17 Sep 2024. Michael Guerin, AgForce CEO.
Time is ticking down now to the pending Queensland state election in late October.
Thankfully just four short weeks before voting day our industry conference `Back the Bush, Our People our Future’, will bring us all together at the Brisbane RNA Showgrounds on October 1 and 2 to discuss the key issues impacting agriculture.
The timing is deliberate. We have a great opportunity to hear keynote addresses from political leaders and then ask policy questions about what they propose for our crucially important rural sector if elected.
We’ve confirmed the attendance of representatives from all the major political parties, media and stakeholders from across the Queensland agriculture supply chain, to ensure our industry’s voice is heard and clearly understood.
These are critical conversations, particularly highlighted this week as many from Queensland and elsewhere make the trip to Canberra for the National Farmers Federation Ag rally.
We need our voice to break through, to ensure as many Queenslanders as possible understand the powerfully positive contribution our industry makes across a wide range of important areas they may not have even considered.
Such as ongoing food security concerns. These need to be clearly articulated so people beyond our industry understand what’s at stake. Those who wish to put our food security at risk for nefarious reasons also need to be called out.
This stands alongside restating our commitment to strengthening environmental outcomes, and our grave concerns about sequestering more carbon into our precious underground water bodies. We need to explain clearly the tense tussle that creates with growing food and fibre.
We’ll also explore the importance of building biodiversity whilst lifting economic opportunity in the regions - one of the many challenging debates that now face our industry.
Investing in regional Queensland can potentially reap rich rewards for the state and our political parties need to understand those implications.
Critical to making the most of this opportunity is a strong turnout at conference by primary producers, those who despite the red tape and growing influence of anti-farming activists, continue to produce locally grown, healthy and environmentally sustainable food and fibre that all Australians rely on.
The more of us who are there – the more chance we have of gaining maximum leverage on the issues that matter so deeply to our industry.
Alongside this, and in an attempt to further maximise the impact we have and get some fundamental reform in the next term of the Queensland Government, we have launched a special platform called ‘election asks’ in an electronic format.
We will sort responses from each political party on these crucial issues, and highlight any differences which we can then discuss at conference.
We hope to see many of you from across our industry and regional Queensland at the RNA Showgrounds on October 1 and 2 – a powerful turnout will make a huge difference.