Vegetation laws anger sugarcane growers

CANEGROWERS members will join farmers from other industries voicing their anger at State Government moves to change Queensland’s vegetation management laws as a Committee reviewing the amendments travels to regional areas this week.

“The Queensland Government is risking the sugarcane industry’s contribution to the state’s economic growth with these amendments,” CANEGROWERS Chairman Paul Schembri warned.

“On the one hand it is telling cane growers that the future holds some exciting opportunities for our crop to contribute to green energy and biofutures industries and help feed a growing world population.

“But on the other hand, it is knobbling our ability to get the most production we can from the land we own and farm to take advantage of these opportunities.”

In its submission to a review of the proposed amendments to the Vegetation Management Act, CANEGROWERS also pointed out that sugar mills were offering incentives to growers to put in more cane to keep their operations viable.

“Abolishing the provisions that allow clearing for High-Value Agriculture (HVA) and Irrigated High-Value Agriculture (IHVA) and deeming any regrowth over 15 years as High Value cut through the rights of farmers to make decisions to farm their land in the way they best see fit,” Mr Schembri said.

“We need a sensible balance between the environmental sustainability and agricultural production – these amendments fail to do that.”

CANEGROWERS members are registering to appear before the Townsville and Cairns hearings of the State Development, Natural Resources and Agricultural Industry Development Committee.

27 March     Townsville  4:00pm-6:30pm    Seagulls Seafront Resort
13 April        Cairns          12:00-3:00pm        venue to be confirmed

“CANEGROWERS members will also be lining up beside AgForce members in Townsville at midday tomorrow to march on the office of a local MP – we need to make our voices heard in the towns and cities,” Mr Schembri said.

“This is an issue that cuts to the heart of food production and economic development in regional areas.”