investigate the lost value, production and income from more than a decade of oppression under Labor’s vegetation management laws and the impact on regional communities.
“That study should also consider the impact of all of the rural land acquired under the Beattie and Bligh Government’s as part of the infamous Delbessie Agreement process, where vast tracks of productive country was taken off farmers and graziers to be turned into National Parks.”
Mr Cripps said if Mr Byrne failed to facilitate an amendment to the terms of reference for the AgForce study, it would demonstrate that he had no interest in threats to Queensland’s beef industry supply chain and was only interested in cheap publicity stunts and wedge politics.
