Mr PERRETT (Gympie—LNP) (2.53 pm): Five years under the Palaszczuk Labor government has been a relentless struggle for Queensland farmers, fishers and foresters. Those who live with the consequence of Labor’s incompetence and its anti-farmer, anti-region agenda know it. Every Labor member obsessed with their inner-city elitist agenda needs reminding every day what they have done.
Under Labor farmers and agriculture have been under constant siege through unfair vegetation and reef laws, blocked new dams, underfunding, biosecurity mismanagement and closing Queensland’s agricultural education colleges. Labor demonises them. Minister Furner supported the unilateral closure of licensed armourers and dealers because he did not know farmers used firearms as tools of trade.
Minister Furner supported the government’s shutdown of the debate on the invasive weeds report.
Farmers are expected to do the work of government departments, which allows invasive weeds to get out of control.
Labor’s callous decision to close Queensland’s agricultural colleges has been devastating.
Queensland’s unemployment rate is the worst in Australia. Young regional Queenslanders need access to training to get the skills for agricultural jobs. Labor’s unfair and unworkable vegetation management laws are strangling development. Farmers are tied up in green tape which stops them managing their farms and creating jobs. Labor’s record on biosecurity is abysmal. Minister Furner betrayed farmers by withholding $5 million promised to tackle prickly acacia. He refused for almost two years to allow Queensland’s key industry biosecurity advisory group to meet. Labor fails to protect hardworking farmers from animal activists. Labor broke its promise to reform drought support. Five years were wasted doing nothing and threatening cuts. Labor’s only drought plan is to slash $50 million in drought subsidies and abolish fodder freight payments, but only after the election.
The LNP will help droughtproof the regions with new water infrastructure and dams. Labor is anti-dams. It has not built a dam in the regions for 15 years. The last dam Labor built was Paradise Dam. Instead of building new dams Labor is literally tearing down Paradise Dam, leaving farmers in the Wide Bay Burnett community high and dry. In contrast, the LNP will work with the local community to fix Paradise Dam, not tear it down. Labor refuses to solve unsustainable high water prices and the electricity needed to pump it. The incompetence continues: Minister Furner pulled out shark drum lines with no plan to protect Queenslanders; the minister has neglected our commercial fishing industry; and Labor’s botched VMS rollout and unfair regulations will force hundreds of families out of the industry. It is not based on science or fact. It is heartless. Queensland’s timber industry remains in limbo despite broken promises from the Premier. A year later and there is still nothing on whether our 25,000 timber workers will have a future under Labor’s green agenda to close this sustainable industry