SHADOW Agriculture Minister Deb Frecklington hasn’t taken long to familiarise herself with the dire situation many western Queensland producers are facing, flying to Longreach yesterday to see the ongoing drought first-hand.
“These people are looking at their third failed wet season – it’s a very sobering situation,” she said on the ground at Rio, the Longreach property featured by Queensland Country Life as owners Nic and Carley Walker trucked the last of their stock to new owners.
“I want to encourage people to see life beyond the south east,” Ms Frecklington said.
“My own electorate has been on the tail-end of a cyclone and people have mungbean crops and the like destroyed, but this is a slow-moving disaster.”
Ms Frecklington said she wanted to ensure the plight of people in drought areas was maintained in government consciousness.
While acknowledging that the Agriculture Minister and Member for Rockhampton Bill Byrne had his hands full helping his electorate manage the aftermath of Cyclone Marcia, she urged him to make drought-stricken Queensland his next priority.
“There is still a long way to go with everything. As a government we did what we could, spending close to $100m on drought relief," she said.
“I want to ensure the current government continues that, at the very least.
“They will have to continue to work with federal ministers and Queensland senators as well.”
Mr Byrne’s critical views on a proposal to make Port Alma an export hub for live cattle were frowned on by the shadow minister.
“The live cattle trade is very important to Queensland, and Australia,” Ms Frecklington said.
“It can go side by side with the processing industry – Townsville is a good example of that.”
Mr Byrne has said the Port Alma proposal lacks merit because he had received strong representation from processors in Rockhampton, who said a live export hub at Rockhampton would jeopardise 2400 permanent jobs in his electorate.
Ms Frecklington said it was up to the industry to determine whether there was a viable live trade.
“If the industry is calling for it, he needs to listen to that, not make a knee-jerk reaction that affects people’s confidence.”
Ms Frecklington was planning to talk to more graziers today in Longreach, visit the Longreach Pastoral College and attend a sevens carnival, and expected to have more to say about kangaroo and wild dog issues once she had spoken to locals.
Sally Cripps
Journalist
Journalist
