29 October 2024. Michael Guerin, AgForce CEO.
As the dust settles on our state election the opportunities and risks for our industry have become even clearer.
We need to lift our advocacy and collaboration efforts, to enhance our influence, if we are to underpin our great industry and not go the way of what we’ve seen in Denmark – which seems hellbent on impoverishing itself.
Some of the big challenges ahead include, but are not limited to, the so called ‘Nature Positive’ reforms, where stage two appears stuck in the Senate in Canberra and associated key state legislative arrangements - namely the Vegetation Management Act and the Nature Conservation Act remain manifestly inadequate and poorly conceived.
The state election was disappointing in the seeming lack of interest or understanding by any of the parties in the criticality of reform in these areas for strengthening environmental, social and economic outcomes across Queensland, not to mention underpinning our food security. Of course mixed in with this is the deforestation definitions nonsense emanating from Europe.
The proposed new ‘National Water Agreement’ is also a great concern. Strong state input is critical to this and it is vital that AgForce engage quickly and strongly with the new State Government to impress upon them the difficulties, scope and challenges in implementing the proposed principles.
We have only just saved the Great Artesian Basin from being injected with industrial waste by Glencore, so the last thing we need is ill-conceived water plans. What we do need is long-term planning certainty.
The continued layering of regulations, red and green tape on producers and the resulting challenges, including to our mental health, have caused an ever-increasing and unnecessary burden on family businesses.
A producer now needs to be familiar with over seventeen thousand pages of regulations every morning as they go to work. It’s insanity.
The superannuation bill being considered in Canberra is also in our sights. Taxation of unrealised gains would place an undue and in some cases unmanageable burden on farming businesses and we need the new State Government to support strongly and resolutely our concerns to Canberra on this proposal.
The ongoing apparent disinterest in a comprehensive Biosecurity protection framework is also a continual frustration. We have so much to lose. A conversation with the new state government as soon as possible is crucial to resolving this.
AgForce, as the Queensland delegate to the National Farmers Federation (NFF), is also working very hard with the NFF leading into the pending Federal election, expected sometime in the first half of 2025.
Our industry has so much to offer Australia, but a big part of the work of advocacy groups such as ours in the next period, sits with getting politicians who are largely urban based to understand this.
It’s not an insignificant challenge, and one where we would challenge all producers to participate in as much as they can. Join your advocacy group and get involved, so we don’t head the way of Denmark.